The Big Four: May Loyalty Updates
As an important component of The Big Four | Platform Integration, Loyalty continues to be an area of focus for hotels across the portfolio. We know that members cost less and stay more – and as a result, it is important that hotels continue to focus on enrolling new members and providing the best guest experience. With this in mind, we would like to provide updates on a number of Loyalty topics that support our broader strategies.
Rewarding Events
Currently, SPG members earn Starpoints for meetings and events with SPG Pro. Rewards members earn Rewards points for meetings and events with Rewarding Events. Beginning in August, SPG Pro will be retired and members across Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG programs will earn points for meetings and events through a new Rewarding Events program and earning structure.
To help members and sales/events associates become familiar with the new program, details are now available on members.marriott.com. Associates will receive details, including a “Rewarding Events Overview: Associate Reference” guide via the May 21 Weekly Update.
To learn more, visit MGS for details.
Loyalty Property Enrollment Promotion
To encourage on-property enrollments, from June 1 through July 31, all Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG hotels that participate in the loyalty program will be eligible for additional incentives. Hotels that meet a target percentage of their success rate goal will be rewarded on top of usual earning in the form of a $200 gift card or OFB credit. Enrollment targets are based on Q1 2018 performance.
To learn more, visit MGS for details.
Givex Gift Cards
Givex enables hotels to conduct gift card transactions in local currency and supports gift card sales and redemption at the front desk, food and beverage, and retail outlets.
For SPG hotels, Givex will be installed and will appear on POS workstations between Q2 and Q3, 2018 at properties on hosted Simphony. PMS deployment for Lightspeed and Opera will occur during the Reservations Platform rollout. No property-level action will be needed until the feature is activated in early 2019.
To learn more, visit MGS for details.
New Promotional Materials Coming in 2019
Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG will be combined into one program in August, with a new name and visual identity beginning in early 2019. In preparation for this change, new hotel collateral, signage, and promotional items will be introduced to help educate members and guests on the new Loyalty program name. Hotels should begin depleting existing inventory and order minimum quantities of replenishable collateral items (e.g., key cards, key packets, upgrade sleeves and enrollment brochures). Instructions on when and how to dispose of existing program materials will be provided to hotels via Weekly Update, and a shipment containing updated materials will be distributed to hotels in early Q3.
Note: while using Loyalty collateral will remain a brand standard, this requirement has been removed from the Loyalty brand standard audit for the second half of 2018 to account for the limited inventory related to this transition.
To learn more, visit MGS for details.
