SIX months of preparation down the road, Rotana Hotels has announced the launch of their new Rotana Rewards loyalty plan, billed as one of a kind in the hospitality industry.
Three different options are available under the Rotana Rewards umbrella: Classic, Exclusive, and Executive, to be launched this summer.
Says Daniel Hajjar, vice-president, sales and marketing: “We’ve been running the Rotana Loyalty Club for the last five years, with 8,000 members in the UAE. After detailed investigations, we decided to develop a new programme based on what our members were looking for in terms of personalised service, benefits and rewards.”
The Classic option rewards people that book Rotana Hotels, the Executive is for people that stay at group hotels who also gain points for using food and beverage venues, and the Exclusive, the only one that customers buy, gives them exclusive benefits at the group’s leading hotels and restaurants as well as rewards when staying or dining at Rotana properties.
“We insisted that the programme offer maximum benefits with as little terms and conditions as possible. All our hotels are participating along with all their outlets, with the sole exception being those that are leased out or not managed by Rotana,” said group executive vice-president Imad Elias. The new plan, with its many unique aspects, would not only please existing customers but also attract new ones to group hotels. “As part of the aggressive expansion plan of Rotana Hotels, it was essential to develop a programme such as the Rotana Rewards taking into consideration the wide portfolio and clientele Rotana Hotels is dealing with.” Within two weeks of the plan’s being launched – without publicity – 1200 members have signed up.
Rotana Rewards offers up to 50 per cent discount in all Rotana’s food and beverage venues, a dining certificate of Dh250, a discount of 15 per cent on beverage when dining, a preferred room rate for up to 40 per cent on rooms, late check out until 6 pm and two points for every for every Dh1 spent in food and beverage venues and when staying in rooms.
Over 700 gifts are offered as part of the programmes, including mobile phones, jewellery, air travel and so on. Room benefits include late checkouts as well as a points scheme. Group tie-ups give members access to 50 hotels in the UK, 60 in Scandinavia and 15 in the US.
The new plan is managed entirely by Rotana Hotels. Hajjar says the group is working on partnership deals with airlines’ frequent flyer schemes, such as Skywards, Cedar Miles, and others.
Rotana has a portfolio of 30 hotels and currently manages 17 properties across the UAE, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. A further 13 new properties are to open by 2007.
By KEITH J FERNANDEZ