Hyatt CEO random “surprises”
Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian says the group has changed its Gold Passport rewards scheme after a series of dinners with high spending groups to gain their opinion of the scheme.
Writing on the Hotel Check-In’s guest blog spot, Hoplamazian said: “Last year, we decided we were not doing a sufficient job listening to our best customers – our high ranking Hyatt Gold Passport guests. So, we started having dinners with groups of them around the US. We were trying to decipher what we could do better and where we were falling short. We also wanted to know what they liked about our loyalty program and would not want to see changed.
Hoplamazian said the mission of the company was to provide authentic hospitality – defined as making a difference in the lives of the people they touch including guests, employees and others.
“To do this, first you have to know who you are serving. Second, you have to know what they want. Finally, you have to deliver. So, our notion for Gold Passport is to transform it into a true loyalty program where we demonstrate our loyalty to our best customers – not the other way around,” he said.
Hoplamazian continued: “In just a couple weeks, the folks who run Gold Passport will be reaching out to surprise and delight Hyatt guests in a whole new way. We will be empowering hotel employees to perform what we’re calling random acts of generosity. So, don’t be surprised if Gold Passport picks up your bar tab, comps your massage or treats your family to breakfast. It’s part of bringing authentic hospitality to life and making you feel more than welcome.”
Hoplamazian stresses that there is simply no substitute for direct feedback from and real dialogue with customers. It can be as simple as having dinner, but increasingly includes e-mail, blogs, Twitter and other forms of social media.
He suggests: “Check out the new features for our Gold Passport guests and let me know what you think. We really want to know.”