Points-based frequent guest programme allows
independent hotels to compete with mega brands
Great Hotels Organisation, (GHO: http://www.ghorg.com), a sales and marketing alliance for mid range to luxury hotels, has announced the launch of Great Hotels Rewards (http://www.greathotelsrewards.com), a new hotel loyalty programme developed for frequent guests of the member hotels of Great Hotels of the World and Special Hotels of the World.
Great Hotels Rewards is part of the VOILÀ Hotel Rewards network (www.voilahotels.com) operated by Hospitality Marketing Concepts (HMC) and is the only points-based, frequent guest programme that unites independent mid-range to luxury hotels and resorts around the world under one global value, rewards and recognition programme.
VOILÀ Hotel Rewards, which has experienced strong growth since its launch in June 2008, allows hotels to co-brand their programmes under the VOILÀ umbrella so consumers can earn points and redeem rewards such as complimentary nights or room upgrades at its network of nearly 200 premier properties worldwide.
The programme will bring small chain and individual hotels all the benefits and exposure of a major rewards programme while allowing them to maintain their unique identity. Great Hotels Rewards can help hotels to increase both ADR and occupancy with little or no spend required. By joining Great Hotels Rewards, hotels will be able to compete with the major brands, create loyal guests, boost incremental business and enlarge their consumer database.
“VOILÀ Hotel Rewards is a product that levels the playing field for independent hotels in a world market dominated by mega brands,” said Peter Gould, chief executive officer of Great Hotels Organisation. “We believe a frequent guest programme to be an important part of our group’s marketing strategy. The ability to co-brand the programme as Great Hotels Rewards gives us the opportunity to build brand awareness, while VOILÀ takes away the challenges we would face operating a programme of this magnitude on our own. VOILÀ has our endorsement and we highly recommend it to all member properties in our portfolio.”
“VOILÀ’s mission is to provide four- & five-star independent hotels with a global loyalty solution that allows them to compete effectively and profitably.” said Gabi Kool, VOILÀ’s senior vice president and managing director. “We are certain corporate travelers are looking for alternatives to the standard global mega-brands. By linking a large number of leading independent hotel groups through the VOILÀ network via Great Hotels Rewards, members can stay in independent hotels while earning reward points. We couldn’t be more excited to expand the VOILÀ network by partnering with Great Hotels Organisation in the launch of Great Hotels Rewards.”
Enrollment in the Great Hotels Rewards programme is free to consumers and allows members to earn valuable points for their stays that can later be redeemed for complimentary room nights or room upgrades. Members are also eligible for a range of personalized benefits based upon their customer profiles such as exclusive member-only offers, priority check-in and welcome amenities.
For further information on Great Hotels Rewards please contact Carly Gotz on 44 (0) 20 7383 2335 or cgotz@ghorg.com.
For media enquiries please contact:
Brooke Jester
Marketing and PR Executive
Great Hotels Organisation
bjester@ghorg.com
44 (0) 20 7380 8561
About VOILÀ Hotel Rewards
VOILÀ is the world’s first and only points-based, guest loyalty programme built specifically for a global alliance of independent hotels and small groups. VOILÀ is operated by Hospitality Marketing Concepts (HMC), a global company with offices in more than 50 countries in North America, Central/South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. VOILÀ has a portfolio of over 170 hotels, including Husa Hotels, Coral Hotels & Resorts, Hoteles Lucerna, Continental Hotels Group and Great Hotels Organisation.
For additional information, visit the company’s website at www.voilahotels.com or contact Peter Gorla, vice president of marketing at 1 (949) 260-9538 or via email at peter@vhr.com.
About Great Hotels Organisation
Great Hotels Organisation (GHO) is part of Big Worldwide, a global, privately owned travel, technology and media company headquartered in London. Great Hotels Organisation’s family of brands include Great Hotels of the World (http://www.ghotw.com), Special Hotels of the World (http://www.shotw.com), Metro Hotels and G-rez (http://www.g-rez.com). GHO provides a range of products, services and innovative technology solutions for over 1,500 hotels worldwide including trade shows, e-marketing, business travel consortia sales, meeting and incentive sales, public relations, Meeting Forums and a private label GDS chain code (GW). G-rez provides bespoke solutions to hotels with the technology to manage GDS, ADS (internet), website and voice reservations easily, as well as a booking engine for a hotel’s own website, G-wiz (http://www.g-rez.com/g-wiz.htm).
Membership of GHO is by invitation only and hotels must meet strict criteria before being accepted. By acknowledging that each hotel has a different set of marketing requirements, GHO allows its member hotels to choose from a comprehensive collection of sales and marketing initiatives in order to build their own ‘à la carte’ membership programme tailored to meet their individual objectives. By doing this, members are able to choose and purchase only the services they require, thus ensuring that membership fees are focused on their specific requirements.
Further information on Great Hotels Organisation can be found at http://www.ghorg.com.