The Power of Gifting: Transforming Guests into Brand Ambassadors for Luxury Hotels

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Amongst the highly competitive realm of luxury hospitality, fostering unique guest experiences and cultivating loyalty are important. Gift cards, a seemingly simple concept, present a potent marketing tool for accomplishing these objectives. In this article, we explore how gifting and, in particular, gift cards, can convert previous guests into enthusiastic ambassadors for luxury hotel brands.

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The Power of Gifting in Luxury Hospitality

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Gifting is a deeply ingrained tradition, symbolising goodwill, appreciation, and connection. By incorporating this tradition into luxury hospitality, hotels can forge strong bonds with their guests, heightening the overall experience and inspiring loyal patronage.

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Gift cards are more than mere transactional tools. They represent a tangible invitation into a world of luxury, sophistication, and exclusive experiences. This invitation can be readily shared, facilitating organic brand awareness and word-of-mouth marketing, which is known to attract five times more in sales.

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Transforming Guests into Brand Ambassadors

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Every guest who walks into a luxury hotel holds potential to become a brand ambassador. Their positive and memorable experiences are shared with friends, family, and social media followers, subtly promoting the brand to a wider audience.

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Gift cards empower these guests to share their experiences in a tangible, appealing manner. When a luxury hotel gift card is given, it acts as a personal endorsement and a sharing of experiences. It helps continue the customer relationship beyond the physical stay, encouraging future interactions and enhancing the emotional connection guests have with the brand. The gift card becomes a physical embodiment of the original guest's story and emotions as it reminds guests of the enjoyable experience they had and creates anticipation for future visits, boosting brand loyalty.

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Corporate Gifting: Strengthening Business Relationships with Gift Cards

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Corporate gifting, a longstanding tradition in the business world, offers another avenue for luxury hotels to leverage the power of gift cards. Companies are often on the lookout for elegant, universally appealing gifts for their clients and employees. Gift cards, especially from luxury hotels, tick all the boxes. They offer choice, convenience, and a taste of luxury that few other gifts can match.

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Moreover, when businesses choose a hotel’s gift card for their corporate gifting, it not only boosts the hotel's revenue but also its brand exposure. Studies from National Retail Federation show 65% of gift card holders spend an extra 38% beyond the value of the card. Each gift card presented to a client or employee serves as a nod of approval to the hotel's offerings, inadvertently turning the corporate into a brand promoter. 

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Gift Cards: A Year-Round Revenue-Generating Marketing Tool

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Gift cards offer an additional advantage—they aren't confined to a specific season or occasion, but can be gifted all year round for a variety of celebrations such as birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries, or as rewards from companies to their employees. This flexibility makes them a constant, reliable source of revenue.

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Moreover, gift cards have no inventory limitations. For instance, on peak dates like Valentine's Day, when rooms are typically booked to capacity, gift cards allow customers to gift a Romantic Getaway package that can be used at a later date.

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As prepaid offerings, gift cards also ensure upfront cash flow and frequently lead to overspending beyond the card’s value which increases revenue for luxury hotels both through the initial sale and the additional spending upon redemption.

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How To Start A Gift Card Program

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Gift cards represent a powerful strategy for luxury hotels to create memorable experiences, encourage brand loyalty, and convert guests into enthusiastic brand ambassadors. They serve as a strong tool for relationship-building and a cornerstone of luxury hospitality, while providing a constant source of revenue. As the chosen and trusted e-commerce and gifting provider for some of the world’s top 20 hotel groups, we have helped properties lift their revenue by 500% and 380% increase in sales volume through gifting. Book an exploratory call with our Head of Sales, Floris Vermeulen, to explore how your hotel can also grow additional revenue streams beyond the bedroom.