Scandic Hotels, a prominent Nordic hotel company with around 260 hotels across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, and Poland, prides itself on its unique approach to guest loyalty. Their program, Scandic Friends, is designed to cater to a wide range of travelers, from those who stay once a year on vacation to seasoned business travelers who might spend hundreds of nights in hotels annually. After being revamped using Antavo’s technology, the Scandic Friends loyalty program shines, with 7 tiers and a focus on community building.
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The Story Behind Scandic Friends
The core philosophy behind Scandic Friends is to create a sense of belonging and familiarity. Unlike many other hotel loyalty programs that focus solely on the number of nights stayed, Scandic Friends emphasizes engagement from the very beginning. The program boasts seven levels – a truly unique sight to behold not just in the hotel industry but in the loyalty market in general.
Each tier offers a variety of benefits tailored to different types of guests. Casual travelers might appreciate perks like a kids’ mocktail upon check-in, while experienced travelers can take advantage of conveniences such as early check-in, late check-out, and room upgrades.
Overall, the program’s success lies in its ability to create a sense of community. Frequent guests often form friendships with each other and with the hotel staff. Stories of staff going the extra mile to celebrate a guest’s retirement or a guest using points to book a month-long stay while renovating their home highlight the personal connections fostered by the program.
We wanted our loyalty program to feel like coming home to a friend. It should be a bit like a home away from home. Therefore Scandic Friends needed to have a personal touch to make both frequent and infrequent stays feel unique.
The Scandic Friends Loyalty Program in a Nutshell
One of Scandic Friends’ key differentiators is its accessibility. Members start earning benefits after just two nights, unlike other programs that require significantly more stays to see any rewards. This approach ensures that even infrequent guests feel valued and appreciated. Furthermore, members can earn points not only through hotel stays but also through purchases in the bar or restaurant or by buying items from the points shop.
The loyalty program’s points shop offers a diverse range of items, from sunglasses and candle holders to gift cards, allowing members to redeem their points even if they don’t have immediate plans to stay at a Scandic hotel. Additionally, partnerships with companies like Tui, the travel company, enable members to earn points on other travel bookings, further enhancing the program’s value.
The Scandic Friends app plays a crucial role in enhancing the member experience. Through the app, members can easily manage their accounts, track their points, view their benefits, and book stays. The app pre-fills personal information, making the booking process seamless. Members also receive exclusive member rates and can manage any special requests, such as allergy-friendly rooms or late arrivals.
Lastly, Scandic Friends values long-term relationships by offering lifetime benefits to members who maintain a certain level for ten years or more. These members are often surprised with special treats upon check-in, such as upgraded rooms, restaurant vouchers, or cakes. Such gestures aim to acknowledge and appreciate the loyalty of these long-term guests.
Antavo’s Technology Behind the Scandic Friends Loyalty Program
Scandic’s loyalty program has been revamped with the help of Antavo, making full use of the latter’s best-in-class loyalty technology – with a large emphasis on the Rewards, Workflow, and Tiers modules.
Here are some of the highlights of what was achieved with our help:
- Launching to a large audience of 3 million guests.
- Satisfying complex requirements for the migration, such as bringing over transactional events from 3 years ago.
- Placing existing guests across 7 tiers.
- Tier expirations are tied to the guest’s anniversary and expirations are calculated based on complex rules.
- Antavo’s platform even allowed creative limitations. For example, members cannot earn points over a certain threshold through restaurant spending.
My favorite feature in Antavo is how they handle tiers and points. Previously, we felt restricted in this regard. Antavo offers creative freedom when it comes to managing every aspect of our program, like how we execute tier expiration. Also, the connection with Antavo has been really great, and we received all the help and support we needed.
Conclusion
In essence, Scandic Friends is more than just a loyalty program; it’s about creating a welcoming and personalized experience that makes guests feel like they are part of the Scandic family—and we at Antavo are happy to contribute to this journey through our technology.
Are you interested in revamping your loyalty program, too? Get in touch with our experts by booking a demo to see our platform’s capabilities or sending us an RFP.
And don’t forget to download our playbook on replatforming!
