As the hotel loyalty war among the big chains intensifies, Hotel Check-In has learned that Starwood Hotels is running a top-secret loyalty program that targets some of its best customers - in addition to those of its biggest rivals (Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton).
Starwood quietly launched the pilot program late last year after inviting "thousands" of consumers to participate, Mark Vondrasek, Starwood's senior vice president of interactive and loyalty marketing, told Hotel Check-In in an email in response to questions about the secret program.
Significantly, it's being run separately from Starwood Preferred Guest, the company's main loyalty program for travelers who earn status by staying often at Sheraton, Westin, Aloft and other chains. I find Starwood's bypassing of SPG interesting because Starwood seems to be exploring new ways to identify prime customers based on other factors besides frequency of stays.
Vondrasek didn't disclose many specifics in his email. He wouldn't even tell me the name of the pilot, which for now has a code name. And, interestingly, he was most secretive about how Starwood was selecting pilot participants, calling the criteria "proprietary." (Frankly, I'm also curious how they've been keeping these people quiet for so long...)
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