Dubai: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is not pressured by the growth in loyalty programmes offered by online travel agents (OTAs), according to a top company executive.
Starwood provides its guests experiences that are not offered through OTAs, Daniel Kerzner, its vice president of digital, loyalty and partnership marketing, said in an interview on Tuesday. The hotel chain’s Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty programme allows travellers to redeem for stays without blackout dates, starting at 2,000 Starpoints, and get VIP access through Starpoints to sporting events and concerts, among other benefits, according to the company website.
“Loyalty beyond reason is built [on] one interaction at a time. Only we can provide our guests with those interactions, with that elevated experience that they can have on property, which gets them coming to book directly with Starwood in the future so that they can have those experiences on property that they couldn’t otherwise have through an OTA,” Kerzner said.
He added that OTAs help Starwood ensure guests stay at the company’s hotels, rather than at its competitors’ properties.
“Our OTAs are strong partners when it comes to a transaction or to a guest who is looking to a book a hotel in a city where they may not be familiar with the hotel. We work very closely with our OTA partners to ensure the guest is choosing us over the competition. We want the guest to come and stay with us,” he said.
OTAs, such as Expedia and Priceline, have entered the loyalty space in the last few years “to retain customers, encourage repeat bookings and maintain market share”, according to Rashid Aboobacker, associate director at TRI Consulting.
Expedia, for instance, launched in May this year Expedia+ business, a loyalty programme that aims to help small businesses in the United States save money and reward employees for business travel. Companies can get a $100 (Dh367) hotel coupon for every 10 hotel nights booked through the programme, including those booked via the Expedia app.
Focusing on technology
Starwood has been focusing on using technology to enhance guests’ experiences in the last few years. It has invested $500 million over the last five years in “technology and personalisation”, according to Kerzner.
The company started rolling out its mobile keyless room entry system, dubbed SPG Keyless, in its Aloft, Element and W hotels last year, allowing guests to use their smartphones as a key. The W Doha was the first Starwood property in the Middle East to support the system, followed by the Aloft Abu Dhabi this year. Kerzner said that guests staying in any of W, Element and Aloft hotels that are scheduled to open in the region in the next few years, will be able to use the service.
SPG Keyless works through the SPG app, which is available for iOS and Android smartphones, as well as the Apple Watch.
