Listening to I Prefer Member feedback is essential for program success.  Whether it is positive or negative collecting feedback ensures member satisfaction, protects our brand reputation, drives continuous program improvement, allows us to maintain a competitive advantage, and increases Member retention.

As you might be aware, satisfied Members are more likely to return to your hotel and promote the I Prefer program. Positive feedback demonstrates that the program is effectively fulfilling and surpassing Member benefits, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.

When guests experience dissatisfaction, their likelihood of returning diminishes, and as you may know, they are inclined to share negative experiences, potentially harming both the hotel’s and our program's reputation. Dissatisfied guests can incur higher costs for the hotel's service recovery endeavors, resulting in lost revenue from repeat business.

Your hotel may send a post-stay survey to guests who have recently stayed at your property.  The survey might include questions about various aspects of the guest's stay, such as the cleanliness of the room, the quality of service, the amenities provided, and overall satisfaction.

The I Prefer program emails a post-stay survey targeted to Members who have also stayed at your hotel.  Upon departure, guests who have included their I Prefer member number on the reservation will automatically receive our survey.

The I Prefer Member post-stay survey focuses on striving to deepen our understanding of what matters most to our loyal guests, allowing us to continuously enhance their stay and strengthen our relationship with them. The I Prefer Member post-stay survey specifically asks questions such as:

“Overall, how satisfied were you with the I Prefer member experience and benefits offered to you during this stay at (hotel name)?”  

“Please indicate the I Prefer member benefits you received during your stay?”

“How knowledgeable was the hotel staff about the I Prefer program?”

The I Prefer Member post-stay survey is driven by our platform provider, Medallia.

Medallia is a leading experience management platform that helps businesses capture and analyze feedback from customers, employees, and other stakeholders to drive actionable insights and improve overall experience.

Surveys are sent to the I Prefer Member at check-out from your hotel and once the Member completes the survey, their information will instantly appear in your Medallia portal.  

Response rates for customer satisfaction surveys typically range from 10% to 30%.

After your I Prefer Loyalty Ambassador receives the unique hotel link to access your results, they must take the time to read through the comments and feedback.

The survey results will have robust filtering options such as:

• Date Ranges (Today, Last 7 Days, This Month, Last Month, This Quarter, and More)
• Tier Levels    *Tier levels updated January 2024
  • Former Tiers (Insider, Explorer, Elite, Authority)
  • *New Tiers (Silver, Gold, Titanium)
• Respondent Status (Partially responded and responded completely)

I Prefer Loyalty Ambassadors and Hotel Leadership Teams can access additional resources such as robust reference guides and FAQs on PreferredNet.Net

Now that you understand how our survey is sent to our I Prefer Members, we’ll explain how we use the two key metrics to measure your success.  

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is an industry metric used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It's based on the question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend (your hotel) to a friend or colleague?"

Based on the response, Members are categorized into three groups:

• Detractors (score 0-6): These Members are unhappy with their experience and may potentially damage the program’s or hotel's reputation by sharing negative feedback.
• Passives (score 7-8): These Members are satisfied but not necessarily enthusiastic. They are less likely to actively promote the program or hotel.
• Promoters (score 9-10): These are highly satisfied Members who are likely to recommend the program or hotel to others. (These are the two highest scores you can get.)

Our survey rates how happy our Members are after their stay using a scale from 0 to 10. The higher the score, the better!

When you look at the chart, think of it as a traffic light: green is good, yellow (orange) is okay, and red is not so good. So, the more green you see, the happier our Members are!

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To calculate the score, first, take the % that scores your hotel a 9 or 10 (Promoter) and subtract it from the % that scored the hotel a 6 or below(Detractors).

This will provide you with the hotel's NPS score. The score can range from -100 to 100. The industry average for NPS is 42.9.

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A positive Net Promoter Score (NPS) shows that most customers are Promoters, indicating that your guests are generally inclined to recommend your hotel. Conversely, a negative NPS indicates more Detractors, meaning that guests are generally dissatisfied with their experience and unlikely to return or recommend your hotel.

Here’s a brief guide to understanding the color dial and what each color represents

OVERALL SATISFACTION (OSAT)

The second key metric to measure your success is Overall Satisfaction (OSAT).  

OSAT is a real-time measurement of member satisfaction with I Prefer, typically assessed with a question such as, “How satisfied were you with the I Prefer member experience and benefit offered to you during this stay?”

When it comes to OSAT, keep in mind that the more surveys come through, the more meaningful your score will be. If you have a larger number of responses, it will provide a better glance of how satisfied your guests are in terms of overall satisfaction.

Calculating the OSAT Score:

OSAT takes positive member responses, scored on a 0-10 scale with 9s and 10s being the highest (in the green), and dividing the total of those by the total number of responses.  

The current industry average for OSAT is 73%.

Example:  97 / 103= 94%

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NPS and OSAT industry averages are subject to change over time due to various factors. We are committed to providing up-to-date stats and will continually update our resources as new industry averages become available.

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When we think about your member satisfaction scores, it is important to remember two things:

First, I Prefer is your hotel’s loyalty program not just a part of Preferred Travel Group, but a truly advantageous tool for fostering guest loyalty.

Secondly, you are receiving feedback from guests regarding their interactions and the services that foster loyalty to your hotel.

Lifetime loyalty

Your goal is to not only provide a memorable experience so Members return to your property, but to create lifetime loyalty to our collection of hotels within the Preferred portfolio, so that when they travel to another location, they will seek out a property within our portfolio.  

We should consider that other properties do the same so that when a Member is looking to stay in your area, they will seek out a property within the portfolio and potentially give your property a try versus one of the other big box brands; giving you a chance to drive revenue and loyalty to your property with new Members.

All guests look for product quality and consistency, and excellent service as a basis for their hotel choices. What can set you apart from your competition is your ability to provide personalized service and truly connect emotionally to the guest and their needs.

4 drivers of loyalty

Recognizing these 4 drivers of loyalty helps connect the guest with your hotel.  The I Prefer program helps solidify that connection by providing value, recognition, and rewards for those stays.  We use our post-stay member survey data as a scorecard to see how we are performing toward creating that value.

Recognizing these 4 drivers of loyalty helps connect the guest with your hotel.  The I Prefer program helps solidify that connection by providing value, recognition, and rewards for those stays.  We use our post-stay member survey data as a scorecard to see how we are performing toward creating that value.

There might be areas where your hotel could enhance service delivery to better meet our Member's expectations.  By addressing these areas, we can further elevate the member experience and strengthen our reputation for exceptional service.

Develop an Improvement Plan

Creating a personalized improvement plan for all hotel associates to help boost scores and drive overall improvement.

Once an action plan is established, track progress over 120 days to gauge advancement. Adapt action plans as needed for optimal outcomes.

Preventative Maintenance Plan

Does your hotel have a preventive maintenance program?

Many guests tend to rate hotels lower when there are condition concerns at the property. Taking a few moments to revisit the preventative maintenance plan and review it with your Engineering, Housekeeping, and Front Office leaders can significantly improve your results.

Strategic Audits and Comparative Analysis

Consider performing audits and/or secret shopper evaluations of the service in your competitive set.

What are nearby hotels doing that might be better, different, or unique compared to your team? You can also leverage your hotel leadership by conducting cross-departmental audits to assess and improve on-property service.

Online Presence

Photos and images play a crucial role in shaping guests' perceptions of a hotel and can significantly impact their satisfaction.

Updated photos provide guests with a realistic preview of what to expect during their stay. When images accurately represent the hotel's accommodations and amenities, guests are less likely to encounter unpleasant surprises upon arrival, leading to a smoother and more satisfying experience.

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It is essential to consistently strive for excellence in member satisfaction. While meeting the minimum standards is commendable, there exists an opportunity to surpass these thresholds and elevate the guest experience to new heights.  Here are two simple strategies to help your hotel enhance its score.

I Prefer Member Satisfaction Scores vs In-House Guest Survey Scores

Analyze Your I Prefer member satisfaction scores alongside your internal hotel guest surveys.

It should be easy to identify discrepancies and commonalities to pinpoint areas for improvement. It's a valuable starting point.

Tap Into Your I Prefer Loyalty Ambassador

The role of each I Prefer Loyalty Ambassador not only involves promoting our loyalty program but also actively engaging with guests to ensure their needs are met and their expectations are exceeded.

Utilize Ambassador Insights: Engage with your Loyalty Ambassador to identify enhancement opportunities for your property. Tap into the best practices shared within the I Prefer Pioneer community on our learning platform (training.iprefer.com).

Act on Member Feedback: Feedback received from your guests, and I Prefer Members is valuable. Guests are not simply sharing feedback but truly giving you insight into how to provide exceptional service.

Take the time to respond to each guest regardless of what the feedback may be. While this may seem daunting, making it a usual cadence throughout the week will keep you up to date on responses.

Take the time to respond to the guest promptly, it makes a positive impact.
When responding to the guests, keep in mind that taking the time to respond will show the guest you care and will create a loyal customer.

Extend Feedback Channels: Apply this practice not only to I Prefer surveys but also to in-house guest surveys, Trip Advisor reviews, and social media feedback.  Seize these platforms as opportunities to thank guests for their valuable feedback and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to enhancing service for them and future guests.

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WOW, you’re crushing it!  When NPS is above 42.9 or OSAT is over 73%, your hotel is surpassing industry averages!

This achievement is a testament to your hotel’s collective hard work and dedication!  Instead of just printing those stellar scores in big numbers and posting them in the break room, keep the momentum going and drive the team even further forward.

Here are a couple of strategies to help keep the momentum:

Celebrate Successes: Acknowledge and reward the team's hard work and dedication that led to surpassing industry averages.

Seek Continuous Feedback: Regularly solicit feedback from Members to identify new areas for improvement and understand their evolving needs and preferences.

Personalize Experiences: Continue to focus on delivering a warm welcome, thanking the I Prefer Member for their loyalty, and providing all their benefits including applicable amenities such as a Welcome Amenity for Gold & Titanium Members, plus a special Food & Beverage opportunity for Titanium Members.

As a reminder, this is one of those four factors of guest loyalty.  Are there things to change up or add to the repertoire to elevate your guest experience?  Are there processes for your guests that make it more difficult for them, but we’ve “always done it that way”?  Can they change at all?

Invest in Training: Leverage other courses on this platform and for PreferredNet.Net resources for ongoing training and development opportunities for your team to ensure they are equipped with the latest skills and knowledge.

‍Monitor Competitors: Keep an eye on industry trends and competitor practices to identify opportunities for differentiation and improvement.

Engage and Communicate: Maintain open and effective communication with Members, making them feel valued and heard.

When in doubt or looking for more ideas, connect with us.  Even better, share some of your best practices with us, so that we can help other properties use your experiences to help drive that loyalty throughout the I Prefer portfolio.

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