When you think back to some of the first major loyalty programs, hotels, and airlines immediately come to mind. And if you keep track of customer retention trends today, you’ve more than likely heard of the Marriott hotel loyalty program. Marriott International has a portfolio of 30+ brands, ranging from long-stay to luxury, and approximately 9,000 properties worldwide.
Many travelers and customers have written about Marriott Bonvoy and its predecessors (Marriott Rewards and SPG), but it’s worth taking a look at the program from the perspective of loyalty best practices.
Feeling inspired by our review? Check out our handy Rewards Planning Worksheet to help you brainstorm your next best-in-class rewards.
Table of Contents
Membership Page
Let’s start at the foundation. The membership page is the area where new members can join and current members – after signing in – can get an overview of the program, their point balance, rewards, and other essential information. Marriott Bonvoy is a fairly complex hotel loyalty program, so it’s refreshing to see the benefits belonging to each of the six tiers laid out in a clear and user-friendly format.
This way, potential members get a comprehensive overview of the most important perks – such as member rates and mobile services – even before joining. Additionally, site visitors are also immediately informed about the point-earning mechanism (more on that in our Point Accrual segment), how they can spend their points, and the available credit card options.
Why it works:
- Marriott’s membership page focuses on the benefits and options you have as a member, immediately motivating guests to join, so they can enjoy these perks.
- Instead of overloading the membership page full of long info segments, they built a navigational structure, where member benefits take center stage, with options to navigate to earning and reward redemption.
Enrollment and Account Features
Customers can sign up using the mobile app or website by entering their name, country, postal code, and email address. You also have the option to opt-in to promotional emails and third-party communication. Marriott asks for relatively little information to initiate the enrollment, which makes the registration smooth and straightforward.
After registering, new members are immediately notified via email and are able to access their account dashboard. Here they get an overview of benefits, points, and previous activities, plus they are able to book upcoming holidays, add information to their profile, and save their favorite destinations.
Program Structure and Choosing Your Own Rewards
Guests start out with “Member” status and then can move up through five distinct Elite tiers, based on how many nights per year they stay at eligible Marriott properties (qualifying nights). The only exception is the highest level, the Ambassador Elite tier, where members are required to amass a certain number of qualifying nights and at least $23,000 USD in annual qualifying spend.
The amount of points and night credit guests can earn per $1 USD varies based on properties and tier levels. Besides eligible room rates, members can also earn points with qualifying spend on dining, using specific credit cards, or through participating partner offers. As they move to higher tiers, the percentage of bonus points they earn for transactions automatically increases, as does the exclusivity of their benefits.
Among the Elite tiers, guests are eligible for various benefits depending on their ranking:
- A reservation guarantee,
- Complimentary night credits,
- Elite support,
- Lounge access,
- Welcome gifts,
- Annual choice benefits, and so on.
Point Accrual
Members earn points not only for hotel stays but for various other activities and actions as well, such as:
- Hosting events (both business and personal),
- Eating out (with more than 20,000+ US restaurants),
- Going on private sightseeing tours,
- Booking transfers,
- Taking part in the Cruise with Points program,
- Using co-branded credit cards, and more.
As far as earning for stays, the number of points members earn will vary depending on which property they stay at (some are higher values than others), so the calculations are complicated, but it’s still very clear: the more you buy, the more you earn. Another central—and highly promoted—part of the loyalty program is the credit card. If you sign up for a credit card, you can earn points based on how much money you spend with it.
Finally, similar to many airline and travel loyalty programs, customers can simply buy more points (100,000 points) if they have their sights set on a particular reward that’s out of reach.
Transactional & Non-transactional Activities
Bonvoy is very much a transaction-focused program, like travel (whether for business or leisure) requires a lot of spending. The great thing here is that Marriott Bonvoy provides point-earning opportunities for the entire “travel lifecycle”. There are also bonus campaigns to help highlight particular properties and boost sales during periods of lower demand.
There are no non-transactional activities to speak of. While that works for some brands, it’s considered best practice to include additional ways to earn points, to keep customers engaged between purchases. Even the welcome bonus is limited to new credit card users. Marriott could consider rewarding customers for doing other things they love besides reaching into their pocket for a credit card, but their program is so extensive, engaging, and highly monetized, that they’re doing just fine without it.
Why it works:
- Marriott has made intelligent decisions in partnerships, always staying brand-relevant.
- Loyal customers can easily book services through the loyalty program membership site or app and keep earning loyalty benefits automatically.
- Each partnership is well aligned with the core business: Travel, Business, and Leisure.
Marriott Hotel Loyalty Program Rewards
If you like the idea of experiential rewards (and we think you should, because they’re super effective), Marriott Bonvoy truly sets the standard. In the past few years, Marriott Bonvoy Moments has been refreshed and reopened.
Moments is essentially a catalog of experiential rewards hosted on a dedicated web page. Some rewards are offered at fixed-price points, and others are available for auction. Many of the rewards come through partnerships. Ranging from concerts to professional development, Moments are marketed as exclusive “money-can’t-buy” experiences, positioning these rewards as both memorable and aspirational.
Moments rewards are separated into four categories:
- Culinary
- Entertainment
- Arts & Lifestyle
- Sports
Dividing a rewards catalog into simple categories is a great way to help your customers find what they’re interested in, faster. The rewards range from exclusive sporting events to concerts to meet-and-greets.
Some Moments are available at a fixed point price, while others are made available by auction. This is a great gamification element, which adds a little bit of excitement to the process of sending points. If you make the right bid, the reward not only feels like a reward, it feels like a win.
Additional Rewards
Of course, there is a selection of everyday rewards, too. You can, for example, spend your points on free nights at a hotel or a room upgrade. Or, if you don’t feel like spending the night, use your points to buy a gift card and go shopping, ta
ke yourself out for a nice meal, or spend it all on services and subscriptions like Uber or Starbucks. There’s something for everyone here.
Lastly, if you don’t need the points or don’t want any of the available rewards you can share your points with a friend, transfer, and exchange them with commercial partners. They can also donate them to a good cause, which appeals to their less reward-motivated customers, or those who would prefer to use their assets to help others.
Why it works:
- Marriott has a diverse variety of rewards, ensuring that every member will find something relevant.
- Moments seize the spotlight with its entertaining offering of experiences, offering additional excitement with some auction-based rewards.
- By making charitable contributions possible through the program, they’re able to connect with customers based on personal values, which is particularly effective.
The Benefits
While in most loyalty programs rewards are the greatest driver for members, in a best-in-class loyalty program, the perks you get for being a member can play an even greater role in building loyalty.
By focusing on the in-hotel experience, with things like free enhanced room upgrades for Titanium Elite members or Lounge Access, Marriott is making each hotel stay even more special, and reinforcing the brand love among its members. Even if you already know you’re in a high tier and will get a welcome gift, that gift will still make you feel special. Every little feel-good moment counts.
Why it works:
- By making so many loyalty program benefits about an improved guest experience, they’re giving customers the opportunity to enjoy their stays more, which builds a deeper brand connection.
- Marriott knows that gifts don’t always have to be a surprise to be memorable. Giving customers a choice makes it more likely that the gift will be well received.
Loyalty App
The app is promoted in the loyalty program, but it is not emphasized as heavily as the Marriott credit cards. Because the app offers a lot of extra convenient digital services that aren’t otherwise available, it would be a smart move on Marriott’s part to promote it even more. When you aren’t staying at a hotel, the app feels more like a booking app than a loyalty app.
The truly impressive services come in when you begin your stay at one of the Marriott properties. You can see the app is really built for convenience, thanks to features like mobile check-in, mobile key card, a chat feature to connect with the hotel you’re in, get a replacement toothbrush and set your wake-up call from the app, or request amenities like an additional housekeeping visit.
App Features
The app is also smartly designed for upselling opportunities and encouraging new purchases:
- Book your next stay in the app,
- Order food to your room, the lobby, or other locations on the property,
- Track your hotel shuttle.
You can also use the app as a digital loyalty card. It features your membership number and QR code for identification, which makes for easy identification on-site at hotels.
Final Judgment
This is a very sophisticated program focused on benefits and rewards that cater to almost any type of customer. Without a doubt, the Bonvoy program has truly earned its stellar reputation as one of the best hotel rewards programs.
Point calculations can be complicated for those who really want to understand every single point and bonus, but Marriott has made the overall experience super convenient for guests, who just want to earn and enjoy the benefits without delving into every detail.
The app is a definite highlight in terms of tying loyalty in with practicality, thanks to in-app booking, mobile check-in, and the ability to order on-site services online or in the app. Long gone are the days of carrying around paper booking confirmations and plastic loyalty cards! And aside from a few minor technical hiccups during in-app sign-up, Marriott is right on track.
Already have a loyalty concept, or still searching for ideas? Why not check out more of our brand reviews? We have an already extensive list of brand reviews, plus lots of exciting customer success stories for you to browse.
Our experts are more than happy to discuss how Antavo’s technology can help your business, so feel free to include us in your RFP or contact us directly.
Also, here’s a handy Rewards Planning Worksheet about reward planning, because you can never start it too early!
Jess is a Loyalty Program Analyst and a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional - CLMP, helping companies learn more about customer retention strategies, so they can launch successful loyalty programs. She has been writing about loyalty since 2016. Jess also enjoys ballet, travel, learning languages, and carrying out secret missions for loyalty intel.
