I recently took a Marriott Rewards survey which referred to the "Elite Experience". This got me thinking about what this really means, and more importantly what MRIs believe it should mean. Here are my thoughts on what I think this means today and what I would like this to mean. Perhaps more importantly, I would be interested hear what everyone else thinks to get some ideas going- there are no right or wrong answers:
Today:
- Recognition of membership i.e. Call centre and hotel staff acknowledge membership tier
- Access to exec lounge (this is one of the key benefits for me)
- Welcome gifts
- Upgrades as available
- Early/Late Ceck-In etc. (all the standard stuff)
Future:
- Personalised offers: Based on travel history and disclosed travel prefences (the offers I receive appear fairly generic to me)
- Greater recognition of travel preferences e.g. I don't mind an exec room for business as don't require a suite but like a suite for leisure travel.
- Flexibility in terms of rewards redemption e.g. Ability to use points for water sports, massages, meals, drinks etc.
- Surprises: Marriott holds a lot of information about loyal guests which should make it fairly easy to anticipate their needs e.g. A pair of theatre tickets may be more emotive than a cheap bottle of plonk in teh room
- Exclusive offers: When Marriott opens new properties or restaurants or completes a refurbishment, it would be nice to have priority in booking this. Whilst this period is often when the wrinkles are being ironed out, MRIs are well placed to provide honest constructive feedback whilst continuing to be loyal to the brand.
So, those are my quick thoughts. Any other ideas?