PARIS—Le Club Accorhotels, the hotel loyalty program from Accor Hotels that has 18 million members worldwide, has expanded its benefits in an attempt to address the changing needs and wants of guests.
“As travel-business industry loyalty programs have existed for years, nowadays, the transactional benefits [accrual and redemption of points]are a given, and must address members’ requirements, especially in terms of the ability to redeem points. We are noticing that loyalty program members are becoming less accepting of restrictions/regulations that are set forth by hoteliers or airlines at the moment of redemption, which is a critical moment in terms of obtaining their benefits,” explained Isabelle Birem, SVP of loyalty – Le Club Accorhotels. “We’ve also noticed that customers’ expectations have shifted toward recognition during the stay, which we provide through a wide range of benefits, from online check-in and fast checkout to room upgrades, lounge access or guaranteed availability up to 48 hours prior the stay, which are reserved for our most frequent guests—holders of a Le Club Accorhotels Platinum card.”
Enhancements to the program include the ability to access information on benefits from program partners that accept points—airline, car rental, railway, food, shopping, leisure and social responsibility partners—on a new partner page on the brand’s website. Birem noted that Accor consistently adds to its partner program. “We have just recently launched a huge partnership in Brazil with Smiles, the program of Gol Airlines, which is the second Brazilian airline. This is an important improvement for our Brazilian members and the members of Smiles, who will be able to redeem their points at our hotels worldwide,” she said. “Also, this year, we will implement our loyalty partnership with Huazhu [China Lodging], a major hotel chain in China which signed in December 2014 an overall strategic partnership with Accor group.” More than 30 new partners are in the process of joining the program this year.
In addition, members can earn bonus points by collecting badges during hotel stays using the Places by Le Club Accorhotels Facebook application; receive priority advance booking access to Accor’s twice-annual Super Sales with discounts of up to 40% off in April and November; and will be offered unique moments and events exclusive to VIP members of Le Club Accorhotels. In 2014, the program offered events such as intimate gatherings with tennis pro Serena Williams, and the newest offering will be linked to the partnership with Roland-Garros, aka the French Open tennis tournament, with which Accor recently partnered.
Loyalty program members will also be able to convert points into donations to Solidarity Accor, Accor’s humanitarian and emergency fund. The organization supports socially responsible actions initiated by Accor employees and its partners in countries where the group is present. “For the loyalty program team, it was obvious to support Solidarity Accor, by enabling our members to donate their points—not only because we are backing Accor’s CSR policy, but because we will also be able to keep our members informed of how their points are being used, via the funding of different associations all around the world, supported by our local organizations and staff,” said Birem.
“It is key to keep on improving the program constantly, because members’ expectations change and evolve with time,” Birem said. “We improve our program constantly, basing ourselves on member feedback that we collect through our customer care departments [across 15 languages], as well as the feedback we get from our staff members in the hotels, communities and blogs.”
—Nicole Carlino