Loyalty programs have been given new recognition in recent years for several reasons. First, because customer loyalty programs have a variety of benefits for business, but also because they have become an expected part of the consumer experience.

A customer loyalty program encourages your guests to be loyal by offering incentives for guests to do repeat business with you. There are many different types of customer loyalty programs, and there's no set boundary on what a customer loyalty program can be.

Examples

• rewarding guests with free or discounted products or services once they've purchased a certain amount from you
• sending out discount codes or coupons to your existing guests to entice them to do business with you again
• running competitions where guests can increase their chances of winning by renting more from you
• providing guests with added incentives whenever they rent with you (e.g. pledging to donate money to a charity for every booking)
• rewarding guests when they bring new guests to your place.

In order to increase loyalty program ROI and overall consumer retention, people have taken to expanding their loyalty rewards to incorporate social and behavioral actions, such as referral rewards and points for user-generated content, while also attempting to provide their guests with a more personalized experience.

Benefits

Increase revenue: Increasing customer retention helps boost profits simply because loyal guests already have trust in your brand and therefore are likely to spend more.

Save money: While creating and implementing a loyalty program is an investment, customer retention strategies are often less expensive than attracting new customers. Acquiring new guests can be 25% more expensive than retaining current customers.

Gather valuable data: Most modern consumers prefer a personalized experience, with more than half of Generation K and Millennials reporting personalization as a high priority.  By encouraging your guests to fill out profiles as part of your loyalty program, you can get the data so you can not only personalize customer experience, but to also create targeted marketing campaigns, increase your bond with customers, and even implement your referral program.

Better communication: Loyalty programs give you a direct way to communicate to guests. In addition, you can utilize your loyalty program to promote sales, special events, and showcase new products.

Attract new customers: A good rewards program can attract new guests in several ways. First, if you offer points or discounts for signup, you will automatically be able to add new guests to your mailing list simply because guests want to take advantage of discounts.

By creating a comprehensive loyalty program that allows for modern marketing techniques, you can turn your guests into advocates for your brand. Since modern consumers trust peers over advertising, fostering loyal guests who will then speak out on your behalf is simply a smart business move.

Putting a guest loyalty program in place can be as simple as stamping a loyalty card every time a purchase is made. It's up to you to decide what type of loyalty program is best suited to your business and your customer base.

The AirRentalz loyalty program has something for both hosts and guests. For Host’s, we will waive our booking fee when an AirRentalz host books another property listed on AirRentalz. For guests, we will reduce the booking service fee to 4% for every 4^th booking made.

Are you a host and want to run your own loyalty program? Let us know and we can offer you assistance with establishing your own personalized loyalty program.