IRVING, TX—La Quinta Holdings Inc. has a new, integrated marketing campaign to support the launch of enhancements to its award-winning loyalty program, La Quinta Returns, including the debut of its “Winning @ Business” television and digital campaign.
The new program gives members more freedom when redeeming points, more convenience while on the go, more ways to earn points and more recognition during each stay at La Quinta Inns & Suites, according to the company.
“We are launching these innovative changes to our loyalty program to build on the company’s third strategic priority—to drive engagement with our brand by investing in points of differentiation and to attract new guests to La Quinta,” said Keith Cline, president and CEO at La Quinta. “With Redeem Away! and Instant Free Nights, two new benefits, we are encouraging our members to engage with the brand while on the go. The enhanced La Quinta Returns program has a wider range of benefits that appeal to all types of travelers.”
The new advertising campaign is built on the premise that in the world of business, staying at La Quinta helps prepare the traveler for a successful trip and they get more value out of their stay with new ways to instantly redeem loyalty points. La Quinta worked with its long-time agency partner, DDB-Chicago, to create a new advertising and media campaign to support the launch, which includes humorous TV ads, radio spots, and sharable campaign extensions across social, email and digital platforms.
“We know that La Quinta Returns members who engage with our loyalty program—making a redemption with their points—have a higher propensity to come back and stay with us again. They are also more satisfied with the brand experience and are a better advocate for the brand,” said Julie Cary, chief marketing officer at La Quinta. “This evolution of our campaign and our loyalty program builds on our advertising equity and further enhances La Quinta’s image as a hotel for the business traveler. Using humor to breakthrough, this witty campaign also appeals to the leisure traveler. What’s particularly exciting is that the brand can literally be part of our guests everyday life with the ability to instantly redeem points with our Redeem Away! feature.”
The La Quinta program, including its mobile platform and innovative Returns app, have been redesigned and improved to include Redeem Away!, which allows members to redeem points on the go for everyday purchases like restaurant meals, groceries and online bookstores; Instant Free Nights, which allows members to use a mobile phone to redeem for a free night at check-in; the ability to use points plus cash for luxury stays at 20,000-plus hotels and resorts worldwide; the ability to earn extra points for sharing by linking their social media accounts to La Quinta Returns; mobile checkout; Every Night Counts, which enables members to earn credit toward Gold and Elite levels even if a room rate doesn’t qualify for points; Every Stay Counts, in which members can qualify for tier status by the number of nights and number of stays; and a tier upgrade bonus for members who qualify for Gold or Elite level to earn bonus points on top of new benefits.
Under the new program, La Quinta Returns members will continue to earn points at the rate of 10 points for every dollar spent on eligible room rates at La Quinta hotels. Gold members receive a 20% bonus on all base points earned and Elite members receive a 30% bonus on all base points earned.