Effectiveness of Loyalty Programs in Brand Management: A Case Study of Sofitel Sydney Wentworth

This report examines loyalty programs in the context of brand management strategies to analyse and evaluate the consequences of a loyalty program strategy of Sofitel Sydney Wentworth (Accor Hotels) which is used by the firm to establish and foster consumer’s loyalty and retention within hospitality competitive industry.

[Year]
Brand Management
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Loyalty programs are cohesive to brand management strategies of marketing actions
which aims in making member consumers more loyal while building a strong brand
reputation to retain customers. Individual programs may pose multiple forms, the overall
theme of loyalty program considers attracting more customers along with retaining the
existing ones by means of benefits that are both tangible and intangible in nature
( Demirciftci & Kızılırmak, 2016). This report examines loyalty programs in the context of
brand management strategies to analyse and evaluate the consequences of a loyalty program
strategy of Sofitel Sydney Wentworth (Accor Hotels) which is used by the firm to establish
and foster consumer’s loyalty and retention within hospitality competitive industry.
Loyalty within hospitality industry can be best defined as a deeply held assurance to
support and rebuy a preferred service or product consistently in future years despite facing
situational influences ( Demirciftci & Kızılırmak, 2016). The effectiveness seen in loyalty
programs remains highly variable and subjective dimension within a hotel industry as many
firm’s utilise enrolment and membership sizes measuring their success where such measures
does not consider profitability or producing repeated patronage (Charania, 2011).
Nevertheless, the significance of branding and loyalty program and how it is used in a
hospitality industry can be explored based on the case examination of Sofitel Sydney
Wentworth to find out how the firm uses a loyalty program effectively.
Accor has many brands in hospitality sector targeting diversified segments. Sofitel
Sydney leads in digital hospitality where few of the most strategic programs were initiated by
Accor Groups in the year 2014. These loyalty programs helped Accor groups increase their
guest satisfaction while generating more income through online channels (Sofitel, 2017). The
company introduced guests’ analytic programs named as ‘Le Club’ that helped the company

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in stimulating its customers by collecting valuable data from its hotels to allow them analyse
their customers spending patterns. This loyalty program has enabled the company in
engaging more than 26 million members that earns Sofitel a significant amount of revenue.
By utilising sought-after points via guests’ feedback on their stay experiences, Le
Club program also enhances brand reputation of the company as every time the customers
visit the company website they provide their feedback on how to improve their services or
which service was liked by them that allows the hotel in retaining their loyal customers.
Every time guests give a feedback; a point is added in the form of reward that further gets
accumulated and in return provides stay benefits and utilising company’s properties in their
member branches. This strategy of loyalty program drives customers and provides Sofitel and
Accor groups with valuable information by building customers profiles in company website
and helps in enhancing customers experiences even (Doddi, 2017).
Other branding and marketing activities of the company includes providing
sponsorships and various loyalty programs in big events like golf tournaments and tour
arrangements. Sofitel hotels is one of the most valuable branch of Accor brands. Enhanced
loyalty programs and strong brand reputation of Accor groups have enabled Sofitel build a
long-term relationship with its customers that shows how the effectiveness of loyalty
programs and brand management helps companies build their brand and retain their
customers.

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References
Charania, N., 2011. Hospitality Loyalty Program Effectiveness Evaluation Rubric. [Online]
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=2095&context=thesesdissertations
[Accessed 14 10 2018].
Demirciftci, T. & Kızılırmak, I., 2016. Strategic Branding in Hospitality: Case of Accor
Hotels. Journal of Tourismology, 02(01), pp. 1-15.
Doddi, 2017. Accor Hotels, where customer engagement and experience foster loyalty.
[Online]
Available at: https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2017/02/accor-hotels-where-customer-engagement-
and-experience-foster-loyalty/
[Accessed 14 10 2018].
Sofitel, 2017. So/Sofitel. [Online]
Available at: https://sofitel.accorhotels.com/gb/luxury-hotel-experience/so-sofitel.shtml
[Accessed 14 10 2017].