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BlogInsights

“Will there be free Champagne?”: The value of loyalty in travel

Jul 30, 2019

by Paul Bradley, Product Director for Hotels.com For Partners

 


My wife’s question didn’t surprise me. 2 years of compulsively collecting air miles had meant we would be jetting off on our next holiday in business class.

It’s said that we all love something for nothing - I’m not so sure. From personal experience redeeming something you’ve spent money and time earning provides a much greater emotional payoff; and the ability to escape crowds in an airport lounge is even more significant when you’re traveling with family (complete with 1 year old).

 

Points mean prizes

Those working in the travel industry understand that true loyalty can be hard won, and no doubt there is much more to engendering lasting relationships between brands and consumers than supporting currencies like air miles and loyalty points. But, it is still often a crucial element – especially as research shows that 80% of future profits will come from 20% of your existing travelers1. And the wide range of economic models and marketing philosophies that underpin the precise execution of such schemes are many and varied.

 

Hotels.com For Partners’ loyalty capabilities

No matter what our travel partners’ approach is to loyalty, Hotels.com For Partners has a range of benefits that can support their strategy. Whether travelers are saving points for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or maximizing their ability to “earn on business, spend on pleasure”, we can integrate with a travel partner’s points scheme to reward travelers for booking their accommodation through our white-label template. Whether it’s an “evergreen” benefit of points for every dollar spent, or time-bound campaigns providing enhanced value for the traveler, we have the tools to support it and the best practices to ensure it hits the mark.

But there’s more to loyalty than just points. So, we’ve recently enabled a set of new features to reward our travel partners’ loyal members in other ways. Not only can we now offer our travel partners’ members access to discounted “member only” pricing, but we can also provide them with other exclusive hotel benefits such as complementary drinks, discounted food or extra fast Wi-Fi.

 

Relentlessly striving for better

We are always looking to continually improve our offering, and throughout 2019 we are working to further support our travel partners in their loyalty ambitions. One of our aims is to enhance our ability to segment and target specific destinations or traveler types, offering travel partners an elevated level of loyalty features. This will ensure we can align the Hotels.com For Partners experience with the messages and deals our travel partners are targeting their members with elsewhere in their shopping experience.

As a Product Director for Hotels.com For Partners, I’m lucky enough to be involved in understanding how our travel partners and indeed our industry are thinking about loyalty, and how we fold these insights into our product roadmap. It’s a constantly shifting landscape but we hope to build scalable solutions that might just unlock free Champagne for many more travelers to enjoy. 

[1]slideshare.net/custthermometer/22-customer-retention-stats