REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Feb. 14,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Oracle (NYSE:
ORCL) announced the findings of two research initiatives aimed
at identifying the consumer drivers for loyalty in the food and
beverage and hotel industries and the impact of technology in
curating a unique hotel guest experience. Insights from both
studies highlight a global demand for loyalty programs in the
hospitality industry and the critical role of technology to inspire
hotel staff to create memorable guest experiences.
Identifying Consumer Drivers for Loyalty
Loyalty programs are a critical driver of repeat business for
both the food and beverage and hotel industries with their ability
to identify consumer habits, demographics and personalization
opportunities. With these insights the hospitality industry can
more effectively create frictionless experiences that encourage
repeat engagement. To better understand what makes loyalty programs
most effective Oracle Hospitality recently conducted a survey of
6,500 global food and beverage consumers and 8,000 hotel travelers
represented by the U.S., Brazil,
Mexico, Australia, U.K., Germany, France and Japan.
Recipe for Engagement: Essential Ingredients for a Restaurant
Loyalty Program
Key insights from the research for the food and beverage
industry include:
- Consumers around the world want to join loyalty programs. In
the U.S., 65 percent of consumers are already members of one or
more food and beverage programs. Even in Japan, where the lowest percentage of
consumers were already members of a program from our survey, nearly
one-third belonged to a loyalty program.
- Plastic loyalty cards remain the preferred loyalty tool with
mobile applications gaining popularity. At 62 percent overall,
plastic swipe cards were the most preferred method across all
generations. At a 56 percent preference, Millennials wanted to use
apps for loyalty programs and 50 percent of Gen Xers also agreed
that apps are a preferable method.
- Perceived personal savings drive loyalty. Money off of every
purchase (71 percent) and free products (63 percent) were the top
two most attractive rewards to consumers.
"Loyalty programs provide restaurant operators with the
opportunity to reward guests for repeat business, to create a
marketing database for personalized promotions, and to guide the
strategy for future programs ensuring their relevancy," said
Mike Webster, senior vice president
and general manager, Oracle Hospitality and Oracle Retail. "Oracle
Hospitality has a differentiated offering that leverages
best-in-class, cloud POS with an integrated gift and loyalty
solution and cloud analytics suite that minimizes the creation of
disparate data silos which can create false perspectives of guest
engagement."
What Do Consumers Want from a Hotel Loyalty Program?
Key insights from the research for the hotel industry
include:
- Hoteliers still have a chance to create long-term
relationships. Among all survey participants, 58.7 percent reported
that they do not belong to a hotel loyalty program. A mere 3.2
percent stated that they belong to 5 or more.
- Loyalty initiatives are "sticky" and encourage repeat stays.
Globally a pattern of repeat business was evident among
respondents, ranging from 33.6 percent of Australians to 53.8
percent of Mexicans who said they often stay in hotels that offer
loyalty programs.
- Consumers want control over how they redeem rewards. Globally a
majority of consumers identified that they are interested in being
able to choose how they redeem their rewards (61 percent) and 57
percent are interested or very interested in being able to
customize their hotel guest experience (room choice, newspaper,
late check out, etc.).
Creating the Coveted Hotel Guest Experience
Oracle Hospitality also polled more than 2,700 travelers from
the U.S., U.K., France and
Germany to better understand
technology's impact on the hotel-guest experience and gain insight
into how technology investments can be a differentiator for winning
consumer business. The study also adds perspectives of hoteliers,
both chains and independents, to shed light on their technological
pursuits and gauge alignment with consumer expectations.
Key insights from the study highlight opportunities to engage
guests prior to and during their hotel stay:
- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. guests said it was "very or extremely
important" for hotels to continue investing in technology to
enhance the guest experience.
- Ninety-four percent of business travelers and 80 percent of
leisure travelers value the ability to use their smartphones to
request service and message hotel staff.
- Guests are comfortable sharing with hoteliers a fair amount of
personal information: 71 percent would share information about food
preferences/allergies and 64 percent would share their
entertainment preferences.
- Sixty-two percent of guests used non-hotel sources such as the
Internet for dinner reservations and activity recommendations,
bypassing the concierge from whom guests say they would prefer to
get such assistance.
The full findings of the report can be accessed here and point
to a critical opportunity for hoteliers. Once travelers arrive in
the lobby, their notion of a memorable experience can be shaped
entirely by the deeds and words of hotel staff which can be
informed and augmented by technology investments.
"Rather than worry that greater reliance on technology will
erode the human aspect of hospitality, hoteliers need to embrace it
for what it can be – an invaluable tool to better understand their
guests and orchestrate stays that they will long remember," said
Mike Webster, senior vice president
and general manager, Oracle Hospitality and Oracle Retail.
"Technology can address the industry's dual challenge of operating
efficiently at scale and simultaneously providing individualized
service."
Join Oracle Hospitality at Oracle Industry Connect
Oracle Hospitality will be presenting new product releases,
market insights and customer case studies at Oracle Industry
Connect in Orlando, FL from
March 20-22, 2017. For more
information on attendance please visit
http://www.oracleindustryconnect.com to register.
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SOURCE Oracle