AccorHotels Rewards Loyalty Members for Their Opinions

If you’re a member of AccorHotels’ loyalty program, Le Club AccorHotels, you could earn points — just for telling them how you feel.

Thanks to a partnership between the hotel company and SSI, a Shelton, Connecticut-based market research provider, you can do just that. Now, the more than 26 million members of Le Club Accor Hotels can earn points by taking surveys and sharing their thoughts as part of www.clubopinions.com. After submitting their responses, members directly receive points that can be used for hotel stays, air travel, car rentals, restaurants, and more, and those points are valid as long as they stay at a participating AccorHotels property at least once a year.

It’s a smart move on AccorHotels’ part because (1) it engages its loyalty members to participate and give feedback; (2) it allows all members, regardless of whether they are frequent travelers or not, to earn points without having to book a stay; and (3) it gives AccorHotels crucial feedback on how to improve the overall hotel experience for its guests.

“We are always looking to provide our members with new ways to earn points toward rewards,” Isabelle Birem, senior vice president of loyalty at AccorHotels said in a release. “And by working with SSI on Club Opinions, we will provide an important avenue for members to earn thousands of points by simply participating in studies and surveys.”

As noted by the authors of a recent PwC Consumer Intelligence Series report, “What’s Driving Customer Loyalty for Today’s Hotel Brands?,” hotel companies need to find ways to “drive engagement across all consumer segments, while simultaneously targeting the most profitable demographic.” Although that demographic generally consists of business travelers, it’s important for hotels to understand that “brands that drive the greatest engagement will likely accrue the highest revenue gains.” The more engaged all of your loyalty members are, the more profits you’ll see.

Club Opinions doesn’t just keep customers engaged. It also provides crucial information that AccorHotels can use, said Jared Schiers, global vice president of access, supply, and engagement for SSI.

“All loyalty programs have a lot of observed data, like when you checked in or out, what you bought, etc.,” said Schiers. “They have all this observed data, but they can’t ask you why. But when these programs partners with someone like SSI, they ask customers those questions. They can ask why and it helps them understand the data more clearly. It’s the difference between ‘what’ and ‘why.’”

Schiers said that the types of questionnaires delivered to members who sign up on the Club Opinions site will vary from multiple choice to more complex surveys, and that the content and research will be both varied and targeted. He also said members can control how many times they receive survey prompts, and that they ultimately can decide if and when they want to participate and give their feedback.

AccorHotels is the first hotel company to partner with SSI, but the firm already provides similar services for loyalty members who are a part of the programs run by Amtrak, Air France, KLM, and Spirit Airlines.

“We’re creating opportunities for a member of those loyalty programs to earn points without having to buy something,” Schiers said. “They’re also getting the opportunity to shape the world — those products and services they’re using — around them.”

Those opinions will also be used to SSI to supplement SSI B2B inSSItes, its global market research solution that looks specifically at business professionals.

For now, loyalty members based in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, and the United States have access to Club Opinions, and five more countries will be added to the program over the next few months.