Discounted rates and free airport transfers are among a suite of perks available to members of a new loyalty program launched today by The Ascott Limited on its portfolio of over 100,000 serviced residences around the world.
The program – named Ascott Star Rewards – comes at a time of total reinvention of the company’s digital back-end systems, which will also include a revamped website, new revenue management system and conversion of its property management systems to a cloud-based platform.
Four membership tiers make up the new program – Classic, Silver, Gold and Platinum – with promotions to the upper three categories reviewed on an annual basis from the date at which a predetermined minimum spend is achieved.
All members receive year-round 10 per cent off Best Flexible Rates as well as access to seasonal offers, opening offers on new properties, birthday discounts of up to 25 per cent and free in-room WiFi. Discounts are ratcheted up to 30 and 40 per cent for Gold and Platinum members respectively during birthday months as well as gaining access to early check-in and late check-out. Platinum members exclusively receive perks such as free room upgrades subject to availability and free breakfast at participating properties.
Ascott’s redesigned website offers members of Star Rewards access to a member dashboard where they can see their points balance including expiry dates and redeem for free stays and other rewards. There is no cap on points earned, no minimum points required for redemption and no blackout dates, while additional guests can earn points towards a central account, such as a corporate account.
Existing members of Ascott Online Advantage will be automatically migrated over to the new Star Rewards program and will be placed into a tier commensurate with spending levels in 2018, with a further 5,000 point bonus gifted on completion of their first stay in 2019.
Ascott Head of Global Operations, Alfred Ong, said the new program was a world-first loyalty program designed for the serviced residence market.
“We are rolling out Ascott Star Rewards to drive more direct bookings on our websites and reduce our cost of sales.
“Within the first 10 days of soft launching this new loyalty programme, the number of room nights booked on our websites by members has tripled and online revenue through our websites has grown by 50%.
“Ascott Star Rewards will provide us with a systematic examination of our guest data to identify, attract and retain the most profitable customers while cultivating and signing on new customers in new markets,” Ong said.