Loyalty members are expected to pay less for their rooms than non-loyal guests this summer, as per BVA BDRC’s latest U.S. travel intent study. The report says hotel brand loyalty has been unequal across tiers, with loyalty seeing the strongest surge in budget and economy brands, indicating the importance of rate.
About six out of 10 summer guests said they would remain loyal to a hotel brand(s), trying to book a stay at these properties whenever possible. Spending intent, however, vary as per brand loyalty, with both loyal and non-loyal guests planning to spend an average of US$450.
Loyalty programs were popular, with 50% of guests a member of at least one loyalty program and 24% holding membership to three or more. Most summer travelers who had hotel loyalty membership said that they would stay at brands which gave them points or credits to use for a discounted or free stay, behavior which was most pronounced in those planning to book at the budget/economy level.
The differences in loyalty were more visible across hotel segments, with the economy level showing the most pronounced loyalty. In terms of booking patterns, the highest share of booking directly through a hotel also featured among budget/economy guests, while upscale guests preferred online travel agencies (OTA).
“Economy guests are drawn to the brands they know because consistency of quality and offering is more important at the economy end of the market,” said Matthew Petrie, president of BVA BDRC Americas. “Upscale guests are more eager to search across the market for more choice and a better deal, which plays to the OTA’s strengths.”
The hotel sector has been promoting its direct booking schemes, supported by expanded loyalty programs, to pull customers away from the OTAs. The survey found that 60% guests favored direct booking, with 20% of summer travelers preferring OTAs. Guests visited the OTAs for property comparison, one-stop or bundle shopping while hotel websites were used when spending reward points.
However, neither OTAs nor hotel groups successfully sold the guest on their benefits over the other, with customers on both booking platforms believing they were getting the best room and close to both (46% to 42%) believing they were getting the best rate.
Mid-market hotels recorded the least brand loyalty. Across hotel segments, nearly half of the season’s guests were planning to stay at a mid-market hotel, while about a third were looking to book a stay at an upscale hotel.
As per the study, guests have resumed traditional usage of hotel facilities, after room service or other food and beverage options were forced to close to COVID-19 preventive norms. Guests were keen to use the hotel restaurant for breakfast, especially Baby Boomers, while on-property services like room service and spa treatments were preferred by younger guests.