Amsterdam Hospitality Adds New Twist To Rate Guarantee

NEW YORK— Amsterdam Hospitality Group, which consists of a collection of five hotels in Manhattan, launched a new Rate Guarantee Campaign this week with a unique twist. The program essentially allows each guest to set a “guaranteed rate” for an entire year at its Amsterdam hotels by staying at any property three different times within one month. The averaged rate of the three stays will become the “exclusive rate” for that guest for the rest of the year. “We wanted to offer guests, especially our frequent guests, the best value we could. This program allows us to do that,” said George Dfouni, COO, Amsterdam Hospitality Group of the unique loyalty program. Dfouni said the campaign is aimed to increase guest loyalty to its hotels and ensure rate integrity. In addition, it is designed to bring guests directly to the group’s website, www.nychotels.com, as guests must register there. With a button for the program placed on the website just two days ago, already 76 reservations have been generated, said the Amsterdam executive. “It has certainly helped motivate people to make future reservations, especially our repeat guests who know they will qualify for the three stays in one month,” Dfouni said. He noted that many of his hotels have a high percent of repeat business customers who come to New York City often. But since Amsterdam put the promotion on its website, there has been somewhat of a buzz amongst third party online distributors, said Dfouni. “Those websites are scratching their heads, wondering where they fit in, how come they can’t offer this low rate consistently to the guests. But this is meant to help us establish direct contact with our guests,” he said. In January the company started a frequent guest club of its own similar to Wyndham’s By Request, said Dfouni. Called Amsterdam Hospitality Club, it offers guests special touches such as giving the same room type each time they visit. In less than 2 months, 10,000 members signed up, demonstrating the desire among Amsterdam guests to be part of such a program. “The guarantee takes it one step further,” the Amsterdam executive said. The group already benefits from strong online business. Recently it has been particularly strong, with online reservations stacking up nearly four times better this year than last year. About 35% of Amsterdam hotels’ reservations are made online, Dfouni said While some guests may try to book stays at the lowest rate possible so their average “guaranteed” rate is low— which may initially drive them to book at a third party— it will eventually bring them to back to Amsterdam for the set rate. “We are taking a long term outlook with this,” said Dfouni, who also noted that Amsterdam would match any rate offered by third party distributors. “We may lose a few extra dollars initially, but it will be worth it in the long run with our loyal guests coming back all year.” Amsterdam Hospitality Group’s central reservations center is located at its Bentley Hotel. The collection also includes the Ameritania Hotel, The Marcel, the Amsterdam Court Hotel and The Moderne.