Uncovering the relationship between revenue management and hotel loyalty programs

Lentz, Melissa; Berezan, Orie; Raab, Carola

This study investigates the underexplored relationship between revenue management and hotel loyalty programs. Results from a focus group and personal interviews with industry experts reveal that revenue management uses loyalty programs primarily as a tool to track and gather data on the customer, and revenue managers focus more on Average Daily Rate (ADR) than on total guest spend. Additionally, revenue managers are misinformed about the loyalty concept and confuse the connections between transactional, attitudinal, and true loyalty. Suggestions for future research include the investigation of the topic further by conducting a study using quantitative measures and analyses.