Trends Loyalty skyrockets when guests start streaks, but how should that influence your strategy?

Every Tuesday for nearly five years, we dug into the data and shared a unique resort marketing insight. We called it Tuesday Trends. But the focus was on the data, not the action. This post is part of a new series that picks up where those datasets left off. One-by-one, the Inntopia Strategic Team will resurface our favorites and simply ask, “Okay, now what?“

Traditions

We all want loyal customers. We all want those guests who come back year after year without fail. But a while back we wanted to quantify this idea and see what the return rate was for guests who had only come one year in a row versus those who had come 6 years in a row and every step in between. Here’s what we found.

The takeaway, once again, is very clear:

The more a streak builds, the more valuable it becomes. Even just getting someone to turn a one-off trip into a two-year tradition more than triples the likelihood they’ll come back the following year.

So, what should you do about it?

Now what?

Here’s what a few members of the Inntopia Strategic Team suggested.
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“Give them a thank you discount and free standing promo code that they can rebook next year. Send that to them right away then follow up again after six months and again on their anniversary date. Foster a booking habit to generate repeat customers. Build the streak now and future revenue will increase over time and with familiarity. Also, target these promotions especially toward people with a positive net promoter score who are already likely to rebook. Again, focus on nurturing the positive experience and creating the booking habit.”

Nick Haggerty
Strategic Account Manager

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“As Nick mentions above, well-placed, well-timed, automated follow-ups will help nurture this guest towards a repeat visit. Once a guest checks out, send an automated “Thank You” email with a bounceback offer, if you have one. Even if your lodging revenue management strategy does not involve discounts, letting a guest know the best time to book their next trip is a great way to solidify your new relationship. Then, if you don’t have one already, ensure you enable Booking Anniversary messaging. This trait is configured automatically for all Marketing Cloud clients and it’s so easy to setup a booking reminder using our Playbooks. Then segment these campaigns by using visitation profiles and leverage NPS scores to suppress any negative net promoters and follow up with them in a more personal way, either through a phone call or email from your GM.”

Lindsay Haller
Strategic Account Manager

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“In my book, acting on this can begin with simple choices of words. If you want people to not just ‘come back’ but ‘start a tradition’, say so! What’s been interesting to observe since originally posting this data is how few hotels and resorts actually use any sort of language that implies people are and should be turning this one visit into a tradition. From there, build that idea – people coming year after year without missing – into your brand through products and offers and signage and services. Plant the seed early and keep that thread going throughout each guest’s travel cycle.”

Gregg Blanchard
SVP Strategy

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Got a dataset you’d like our take on? Let us know.