By Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Let me say the quiet part out loud.

Most hotel marketing strategies are stuck in the past. And a lot of loyalty programs are running on fumes.

I spend my days talking to commercial leaders across independent hotels, lifestyle brands, and management groups. The same themes come up again and again. Rising acquisition costs. Guests who are harder to reach. Loyalty programs that look impressive on paper but feel invisible to the traveler.

The industry keeps asking how to get more bookings. That is the wrong question.

The real question is this. Why should a guest care about your brand at all?

Right now we are living through one of the biggest shifts hospitality has seen in decades. Artificial intelligence is reshaping discovery. Social content is reshaping inspiration. And guest expectations are being trained by companies outside of travel that deliver instant value every time someone opens an app.

If you want to understand where hotel marketing and loyalty are heading, you need to stop thinking about campaigns and start thinking about relationships.

Here are the conversations nobody wants to avoid anymore.

Points Programs Are Not The Hero Anymore

For years loyalty was built around accumulation. Stay more nights. Earn more points. Redeem later.

That model made sense when travelers had fewer options and brands controlled distribution. Today guests live in an on demand world. They expect recognition immediately. Not six months from now. Not after ten stays.

I am not saying points disappear tomorrow. What I am saying is that points alone do not create loyalty anymore.

Guests want surprise and delight. They want experiences that feel personal. They want to feel like someone actually sees them rather than counting how many nights they stayed last year.

The most forward thinking brands are shifting toward instant rewards, experiential perks, and recognition that happens in real time. Loyalty is becoming emotional rather than transactional. And once you see that shift you cannot unsee it.

Artificial Intelligence Just Changed The Rules Of Marketing

Here is a reality many hoteliers are still processing. Artificial intelligence is becoming the new front desk for discovery.

Travelers are starting to ask AI tools where they should go and where they should stay. Those tools do not care about your paid search strategy or how many emails you send every month. They care about relevance, structured content, and clear value.

That means marketing teams need to rethink everything.

The future is not about ranking first on a search results page. It is about being the most relevant answer inside a conversation.

Hotels that understand this will focus on clear positioning, strong storytelling, and loyalty experiences that give AI something meaningful to recommend. Hotels that ignore it will keep throwing money into channels that get more expensive every quarter.

Personalization Is No Longer Impressive

Adding a first name to an email used to feel innovative. Today it feels lazy.

Guests expect brands to know what they like, when they travel, how they book, and what experiences matter to them. And they expect that knowledge to translate into real offers, not generic discounts.

The irony is that most hotels have the data. They just are not activating it fast enough.

Marketing teams are sitting on CRM platforms, CDPs, booking data, and engagement signals. Yet guests still receive the same promotions as everyone else.

The future belongs to brands that act on intent in the moment. If a traveler is browsing a suite category or engaging with wellness content, your loyalty program should respond instantly with something relevant.

If you cannot do that yet, your technology stack is not working as hard as it should.

The Direct Booking Conversation Needs To Grow Up

Every conference has a panel about direct bookings versus OTAs. It is starting to feel like a debate from another era.

OTAs are not going away. They are powerful acquisition engines. The real opportunity is what happens after the first booking.

Smart brands are using loyalty as the bridge between acquisition and retention. Let the OTA bring the guest in. Then give that guest a reason to stay connected with your brand directly.

Instant rewards, member only experiences, and personalized offers are turning one time OTA guests into long term direct relationships.

The question is not whether you win against OTAs. The question is whether you are building something valuable enough that guests choose to come back to you next time.

Marketing Funnels Are Collapsing

The traditional funnel assumed guests moved from inspiration to research to booking in a neat sequence. That is not how people behave anymore.

A traveler might discover a hotel through a short video, click into a booking page, join a loyalty program, and confirm a reservation within minutes.

Content, commerce, and loyalty are blending into one continuous experience.

This is why social discovery is exploding. Short form video is not just branding anymore. It is a conversion channel. And when a guest sees a compelling moment online, they expect an offer that feels relevant right then.

If your loyalty program lives only behind a login screen or inside a post stay email, you are missing the opportunity to connect inspiration with action.

The Real Currency Is First Party Relationships

Privacy changes and rising advertising costs are forcing hotels to rethink how they build guest relationships.

Owning first party data is no longer optional. It is the foundation of modern marketing.

But owning data does not mean hoarding it. The value comes from activating it.

Guests will share information with brands that give them something meaningful in return. That could be recognition, instant perks, or experiences that reflect who they are as travelers.

The brands that win will not be the ones with the biggest databases. They will be the ones that use data to create moments that feel human.

Experience Is The New Brand Strategy

Travelers are chasing meaning, not just amenities.

They want connection to local culture. Wellness experiences that feel authentic. Community initiatives that make them feel part of something larger.

This is changing how hotels position themselves. The story is no longer about room size or thread count. It is about moments that guests remember long after checkout.

Loyalty programs are evolving alongside this shift. Instead of rewarding only the stay, they are recognizing participation in experiences, dining, events, and community engagement.

When loyalty aligns with purpose, it becomes more than a marketing tool. It becomes part of the brand identity.

Marketing Teams Are Becoming Revenue Operators

Artificial intelligence is not replacing marketers. It is forcing them to think differently.

Automation is handling repetitive tasks. AI is helping teams identify demand signals faster than ever. That means commercial leaders need to focus on strategy and creativity rather than manual execution.

The marketing department is turning into a revenue command center where loyalty, CRM, distribution, and brand storytelling live together.

If your teams still operate in silos, you are leaving growth on the table.

Loyalty Economics Are Being Challenged

Behind the scenes many hotel executives are asking hard questions about the cost of traditional loyalty programs.

Large points based systems create long term liabilities. They require massive scale to deliver meaningful value. And for many independent brands they simply do not make financial sense.

This is why we are seeing a surge in alternative models that focus on instant gratification, flexible rewards, and recognition driven experiences.

The goal is not to abandon loyalty. The goal is to make loyalty sustainable.

When programs deliver immediate value and clear ROI, they stop being a cost center and start becoming a growth engine.

Where This Is All Going

Here is my honest take.

Hotel marketing and loyalty are merging into one continuous conversation with the guest. The brands that win will not be the loudest or the biggest. They will be the most relevant.

They will show up in AI powered discovery with clear positioning. They will deliver personalized value the moment a traveler engages. And they will build loyalty around experiences and recognition rather than delayed rewards.

The industry is moving away from loyalty as a program and toward loyalty as a mindset.

That shift is uncomfortable because it challenges decades of assumptions. But it is also incredibly exciting. Independent hotels and lifestyle brands finally have the tools to compete with massive global programs without copying them.

If you are a commercial leader reading this, ask yourself one question.

Does your loyalty strategy feel like something built for travelers today or something inherited from the past?

Because the next era of hospitality will not be defined by points balances or tier charts.

It will be defined by brands that understand that loyalty is not earned over years. It is earned in moments.

And the hotels that create those moments consistently will not just keep up with the future of marketing. They will lead it.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

If you run a hotel, chances are someone has already told you that AI search is going to change everything. They are not wrong. But they are also not being particularly helpful.

What I am seeing across the industry is a lot of anxiety paired with very little clarity. Hoteliers are being told to worry about AI, to optimize for AI, to prepare for AI, without anyone explaining what that actually means in practice. The result is predictable. People either ignore it or overreact to it.

The truth sits somewhere in the middle. AI search does change the rules, but it does not change human behavior. And if you understand that distinction, it becomes much easier to see where hotels still have control and where they do not.

How AI Search Changes the Decision Process

Let’s start with the most important shift. Traditional search was about discovery. AI search is about decisions.

For years, platforms like Google trained travelers to compare. You searched, you scanned ten blue links, maybe clicked a few OTAs, and eventually made a choice. Hotels fought for visibility, rankings, and clicks. Traffic was the prize.

AI search works differently. When a traveler asks ChatGPT or Perplexity where they should stay for a weekend in Austin, the system is not trying to educate them. It is trying to resolve their intent. It wants to recommend one or two options that feel like the right answer. Not the most optimized page. The most confident recommendation.

That distinction matters more than most people realize.

AI does not think like a marketer. It does not respond to brand adjectives or vague positioning statements. It is trained to reduce uncertainty. It looks for concrete value, consistency across sources, and signals that demonstrate why one option is better for a specific traveler in a specific moment.

This is where a lot of hotel messaging quietly breaks down. Phrases like “boutique luxury hotel in the heart of downtown” mean almost nothing in an AI-driven environment. Every hotel says that. AI cannot act on it.

But when a hotel can clearly say that direct bookers receive instant dining credits, guaranteed late checkout, or perks that are not available on third-party sites, that is different. Those are tangible benefits. They are easy to understand, easy to summarize, and easy to justify in a recommendation.

That is why rewards and loyalty suddenly matter far beyond retention.

Where the Playing Field Is Uneven

One of the uncomfortable realities for hotels is that OTAs are structurally well positioned for AI search today. Companies like Booking.com and Expedia already speak the language AI prefers. They have massive structured datasets, clear comparison logic, built-in reward mechanics, and years of conversion data to support their claims.

They can confidently say, “This option delivers better value for this traveler.” Most hotel websites cannot make that case as clearly, not because the hotel is worse, but because the value is often implied rather than explicit.

This is where loyalty needs to be reframed.

Instant Rewards Beat Points

For decades, loyalty programs were built for humans. Points made sense when travelers were willing to do the math, plan ahead, and stay within a single ecosystem. AI does not have patience for that kind of ambiguity.

Points raise questions. How many points is this stay worth. What can they be redeemed for. When can they be used. Are they meaningful if the traveler only stays once or twice a year.

Instant rewards remove all of that friction. A dining credit is a dining credit. Late checkout is late checkout. A complimentary drink is exactly what it sounds like.

These are binary benefits. They are either there or they are not. AI systems love that kind of clarity.

More importantly, travelers love it too.

One of the roles AI search increasingly plays is reducing decision fatigue. Travel planning is overwhelming. Too many options, too many tabs, too many tradeoffs. AI is designed to simplify. The hotels that make the decision easier are the ones that get recommended.

Clear rewards tied to direct booking do exactly that. They create an immediate reason to choose one hotel over another without forcing the traveler to dig deeper. They turn a “maybe” into a “that makes sense.”

Proof Matters More Than Promises

There is another layer here that is even more important, and it has nothing to do with perks on their own. Loyalty programs generate first-party data, and first-party data is quietly becoming one of the most important credibility signals in an AI-driven world.

AI systems rely on structured information. They trust patterns, not promises. Hotels that can demonstrate repeat behavior, engaged members, and ongoing relationships look more reliable than hotels that only show transactional stays.

When loyalty is done right, it produces evidence. Evidence that guests come back. Evidence that incentives influence behavior. Evidence that the brand delivers on its value proposition.

That kind of data does not just power marketing campaigns. It makes a hotel easier for AI to trust.

This is also why brand alone is no longer enough.

Beyond Branding: Proving Value to AI

Strong brands still matter. But AI does not care how long you have been around or how beautiful your photography is. It cares whether you are the right answer for this traveler, right now.

Loyalty and rewards act as a translation layer between your brand story and machine logic. They turn abstract positioning into concrete reasons to choose you. They give AI something to point to when it explains its recommendation.

This shift is especially important for independent and regional hotel groups. Global brands can afford inefficiency. Independents cannot.

AI search will compress the middle of the market. Hotels that fail to articulate clear, differentiated value will start to feel interchangeable. And interchangeable hotels lose pricing power. Once pricing power erodes, OTA dependency grows, and margins follow it down.

Loyalty is not about competing with the biggest brands on points or status tiers. It is about escaping commoditization altogether.

Building Defensible Value in AI Search

When I talk to hoteliers about AI search, I try to bring the conversation back to something very simple. AI is a filter. It decides what gets surfaced and what gets ignored. Rewards and loyalty are signals. They tell both travelers and machines why you matter.

Hotels that win in this next chapter will not be the ones chasing algorithms or stuffing content with AI buzzwords. They will be the ones that make their value obvious, immediate, and provable.

They will give travelers a reason to book direct. They will capture first-party relationships instead of one-off transactions. And they will make it easy for AI systems to recommend them with confidence.

AI search is not coming for hotels. But it is exposing weak value propositions very quickly.

The good news is that loyalty, when treated as infrastructure instead of a marketing afterthought, is one of the strongest defenses hotels have. Not just to retain guests, but to remain visible, relevant, and recommended in a world where fewer choices make it to the surface.

And the hotels that understand that early will not just survive the shift. They will shape it.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Everyone’s talking about AI search, GEO, GenAI discovery, and how “SEO is dead.” But let’s be real... SEO isn’t dead. It’s just evolving into something way smarter.

In the age of generative engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and the hundreds of embedded AI assistants sitting in travel apps... the algorithm isn’t crawling your content anymore... it’s learning from your data.

And that’s why, for hotels, loyalty and first-party data aren’t side projects. They’re ground zero for Generative Engine Optimization.

The New Algorithm Doesn’t Want Keywords. It Wants Signals

When someone asks an AI assistant, “Where should I stay in Miami with a rooftop pool and late check-out?”, the engine isn’t scanning random SEO blogs.

It’s surfacing what it knows.

That means:

• Properties with consistent, structured first-party data

• Brands with proven guest engagement patterns

• Hotels with clean, connected identity graphs built through loyalty

The hotels that have turned their loyalty programs into data machines are about to become the favorites of every generative engine on the planet.

GEO > SEO

Old-school SEO was about visibility. Generative Engine Optimization is about credibility.

And credibility comes from owning the data that proves who you are, who you serve, and what your guests actually love.

Every time a guest joins your rewards program, redeems an instant offer, or clicks on a member rate that’s first-party intent data. It tells algorithms, “This brand matters. People engage here.”

That’s how you win GEO.

Loyalty Is the New Data Layer

Let’s call it what it is: OTAs own the top of funnel because they own the data.

They know your guests better than you do.

Every independent hotel that installs a Laasie-powered loyalty or recognition layer is flipping that equation. You’re not just giving guests a perk... you’re building your own proprietary dataset.

You’re feeding your own algorithm.

And in the generative era, that’s worth more than any keyword bid or meta description ever will.

Generative Engines Reward Ownership

Here’s what matters most in this new world:

1. Own your booking experience.

2. Own your loyalty layer.

3. Own your data.

Because if you don’t, someone else’s AI will and you’ll be paying commission to rent back the very audience you once had.

The Takeaway

Generative Engine Optimization isn’t about tricking an algorithm; it’s about teaching it who you are.

Hotels that connect loyalty and first-party data aren’t just future-proofing... they’re training the next generation of AI travel search to recognize their brand as relevant, trusted, and bookable.

At Laasie, we’ve been saying it for years: Loyalty isn’t a downstream perk. It’s an upstream engine.

And now, it’s the single best way to future-proof your visibility in an AI-driven world.

The next time someone asks an AI, “Where should I stay?”, make sure your hotel is part of the answer... not the afterthought.

Funnels are fine. But funnels end.

The smarter metaphor for guest acquisition in 2025 is the flywheel: a system where every guest acquired feeds momentum back into the top, making the next guest cheaper, faster, and easier to acquire.

How do you build that flywheel? With loyalty.

From Funnel to Flywheel

Traditional funnels are linear: awareness, consideration, booking, stay, repeat. Guests move through, and you start over again with a new ad campaign.

The flywheel is circular: one guest acquired not only comes back but also powers acquisition of the next guest through advocacy, referrals, and content.

Loyalty is the lubricant that keeps the flywheel spinning. Without it, friction slows everything down.

The Persona Drivers

Think about how each persona fuels your acquisition flywheel.

The Social Sharer posts about your property, fueling new demand. The Brand Believer refers friends, lowering your acquisition costs. The Family Planner brings ten people with them, multiplying the value of one booking. The Local Loyalist fills off-peak gaps, stabilizing revenue so you can invest more in marketing.

When loyalty is embedded in acquisition, every persona becomes an engine.

Practical Flywheel Mechanics

Here’s how you actually make it work:

• Step one: Capture the guest with an instant reward at booking.

• Step two: Deliver a great stay with perks that align to their persona.

• Step three: Reward post-stay actions like reviews, referrals, shares that pull new guests into the funnel.

• Step four: Repeat.

Over time, your marketing costs drop because your own guests are doing the work OTAs used to charge you for.

The Laasie Advantage

Laasie is not just a loyalty engine. It’s a flywheel builder.

By embedding rewards across the guest journey—pre-stay, in-stay, and post-stay—we help hotels create loops instead of lines. Each guest acquired is no longer just revenue—they’re fuel for the next guest.

And the more momentum you build, the harder it is for competitors or OTAs to slow you down.

The Takeaway

Loyalty is not a downstream program. It’s an upstream acquisition strategy, a marketing ROI multiplier, and a flywheel builder.

Hotels that understand this will stop leaking money to OTAs and start owning their guest relationships again. Hotels that don’t will keep pouring champagne into a colander.

At Laasie, we’re here to make sure you’re in the first camp. Because loyalty isn’t about points. It’s about people. And people are the most powerful marketing channel you’ll ever have.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: hotels are addicted to paid acquisition.

You’re pumping money into Google Hotel Ads, fighting metasearch auctions, competing with OTAs who are bidding on your brand name with your money. Every marketing dollar you spend feels like a hostage negotiation.

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to stop spending. You just have to stop wasting it.

The smartest hotels aren’t treating marketing spend as a slot machine. They’re treating it as an engine. And the fuel for that engine is loyalty.

The Funnel Without Loyalty

Picture this. A guest clicks your $12 CPC ad, lands on your booking site, compares your rate with Expedia, shrugs, and clicks away. Your $12 just evaporated.

Now picture this instead. The same guest clicks your ad, lands on your site, sees “Book direct and get $20 Instacart credit instantly,” and books with you. Not only did you get the booking, but you also got their data, their permission, and their attention for the future.

That’s the difference between throwing money into the funnel and converting money into margin.

The Persona Lens

Every marketing dollar has to land differently depending on who it hits.

For the Digital Native, your ad is a gateway to a frictionless, instant-reward booking flow. For the Family Planner, it’s the promise of bundled value that makes their life easier. For the Wellness Wanderer, it’s the reassurance that your brand aligns with their values, complete with wellness credits at booking.

The ad doesn’t do the heavy lifting. Loyalty does.

Marketing Spend That Sticks

Here’s the shift: you’re not just buying clicks. You’re buying relationships. And relationships are built on reciprocity.

When a guest sees your ad and books because they got an immediate perk, they’re not just a transaction… they’re an acquisition into your loyalty loop. You’ve not only captured them now, but you’ve also made them easier (and cheaper) to capture next time.

That’s the magic of fusing marketing and loyalty: your spend starts to compound.

The Laasie Effect

Hotels using Laasie in their booking path see conversion rates rise by double digits. But more importantly, they see marketing efficiency improve. Cost per acquisition drops, because you’re not re-buying the same guest through OTAs every time.

Laasie doesn’t replace your ads. It makes them work harder. It turns “wasted clicks” into “loyal guests.”

In a world where acquisition costs are skyrocketing, loyalty isn’t just a retention play. It’s your best marketing ROI play.

For years, hotels have treated loyalty and guest acquisition as two separate universes. Guest acquisition lives in the world of marketing spend, PPC budgets, and OTA commissions. Loyalty lives somewhere down the line, in the world of points, perks, and tier ladders.

But here’s the problem. By the time a guest checks in, you’ve already lost half the battle. You’ve already paid to acquire them. You’ve already ceded margin to an OTA. You’ve already fought through the noise of the marketplace. And then, after all that, you hand them a plastic card and tell them to wait eighteen months to see any value.

That’s not loyalty. That’s lunacy.

At Laasie, we believe loyalty doesn’t start after the booking. It starts before it. Loyalty is not a downstream perk; it’s an upstream engine. It is, in fact, the smartest way to power your top of funnel guest acquisition.

Loyalty as the First Touch

Think about your marketing funnel. You’re spending on Google Ads, metasearch, retargeting, paid social, maybe even a billboard if your CMO is feeling retro. Each of those touchpoints has one goal: get someone to click, consider, and hopefully book.

But here’s the trick: the conversion decision doesn’t happen on your billboard. It doesn’t even happen on your search ad. It happens the moment someone lands on your site and decides: Is there enough value here to make me choose direct over OTA, or to book now instead of later?

That’s where Laasie flips the script. By embedding instant rewards at the booking moment, you make loyalty part of the acquisition pitch. Instead of shouting “book direct because points,” you whisper: “book direct and here’s your Uber credit today.” That’s acquisition and loyalty working together in real time.

The Persona Connection

Our 10 loyalty personas prove this point. The Impulse Booker doesn’t care about long-term accrual they care about an immediate trigger that pushes them over the edge. The Bargain Hunter is comparing OTAs until they see your direct site offers $25 dining credit. The Social Sharer is deciding where to stay but the promise of a reward for posting tips them toward you.

In every case, loyalty doesn’t show up after the fact. It becomes the hook that drives acquisition.

Stop Burning the Funnel

Here’s the hard truth: hotels spend millions filling the top of the funnel with paid media, only to watch half of it leak out to OTAs at the bottom. It’s like pouring champagne into a colander.

By aligning loyalty with acquisition, you plug the leak. You protect your marketing spend by making your own channel the most compelling. You’re not just competing on rate… you’re competing on perceived value.

The Laasie Advantage

Laasie is designed as an embedded loyalty layer for acquisition. We slot directly into your booking engine or website, showing rewards in the flow, not buried in a post-stay email. We give guests thousands of choices from Starbucks to Lyft to spa credits, so they see real value right away.

The result? Higher conversion rates, lower OTA leakage, and more guests acquired into your ecosystem, not someone else’s.

Loyalty and acquisition aren’t separate. They’re the same game. And the hotels who understand that will be the ones still standing when the OTA tax becomes unbearable.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Let’s be honest: loyalty has gotten… lazy.

For years, the hospitality industry has treated loyalty like a dusty punch card. Dangle points, hope for repeat bookings, and pray they don’t wander off to the nearest OTA waving a coupon code like a siren song. It’s a model rooted in the idea that travelers are all the same, and if you just give them enough points, they’ll eventually stumble back through your lobby.

Except they won’t.

Because today’s traveler is not monolithic. They don’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet column labeled guest. They are messy, impulsive, emotional, rational, contradictory, and most importantly motivated by very different things.

At Laasie we decided to stop guessing and start decoding. After studying behavioral patterns across thousands of properties, we uncovered ten distinct loyalty personas driving modern travel decisions.

And when you understand them really understand them you stop bribing people to book and start engineering revenue through relevance.

Let me introduce you to the cast.

The Bargain Hunter: The Deal Driven Dynamo

If loyalty were poker this guest is counting cards. The Bargain Hunter isn’t loyal to brands; they’re loyal to math. They are refresh button warriors who will check your rate on every OTA, every metasearch site, and your own website before they hit book.

Most hoteliers roll their eyes at them. I don’t. Because Bargain Hunters are prolific travelers. They’re just waiting for someone to make them feel like they won.

And that’s the secret: you don’t lure them with vague future points. You win them with instant visible value. Drop a $25 dining credit in the booking path, bundle free parking and Wi Fi, or show a “Book direct, get $15 Uber credit” banner. Suddenly the OTA looks overpriced, and you’ve shifted the narrative.

At Laasie we’ve watched hotels turn these rate hawks into high volume repeat guests simply by reframing direct booking as the “smart” financial choice. They don’t need romance they need ROI.

The Status Seeker: The Prestige Collector

Status Seekers are allergic to anonymity. They want their name whispered at check in, a welcome cocktail materializing as if by magic, and a badge on their loyalty account that sparkles like a Super Bowl ring.

They don’t care what it costs. They care that everyone else knows they paid it.

For hotels this persona is gold plated. They book the suites, they pay the minibar ransom, and they’ll bend their travel plans just to notch another elite tier. But you have to feed the beast: visible tiers, milestone unlocks, surprise upgrades, and the occasional over the top flourish that makes them feel like the protagonist of your brand.

Laasie makes this almost effortless. We automate milestone rewards and let guests choose personalized perks the moment they hit them. The result They spend more, book more, and brag more and their bragging drives bookings from everyone who wants to be them.

The Experiential Explorer: The Story Seeker

These guests don’t care about your points chart. They care about stories.

The Experiential Explorer chooses hotels like sommeliers choose wine: for their terroir. They want the local, the off menu, the immersive. They want to surf at sunrise, eat where the locals eat, and come home with something better than a fridge magnet a memory.

Traditional loyalty programs are useless here. But offer a surf lesson, a mezcal tasting, or a chef led market tour as their booking reward Now you’re speaking their language.

We’ve seen boutique properties double their ancillary spend just by swapping points for curated local rewards through Laasie. Because the Explorer doesn’t come back for discounts. They come back to keep the story going.

The Digital Native: The Instant Gratification Addict

If your booking flow takes more than 30 seconds the Digital Native has already left.

They live on mobile, expect hyper personalization, and have zero patience for friction. Loyalty to them is not a marathon it’s a dopamine drip. They don’t want to wait 18 months to earn a free night. They want to see something pop up on their screen the moment they book.

For hotels this means embedding loyalty directly into the booking experience. Not post stay emails, not hidden member portals right there, in the flow.

Laasie was built for them. One tap, booked, reward unlocked. It’s loyalty redesigned for the TikTok attention span and when you nail it your conversion rates will make your revenue manager weep with joy.

The Brand Believer: The Emotional Loyalist

Brand Believers are your evangelists. They’re not calculating CPMs in their head they’re proudly wearing your merch at the airport.

They don’t just like your hotel; they identify with it.

They want exclusive swag, early access, insider emails that feel like they’re in the club. They’ll tell their friends about you, tag you on socials, and defend you in the comments if someone complains.

The trick is treating them like insiders. Celebrate their anniversaries, surprise them with personalized perks, and feed them behind the scenes content. With Laasie we’ve helped hotels build “superfan” tracks where Brand Believers get custom rewards for referrals and advocacy. The ROI Sky high and measured in both bookings and brand love.

The Impulse Booker: The Now or Never Nomad

You know that guest who decides at 2pm to stay somewhere else tonight That’s the Impulse Booker.

They don’t plan. They pounce.

They’re mobile first, urgency driven, and deeply allergic to forms. If they see friction they vanish. If they see an instant perk they convert on the spot.

This is where Laasie shines brightest. Hotels using our instant rewards have seen same day direct bookings spike by 28% without touching their rates. It’s about making loyalty a trigger, not an afterthought. For the Impulse Booker “someday” means nothing. “Right now” is everything.

The Family Planner: The Chaos Coordinator

The Family Planner isn’t booking a room. They’re orchestrating a traveling circus.

Two adjoining rooms, a crib, grandma’s gluten allergy, and a toddler whose emotional stability hinges on goldfish crackers. If you can remove friction they’ll love you forever.

They want guaranteed connecting rooms, bundled value, kid friendly perks, and flexibility. They’re not chasing discounts they’re chasing sanity.

Hotels using Laasie to offer multi room booking rewards like pizza credits or local attraction passes have seen direct family bookings jump over 30%. Because when you make their life easier they’ll return every summer and bring the whole extended cast with them.

The Wellness Wanderer: The Purposeful Pilgrim

Wellness Wanderers travel to recharge, reset, and realign. They don’t want points. They want balance.

They book the spa suite, order the green juice, and ask if your eggs are pasture raised. They care deeply about sustainability and emotional connection and they spend like it.

Reward them with spa credits, plant based dining perks, and sustainable impact tie ins, and they will happily become your highest margin guests.

We’ve watched mountain resorts using Laasie’s curated reward paths increase ancillary wellness spend by 25%. This isn’t just good vibes it’s good business.

The Social Sharer: The Influence Engine

Social Sharers travel for the content.

They document the lobby arrival, the room tour, the rooftop cocktail. They may have 500 followers or 50000, but either way they’re your unpaid marketing department if you treat them like it.

Offer perks for posting, build photogenic moments into their stay, and publicly recognize them in your loyalty portal. Laasie even lets you automate instant rewards for tagged posts.

The result One hotel saw social mentions quadruple and referral bookings climb 22% in 90 days. Recognition drove reach. Reach drove revenue.

The Local Loyalist: The Year Round MVP

Last but not least the Local Loyalist.

They live down the street, but they might be your most profitable guests. They book staycations, co working days, and rooftop spa afternoons and they don’t require airfare, ad spend, or a six month booking window.

Target them with geo fenced perks and you’ll fill midweek gaps without discounting. One Miami hotel using Laasie to push spa and rooftop rewards to locals saw midweek occupancy rise 15% and F&B spend jump 30%.

They’re not your filler. They’re your foundation.

So What Does This All Mean

Here’s the punchline: guest loyalty isn’t dying. It’s just been misunderstood.

We’ve spent decades trying to shove every traveler into the same points bucket, then wondering why redemption rates stagnate and OTA commissions balloon. The reality is simpler and far more powerful.

Travelers don’t want loyalty. They want to feel seen.

And when you stop treating them like transactions and start treating them like people with real motivations, real emotions, and real choices you stop bribing them and start earning them.

That’s what Laasie was built for: a loyalty engine designed around human behavior, not spreadsheets. Instant rewards, personalized at scale, delivered in the flow of booking with zero operational lift.

Because loyalty isn’t about points. It’s about people. And people, when you understand them, will make you very very profitable.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Keep control of your brand and guests

• White‑label vs. network brand. Laasie lets you embed the rewards experience in your own website, emails and booking engine, keeping your look and feel and ensuring you own the guest’s data. By contrast, a typical network loyalty program requires guests to join its own club and receive marketing from the network, meaning you build their database, not yours.

• No diverted demand. Network programs often encourage members to spend rewards at other properties in the network. For example, one program’s “cash‑forward” credit must be used at a hotel at least 30 miles away and cannot be redeemed at the same property where it was earned. This means your incentive dollars can send your guest to a competitor. Laasie’s rewards are tied to your property and can be targeted to need dates and higher‑value bookings, keeping the next stay with you.

• Direct channel integrity. Some network programs operate their own booking sites or browser extensions. One network extension overlays a hotel’s booking engine and awards 5 % cash rewards on direct bookings. This puts their brand in the purchase path and dilutes your ability to control pricing and capture first‑party data. Laasie drives rewards through your booking engine without a consumer‑facing overlay.

Targeted value vs. blanket discounts

• Instant, configurable rewards. Laasie delivers instant incentives at booking (no points or tiers) and lets you vary the reward by season, length of stay or room type. Guests see a benefit immediately, creating a strong call to action without training them to expect broad discounts.

• Network programs delay value and export spend. Many network programs pay cash rewards only after the stay has been completed and validated. Points‑based networks award five points per dollar for direct bookings but only one point per dollar for OTA bookings, and members can redeem points at any participating property within the network, further incentivizing them to shop around rather than stay loyal to your hotel.

Operational simplicity and measurable ROI

• Fully integrated and automated. Laasie offers a branded rewards catalog, AI‑powered offer recommendations and integrations with modern hospitality platforms like Mews, making it easy to set up and manage. Laasie reports an average direct‑conversion lift around 43 %, giving a clear ROI benchmark.

• Fewer rules and conditions. Network loyalty programs can impose complex conditions—such as requiring a cash‑forward value to cover one night’s stay before taxes and sending the redemption via PayPal days after checkout. This adds friction for guests and extra questions for your staff.

Why network programs cost you more in the long run

• You fund their membership. Because enrollment often happens on your website, your marketing spend and website real estate drive sign‑ups to the network’s club. The network then markets to those members across the portfolio.

• Discount leakage. By offering 5 % cash‑back on all stays including those booked through your own site... network programs effectively standardize a discount across your inventory and train customers to expect it. Laasie lets you target incentives when you need them most, protecting your average daily rate.

• Cross‑property redemption. Network programs are designed to maximize flexibility for travelers. Members earn and redeem the same currency across the entire network. This is attractive to consumers but risky for an independent property because your loyalty investment can end up subsidizing stays at another hotel.

Bottom line

For an independent hotel trying to build a loyal base of direct guests, Laasie’s white‑label, instant‑reward model keeps your brand front and center, preserves rate integrity, and uses your incentive dollars to drive repeat stays with you. Network loyalty programs, on the other hand, ask you to fund a broader membership that funnels guests around the network and dilutes your hard‑won direct relationships.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Laasie Launches Meeting Planner Rewards: Leveling the Playing Field for Hotels Competing Against Big-Brand Points Programs

New York, NY – September 9, 2025 – Laasie, the leading provider of instant rewards loyalty technology for hotels and travel brands, today announced the launch of Meeting Planner Rewards, a new incentive program designed specifically for hotels and hotel groups competing in the group and corporate meetings space.

Built on Laasie’s award-winning Retain platform, Meeting Planner Rewards provides independent hotels and smaller groups with a powerful alternative to the big-brand points programs that have long dominated the meetings and events market. With a streamlined planner portal and deep-link RFP submission functionality, the solution delivers instant, flexible rewards that help hotels win more group business without the cost or liability of traditional points-based systems.

“For too long, independent hotels and groups have lost valuable RFPs simply because they couldn’t match Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors with planners,” said Ellis Connolly, Chief Revenue Officer at Laasie. “Meeting Planner Rewards flips that script. We’re giving hotels the ability to offer planners something better…instant rewards with real, flexible value while capturing first-party planner data and driving more direct group business.”

1. Key Features of Meeting Planner Rewards

• Planner-Centric Rewards Portal: A white-labeled interface where planners can  access promotions, view milestones and instantly redeem rewards from Laasie’s global marketplace.

• Seamless RFP Integration: Direct links to hotel booking engines or third-party RFP platforms ensure a frictionless planner experience.

• Flexible Reward Allocations: Hotels can structure incentives per RFP, per room night, or by spend thresholds.

• No Points Liability: Rewards are only paid when business is won, eliminating the long-term liabilities and breakage costs of traditional programs.

2. Why Now

The launch comes at a pivotal moment for hotels. Corporate and association group demand is rebounding, but planners are increasingly frustrated with the devaluation and complexity of points-based programs. At the same time, independents and smaller groups face mounting competition from both global brands and OTAs encroaching on group business. Meeting Planner Rewards gives these hotels a competitive loyalty lever designed for today’s market realities.

3. Driving Results for Hotels

By offering instant rewards tailored to meeting planners, hotels can:

• Boost RFP win rates against brand-affiliated competitors.

• Differentiate with rewards that provide immediate, tangible value.

• Capture planner data for ongoing relationship management and marketing.

“Our mission has always been to transform loyalty beyond points,” Connolly added. “With Meeting Planner Rewards, we’re extending that mission to one of the most competitive and overlooked areas of hospitality: meetings and group business.”

4. About Laasie

Laasie powers a new kind of loyalty built on instant gratification. Trusted by leading hotel brands and independents worldwide including Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts, Benchmark Pyramid, and Macdonald Hotels. Laasie replaces outdated points programs with a dynamic rewards marketplace that drives direct bookings, captures first-party data, and delivers immediate guest and planner value.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Ellis Connolly
ellis@laasie.ai
703.626.4315

Loyalty used to be simple. Count points, send postcards, wait for the guest to come back (eventually). Fast forward to today: guests want instant gratification, operators want ROI yesterday, and OTAs are still eating your lunch.

So what’s a hotelier to do? Start by tracking the right metrics. Here’s your ultimate checklist! 17.5 loyalty KPIs that actually matter in 2025. Some are classics, some are new-school, and a few are Laasie specials you won’t find in your competitor’s playbook.

Traditional Loyalty Metrics (The Old Guard… Still Useful)

1. Repeat Guest Rate How many of your guests came back for a second (or third) stay? Old but gold.

2. Average Stay Frequency The number of stays per guest per year. If it’s once and done, you’re doing it wrong.

3. Average Daily Rate (ADR) Uplift from Members Are loyalty members booking higher ADR rooms than non-members? They should be.

4. Direct Booking Percentage Of your total bookings, how many come through your own channels? (Spoiler: OTAs don’t count.)

5. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) vs. Cost Per Reward Comparing marketing dollars vs. reward dollars. If your rewards cost less than paying OTA commissions, you’re on the right track.

6. Lifetime Value (LTV) of a Member How much revenue does a loyal guest bring over their “lifetime”? The north star for every program.

Modern Loyalty Metrics (Where Things Get Interesting)

7. Instant Reward Redemption Rate (Laasie Favorite) Did guests actually claim their rewards right away? This is where instant gratification wins hearts (and wallets).

8. Pre-Stay Engagement Rate Who opens your “you’ve got rewards” emails and actually clicks through?

9. Reward Selection Diversity Are guests just taking the Amazon card every time, or do they mix it up? (More diversity = more engagement.)

10. Abandoned Cart Recovery Rate (Convert+ Favorite) How many lookers turn into bookers once you dangle that instant reward?

11. Net New Enrollments Signups per month... because no one loves a ghost town loyalty portal.

12. Mobile Enrollment & Redemption Share Guests live on their phones; your loyalty program should too.

Smart-Serving & Behavior Metrics (Laasie’s Secret Sauce)

13. Smart Reward Match Rate How often did the system serve the “right” reward to the “right” guest at the “right” time? That’s precision loyalty.

14. Time-to-Value (TTV) How quickly after booking did a guest see/claim their reward? The faster, the stickier.

15. Member-Rate Conversion Lift Did your member rate + reward combo close more bookings vs. rack rate?

16. Referral Conversion Rate Your loyal guest referred a friend. Did that friend actually book? If yes, jackpot.

17. Stagnant Member Reactivation How many “sleepy” members came back after a reactivation email + fresh reward offer?

And the Half Metric:

17.5. The Smile Factor No, you can’t chart it on a spreadsheet, but you can feel it. It’s the lift when a guest realizes they got an Uber ride or spa credit just for booking with you. The moment that proves loyalty doesn’t have to be points

Tracking the right loyalty metrics isn’t just about dashboards and data. It’s about measuring what truly drives repeat stays, higher direct bookings, and happier guests without adding more stress to your operations team.

At Laasie, we don’t just give you the metrics. We help you move them... instantly.

Want to see a Laasie demo? Click here!

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Implementing a hotel loyalty program doesn’t require a 10-person marketing department or an enterprise budget. In fact, with the right partner, a single person or even no dedicated person at all can stand up a fully functional, beautifully branded, high-converting loyalty program in just a few days.

That’s exactly what Laasie was built for.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how lean hotel teams, whether you’re a single boutique property or a multi-property independent group can launch a best-in-class loyalty program without straining internal resources or time.

Reward Strategy: Designing Incentives That Actually Convert

The backbone of any loyalty program is the value it provides to the guest. And for a program to succeed without a heavy marketing lift, the rewards need to carry that value clearly and instantly.

Here’s the good news: you don’t need to build a complicated points system to drive loyalty. In fact, for most independent hotels, points-based programs can feel like overkill... too much infrastructure, too little return. That’s why Laasie leans into something much simpler and more effective: instant rewards.

The idea is straightforward... book direct, and get something of value right away. No points to track. No delay. Just a frictionless, high-converting value exchange that makes your guest feel appreciated immediately.

The type of rewards you offer should align with your brand. Running a beach resort? Spa credits or beach gear might be a great fit. An urban boutique? Think Uber rides or local café vouchers. A luxury property? Your guests might appreciate premium brands like Bloomingdale’s or Amex rewards.

Even better, you don’t have to source or manage these rewards yourself. Laasie has a network of over 1,000 partners and helps you curate a catalog that speaks directly to your audience. We’ll even help you segment reward tiers by length of stay, booking window, or room type without needing a CRM.

Design: Fully Branded and Seamlessly Integrated

One of the biggest concerns we hear from hotels is: "Will this look and feel like us?" The answer? Absolutely.

Even without a design team on your side, we make sure your loyalty program reflects your unique brand. Our in-house design team builds a custom reward portal using your fonts, logos, color palette, and imagery. Everything is optimized for mobile and ADA compliance, so you can deliver a great experience to every guest, on every device.

No brand guide? No problem. We can pull directly from your website and existing booking engine to ensure visual consistency.

Need banners, landing pages, or email templates? We’ve got you covered there too.

Tech Stack: Light, Flexible, and No-Code

This is where most hoteliers breathe a sigh of relief. Laasie doesn’t require a custom integration or weeks of engineering time.

Implementation is as easy as dropping a line of code into Google Tag Manager. That’s it. No disruption to your booking engine. No IT tickets.

We work with all the major engines... SynXis, Pegasus, TravelClick, SHR, and others... and can integrate with your website and CMS in just a few minutes. PMS or CRM integrations are optional, not required.

Our implementation team does all the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to.

Staff Training: Empowering Your Front Desk and Reservations Team

No marketing team? No worries. Your front desk and reservations team are your best ambassadors for loyalty.

We equip them with simple, effective tools to communicate the value of booking direct. That includes one-pagers, FAQ sheets, and even training videos. Most teams can be up to speed in under an hour.

They’ll learn how to explain the program to guests, help with reward redemption, and plant the seed for repeat direct bookings.

Launch: Starting Fresh or Migrating from Another Program

Whether you’re launching your first loyalty program or transitioning from a points-based system, we make it seamless.

If this is your first program, we’ll help set the go-live date, finalize the reward strategy, customize the portal, and test everything before launch. Typically, this whole process takes just ten to twelve business days.

Already running a program? We’ll help you shift the benefits over, communicate the change to your guests, and ensure your landing pages and marketing materials reflect the new experience.

We can even write your announcement emails or on-site signage. Seriously.

Ongoing Support and Optimization

Launching is just the beginning. What sets Laasie apart is the ongoing partnership.

We don’t just hand you the keys and walk away. Our customer success team monitors performance and shares insights along the way. You’ll have access to a real-time dashboard with metrics like direct booking uplift, reward redemption rates, email capture, and guest return frequency.

We’ll meet with you weekly to review what’s working, suggest improvements, and help you refresh rewards based on changing guest preferences or seasonality.

And if your team wants to try something new like adjusting CTAs or testing email timing... we’re here to support that too.

Simple Strategies to Boost Loyalty Without a Marketing Team

You don’t need an always-on campaign to keep guests engaged. A few smart placements can go a long way.

Add a mention of your rewards to booking confirmations and pre-arrival emails. Drop a QR code on the front desk. Let your staff mention it at check-in.

You can also include messaging in your social posts, even if you only post a few times a month. We’ll supply the creative and copy. You just hit upload.

In-room signage or table tents? We’ll design those, too. Every touchpoint becomes an opportunity to remind guests that booking direct pays off.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need a full-scale marketing department to launch and run a loyalty program that drives real results. All you need is a partner who’s done this hundreds of times and a willingness to start.

Laasie was built to empower lean teams. We provide the strategy, design, tech, training, and ongoing support, so you can stay focused on what matters most: your guests.

Let us handle the rest.

Want to see how Laasie Retain could launch at your property in under a week? Let’s talk.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

The rules of search have changed. Your hotel’s content isn’t just competing on Google anymore. It’s being summarized, paraphrased, and recommended by AI. Welcome to the age of Generative Engine Optimization… GEO.

If you're still creating content for humans instead of AI models, you're falling behind. But there’s a major opportunity most hoteliers haven’t tapped yet: loyalty and rewards content. It’s the kind of value-driven, structured content that AI engines prioritize and OTAs are already capitalizing on it.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is about earning visibility in AI-generated answers, not just traditional search results... Think ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta AI. These models aren’t surfacing websites in a list. They’re recommending and summarizing what they find most relevant.

Here’s how the modern booking funnel looks:

A traveler asks “What are the best hotels in Charleston with local perks?”

Generative AI replies “Booking lists Hotel Indigo, which offers loyalty perks like complimentary bike rentals and local dining credits”

If your hotel isn’t mentioned or if only the OTA version of your property is... you’ve lost the guest before they even land on your site.

Why Loyalty Content Is Perfect for GEO

GEO prioritizes content that is:

• Clear and structured

• Aligned with user intent

• Rich in local context

• Actionable and commercially relevant

Loyalty and instant rewards content checks all of those boxes. It doesn’t just describe what your hotel is. It explains why a guest should book direct and what they’ll get for doing so.

How OTAs Are Already Using Loyalty Content for GEO

OTAs are embedding loyalty and perks content in highly crawlable, AI-friendly formats

Booking “Genius Level 2 members get free breakfast and priority support at this property”

Expedia “Gold members receive double points and spa discounts in Miami”

Airbnb “Save on service fees with return stays”

These benefits aren’t just used to close deals. They’re crafted to surface in generative search responses. Meanwhile, most hotels still bury loyalty perks behind a member login or a static FAQ page.

How Your Hotel Can Win at GEO with Laasie

Make Rewards Crawlable and Clear Ensure your perks are easy for AI engines to parse. Example “Book direct and get instant perks like a $25 dining credit, late checkout, and exclusive local offers. No points required.”

Create Use Case Content Around Loyalty Design content around guest personas and trip types “Planning a girls’ weekend in Scottsdale? Our members get free drinks at The Canal Club and 15 percent off at local spas”

This kind of content performs well in generative answers that target travel intent.

Build a Loyalty FAQ That Can Be Quoted Include questions and answers such as “How do I get rewards when I book direct?” “What loyalty benefits do members get in Denver?”

AI models pull from this type of content when constructing responses.

Syndicate Rewards Content Across Channels Use newsletters, blog articles, and social media posts to share rewards information consistently. This increases your chances of being included in multiple data sources that AI models use.

What Laasie Does Differently

Laasie makes it easy to present rewards content that is both compelling and optimized for generative engines.

Our platform helps you:

• Deliver instant rewards based on guest behavior

• Present clear, structured content across your booking flow

• Create loyalty offers tailored to real-world travel intent

• Surface perks that are easy for AI engines to detect and summarize

The result is more visibility, more direct bookings, and stronger loyalty.

The Takeaway

GEO is the new SEO. Loyalty is no longer a back-end program—it’s a front-end content asset.

In a world where guests ask AI where to stay, your hotel needs to be the answer. And that answer needs to include value, intent, and real rewards.

Want to see how your loyalty content can perform in the age of generative search? Let’s talk. Laasie can help you build a loyalty strategy designed for the future of discovery.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Some guests hit big and disappear. One day they’re checking in with seven friends and three coolers of hard seltzer, and the next… radio silence.

But just because they booked once for a group event doesn’t mean they’re a one-time guest. In fact, some of your most valuable long-term loyalists start as high-spend partygoers if you know how to catch the signal before it fades.

At Laasie, we call this persona The Event Guest Turned Explorer. They came for the celebration. They stayed (digitally) for the vibe. And now they’re leaving breadcrumbs that say, “Hey, I might be back—but only if you make the next move.”

Meet the Unregistered Elite

Let’s call him Jake.

Eight months ago, Jake booked a 2-bedroom suite for a whiskey trail birthday weekend with six friends. He booked a distillery tour, racked up $1,800 in F&B, and bought two branded robes from the spa boutique. A dream guest… and seemingly a one-and-done.

But recently, your CDP flagged that Jake:

• Followed your hotel’s Instagram account

• Opened three of your last four emails

• Spent 14 minutes browsing your website’s “couples packages” during your Winter Jazz Festival

This isn’t an accident. Jake didn’t just come for the bourbon. He might come back for the ambiance. You just have to reframe the relationship.

Recognize the Post-Stay Signals

The mistake most hotels make? They treat group guests like flings. The event’s over, the tab is closed, and the CRM labels them as a “past guest.”

But Laasie sees what others don’t.

Using Laasie and your integrated CDP, we recognize post-stay signals like:

• Social media engagement

• Website browsing behavior

• Email open and click patterns

• Re-engagement via partner channels

When Jake lands back on your site looking at the “Live Jazz by the Fireplace” package, he’s not being nostalgic. He’s evaluating you for a new context.

And that’s your opening.

Recast the Property for a New Role

Jake came for bourbon and best friends. But now he’s eyeing a weekend getaway with someone special.

Your job? Don’t sell him the same suite and tour package. Reposition the experience for intimacy and refinement.

With Laasie’s dynamic content capabilities, we can:

• Surface couples-focused offers on your homepage when he returns

• Offer rewards that match his interests (local jazz tickets, food tours, spa credits)

It’s not about rebooking what he loved. It’s about evolving the story from group energy to personal escape.

Leverage Memory as Social Proof

Jake’s return visit isn’t random. He already had a great time. Use it.

Hotels should craft recognition messaging that makes returning feel like being welcomed back by name, not spammed from a list.

Sample email subject lines that convert:

• “Hey Jake, your old suite misses you (and so does the bar)”

• “Your last visit was legendary! Let’s make this one unforgettable for two”

• “The whiskey’s still aged. The fireplace is still warm. Ready for round two?”

Weave his previous visit into a new narrative, one that feels personal, familiar, and upgraded.

Deliver Targeted Instant Rewards

You know we’re big on non-discount rewards. For Jake, the key is to offer:

• Local experiences that match his interests (live music, craft cocktails)

• Upgrades that feel thoughtful (suite placement, late checkout)

• Surprises that feel tailored (“We stocked your minibar with small-batch bourbons on us”)

And it doesn’t have to break the bank. We’ve seen $25 experiential perks drive 30% higher rebooking rates than $100 off.

It’s not the amount. It’s the relevance.

Five Steps to Activate Your “Jakes”

Flag group bookings as seeds, not one-offs Tag high-spend event guests in your CRM and CDP.

Track their post-stay digital behavior Use Laasie Convert to monitor web activity, social clicks, and email opens.

Build return journeys with evolved positioning Send messaging that reflects a more intimate, elevated experience.

Offer low-lift, high-perceived-value rewards Craft cocktail class? Yes. 15% off? Meh.

Recognize repeat visits like a reunion No awkward “welcome back” guesswork, just seamless continuation of the story.

The Best Guests Are Built, Not Booked

Your hotel didn’t just host Jake’s big weekend. You hosted his memories and now you have the power to deepen them.

Laasie helps you see the next version of every guest. Not just who they were, but who they could become if you meet them with relevance, recognition, and rewards.

So the next time your PMS tells you it was a “one-time booking,” ignore it. If you’re listening closely, they’re saying: I’m still here. Show me why I should come back. And Laasie is ready to help you answer that call.

Want to turn one-time guests into loyal lifetime bookers? Let’s talk. I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie. I’ll show you how to take a bachelor weekend, birthday bash, or bachelorette blowout and transform it into a guest who books again, again, and again.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Some guests slip through the cracks. But not because they’re low value because they’re too valuable to bother with your forms.

They book frequently, stay in suites, splurge on spa services, and order two glasses of wine with dinner instead of one. And yet… they never once “joined your program.” This isn’t negligence. It’s inertia. And it’s costing you six figures in untapped lifetime value.

At Laasie, we call these folks the Unregistered Elite, premium travelers hiding in plain sight, spending $10k+ across your portfolio without ever enrolling in your loyalty program. They’re often missed by traditional CRMs, overlooked in loyalty email lists, and nearly impossible to identify without the right tech.

Unless, of course, you're using Laasie.

Meet the Unregistered Elite

Let’s rename her Isabelle.

Isabelle has stayed at three different hotels in your collection over the last 18 months. She averages $3,125 per stay, always books a suite, regularly adds on spa and wellness packages, and once tipped a concierge in Bitcoin (yes, really).

But because she booked once via Amex Travel, once through your mobile app, and once through a travel advisor… your loyalty system doesn’t recognize her as anyone special.

No points. No perks. No welcome-back champagne. Just another “new” guest every time. The irony? She’s more loyal than most of your top-tier members.

Why Traditional Loyalty Systems Miss Guests Like Isabelle

Conventional loyalty programs require the guest to:

• Find the signup page

• Create an account

• Verify email

• Remember login credentials

• Book through the “right” channel

That’s five hurdles before you even know they’re loyal. And guess what? Your most valuable guests don’t have time for any of that. They just expect the experience to be seamless and when it’s not, they assume you don’t care.

Here’s where Laasie flips the script.

Let the System Do the Recognition

Isabelle shouldn’t have to join your loyalty program. Your loyalty program should find Isabelle.

Laasie uses integrated data from your CDP, CRS, PMS, and booking engine to:

• Match guest profiles across multiple stays and properties

• Detect high-value behavior (length of stay, room type, ancillary spend)

• Identify unregistered guests who meet elite-tier thresholds

So even if Isabelle books under different emails or channels, Laasie consolidates her activity into one unified profile.

And once she crosses your threshold? We don’t just enroll her... we celebrate her.

Instantly Enroll and Elevate

Most loyalty programs make members “earn” their tier. Laasie believes: if they’ve already spent like a VIP, they deserve to be treated like one.

Once Isabelle’s profile is recognized, we:

• Auto-enroll her in your white-labeled loyalty experience

• Backdate her activity to credit all eligible spend

• Assign her top-tier status (with zero paperwork)

• Trigger a personalized email that says:

“We’ve noticed your loyalty. And we think it’s time you were recognized.”

This isn’t a promo. It’s a thank-you note.

It feels earned, not marketed. That’s the difference between status inflation and status intimacy.

Deliver Instant Recognition

When Isabelle checks into your next property, she should feel like the staff rolled out a red carpet just for her. And thanks to Laasie, they can.

Her loyalty status is already linked to her reservation. Her preferences, suite location, spa times, minibar stock are auto-loaded. And a welcome note waits in her room:

“We’re honored to host one of our most loyal guests. Your room upgrade and spa credit have been arranged.”

She didn’t opt-in. She didn’t download anything. She just got what she earned without lifting a finger.

Laasie Loyalty: No Apps. No Passwords. Just Presence.

The brilliance of Laasie’s system is that it removes friction entirely:

• No signup required

• No manual tracking

• No gatekeeping benefits

It rewards actual loyalty behavior, not just program participation. And because everything’s white-labeled, your guest doesn’t feel like they’re joining a third-party club.

They’re building a deeper relationship with your brand.

Five Moves to Unlock the Unregistered Elite

Audit your loyalty data Start by finding your top 50 guests by total spend—how many are actually enrolled?

Integrate your tech stack Ensure your CDP, PMS, and CRM are syncing guest behaviors across all properties.

Set auto-enroll triggers in Laasie Define high-value thresholds: e.g., 3 stays + $9,000 = automatic VIP status.

Launch a recognition campaign Don’t wait until the guest calls you out. Send a “We See You” email that surprises and delights.

Make benefits feel bespoke Offer perks that are preference-based, not tier-based like their preferred suite or a reward tied to past behaviors.

The Bottom Line: Loyalty Shouldn’t Require Loyalty

Isabelle didn’t ask to be loyal. She just kept coming back.

And in return, she should get more than a generic email blast or a points spreadsheet. She should get recognition, consistency, and gratitude across every channel and every stay.

That’s what Laasie delivers.

And that’s why our partners don’t wait for loyalty to happen. They build it automatically, intelligently, and with heart.

Want to identify your unregistered elite and show them the appreciation they already deserve? Let’s talk. I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie. And I’ll help you find the guests who are loyal, even when your tech doesn’t see them.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

There’s nothing quite like a regular. The kind of guest who knows the front desk team by name, requests the same suite every visit, and books their seasonal trips like clockwork. They’re the heartbeat of your RevPAR.

But here’s the twist: while you’re patting yourself on the back for capturing their loyalty to one of your properties, they’re out skiing at three other mountains every winter… just never at yours.

This is the tale of The Devoted Regular...the guest who is emotionally loyal to your brand at one location, but hasn’t connected the dots to the rest of your portfolio. And let me tell you, if you’re not actively designing their next journey, someone else’s booking engine will.

Let’s fix that.

Meet the Devoted Regular (And Her Untapped Potential)

Let’s call her Caroline.

Caroline has stayed at your Summit Pines Lodge in Jackson Hole every Presidents’ Day weekend for four years. She always books a deluxe king with a fireplace, hits the spa before skiing, and loves the peppermint hot chocolate from the lobby bar. Her lifetime value? Over $14,655 a year.

But here’s what your CRM just surfaced: She follows two other ski destinations on Instagram. She tags a different resort in Colorado each March. And last year, she posted an après-ski story... from Stowe.

Caroline isn’t just your best customer... she’s also your biggest missed opportunity. And she doesn’t even know it.

Cross-Property Loyalty Is the Next Big Revenue Driver

We’ve entered the era of portfolio personalization. Your most valuable guests don’t just want a punch card—they want a curated journey across your collection.

Here’s the truth: most hotel groups aren’t maximizing cross-property value because their loyalty strategy is property-specific. Each hotel guards its CRM data like a local secret, and no one is proactively saying:

“Hey Caroline! You already love Summit Pines. Why not check out our sister lodge in Lake Tahoe this spring? Your room type and perks are waiting.”

That’s the magic we enable with Laasie guest-centric loyalty that travels with your guest, wherever your flag flies.

Identify Your Carolines

Your first move? Stop thinking like a spreadsheet and start thinking like a storyteller.

With Laasie, we use behavioral and transaction data to surface “Devoted Regulars” across your properties. Our system connects:

• Repeat stay patterns

• On-property reward behavior (spa visits, upgrades, F&B)

This paints a full picture of the guest, not just where they have stayed, but where they might go next.

When the CRM flagged that Caroline had visited your Jackson Hole, Santa Fe, and Aspen web pages all within 30 days we didn’t see curiosity. We saw intent. That’s when you strike.

Curate the “The Alpine Path Milestone”

Think of it like a Netflix recommendation engine, but for meaningful travel experiences.

Laasie enables you to build dynamic, cross-property campaigns based on past behavior. So if Caroline loves your Hunter property and books spa services like clockwork, here’s what she gets:

“Your next peak awaits. As one of our Hunter regulars, we’ve reserved your preferred room type and spa perks at our Lake Placid lodge, plus a member-exclusive reward to make your first stay even sweeter.”

This isn’t mass email marketing. It’s loyalty storytelling. You’re not selling her on a new property. You’re inviting her deeper into the brand she already trusts.

Make Her Feel Known... Everywhere

This is where most programs fall apart.

Even if you get the guest to book another property in your portfolio, the experience resets—no preferred room pre-assigned, no spa profile carried over, no welcome gift that says “We remember you.”

That’s the quickest way to kill brand affinity.

With Laasie, her preferences travel with her:

• Her favorite room layout and floor

• Her pillow preference (hypoallergenic, obviously)

• Her membership status and past perks

• Her rewards and redemption history

Everything’s unified across the portfolio. It’s not a new stay. It’s a new chapter.

And when she checks in, the front desk greets her like they’ve known her for years. Because thanks to the CRM, they basically have.

Reward Her for Expanding the Relationship

Here’s the part where you turn a good guest into a superfan.

Laasie lets you layer instant, personalized rewards that feel like gifts... not transactions.

• First-time stay at a sister property? Offer a local dining experience or free lift pass.

• Booked 3+ properties in a calendar year? Surprise her with a curated “Explorer” reward tier.

• Refer a fellow skier? Drop both of them a $50 gear credit.

The more they explore, the more they earn, not in points, but in relevant, frictionless perks that feel like an extension of the experience.

This kind of loyalty isn’t about climbing a ladder. It’s about moving horizontally across your brand and being delighted at every stop.

Five Plays to Launch a Portfolio Loyalty Strategy This Quarter

Identify your top 10 single-property regulars Pull CRM data and find your “Carolines.” Prioritize by LTV and repeat behavior.

Build a branded journey framework Name it something elegant: “The Alpine Path,” “The Seaside Circle,” “The Urban Explorer Club.”

Audit CRM integrations Ensure preferences, room types, and rewards are synced across properties. If they’re not, Laasie can help stitch it together.

Design onboarding campaigns Send triggered “Try a Sister Property” emails to regulars with stay history and tailored rewards.

Track movement and reward accordingly Celebrate guests who stay at 2, 3, 4 properties. Don’t tier them... just surprise and delight them.

Final Word from the CRO’s Desk

There’s something beautifully simple about a guest who comes back year after year. But there’s something even more powerful about a guest who brings that loyalty with them to every flag you fly.

If your loyalty program ends at the lobby, you’re leaving revenue on the runway. Caroline isn’t just a Hunter loyalist. She’s a Alpine Path devotee waiting to happen. All she needs is a reason and a reward to say yes.

And that’s where Laasie comes in.

Want help mapping your top cross-property guests and building a journey they’ll love? Let’s chat. I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie and we’re here to help you make loyalty personal, portable, and profitable.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

One year ago, Europe's highest court made headlines: Booking.com's price parity clauses were ruled illegal.

Hoteliers celebrated. It felt like a win in the long-running power struggle between hotels and OTAs... a moment when control of pricing and distribution might shift back toward operators. And for a brief time, it did... OTAs in the U.S. eased off enforcement. States began questioning parity’s legality. The balance of power felt… possible.

But here’s what we’ve learned, twelve months later: Price parity didn’t disappear. It evolved.

The New Face of Parity: Algorithmic & Invisible

Parity used to be simple. Legal language. Contract clauses. A rule you followed or broke at your own risk. Now, parity is algorithmic. Invisible. And more dangerous than ever.

Hotels that post lower rates on brand.com are quietly pushed down in OTA sort order. Page visibility tanks. Conversions drop. There are no cease-and-desist letters. No rep calls. Just a silent, steady decline in your OTA performance and no clear explanation why.

Parity is no longer enforced by lawyers. It's enforced by code.

What Smart Hoteliers Are Doing Instead

At Laasie, we support hundreds of hotels navigating the loyalty and distribution landscape. We’ve seen firsthand how the most forward-thinking revenue teams are adapting:

Fenced Rates

Discounts behind a login or a member wall (think: loyalty program, email promo, exclusive code). These are technically not public rates, which gives you more room to offer better pricing without triggering OTA enforcement.

Value-Add Perks

Same rate, better deal. Direct bookings that include a local experience, merchant incentive, parking, upgrades, or early check-in. It's often overlooked by OTA systems, but not always... Proceed with awareness.

Surgical Undercutting

Just $5–$10 less on your own site can nudge guests to book direct, especially when paired with rewards or a better experience. The trick is subtlety. Big gaps set off OTA alarms. Small ones fly under the radar.

The Worst Strategy? Doing Nothing

The hotels getting burned right now are the ones doing nothing. No fenced offers. No value-added perks. No loyalty incentives. They’re stuck in a losing cycle... matching rates with OTAs, paying commissions, and missing the chance to build real guest relationships.

The best hotels aren’t just offering lower rates. They’re offering more value.

What We Advise at Laasie:

Watch your OTA visibility. Monitor your average sort order, search-to-pageview ratio, and conversion metrics.

Test everything. The tactics that worked last quarter may be hurting you now.

Own the guest experience. Instant rewards, email journeys, first-party data, and loyalty perks aren’t just marketing tools. They’re armor.

Final Word: Parity May Be Dead But Pricing Still Drives Power

In a world without formal parity clauses, the opportunity isn’t just to beat OTAs, it’s to rethink your entire direct channel value proposition. Because when a guest sees the same price across every channel, they'll choose the most convenient option.

But when they see a better experience, a better reward, or a better relationship? They’ll book with you.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

If you’ve ever stared at an abandoned-cart report and felt personally offended by the $842.58 suite someone configured and then ghosted, welcome to the club. As Laasie’s CRO, I get a front-row seat to that heartbreak across 3,000-plus hotels every single day. The good news? We’ve also learned exactly how to bring those would-be guests back... without blinking pop-ups, coupon carpet-bombing, or other pressure tactics that make revenue leaders (and guests) roll their eyes.

Below is the playbook my team and I deploy whenever we see a high-intent traveler lingering at checkout. You’ll notice it hinges on one principle: value-first personalization beats hard-sell urgency every time.

Give Instant Value, Not Sticker Shock

We wired Laasie Convert straight into the booking engines of our partner hotels for one reason:

A perfectly timed reward is the hospitality equivalent of putting the chocolate on the pillow before check-in.

Here’s how a typical session unfolds:

1. Signal capture – Convert’s AI spots behavioral clues (repeat suite views, “Favorites” clicks, extended dwell time).

2. Personalized nudge – Instead of a blunt 10 % discount, the guest sees: “Celebrate in style: Choose a complimentary vineyard picnic basket or sunset hot-air-balloon ride when you book direct today.”

3. Emotional win – The booking stops being a cost decision and turns into a vivid picture of anniversary toasts and Temecula sunsets instantly reserved at checkout.

Why it works

• Personal relevance → Higher perceived value than blanket or generic discounts.

• Instant reward → Guests don’t have to bank points until next year’s vacation.

• Brand-first → The perk carries the hotel’s logo and voice, not a third-party coupon watermark.

The Gentle Come-Back Smart Abandonment Email

Let’s assume the traveler still leaves (kids interrupt, credit card not handy... life happens). Convert automatically triggers a two-step email sequence while intent is hot:

• Subject: “Your vineyard-view suite is still on hold (plus that picnic basket!)”

• Body: hero image of the chosen room, social proof (“See how couples celebrated their anniversary here”), single CTA back to checkout.

No countdown timers, no guilt trips... just a friendly reminder that the celebration is waiting, complete with their chosen reward. Across the portfolio, these personalized recoveries reclaim up to 30 % of abandoned bookings within 48 hours.

From One-Time Treat to Forever Fan

Conversion secured, we don’t pop champagne yet. The real money is in repeat stays, ancillary spend, and brand advocacy. That’s where Laasie Retain steps in:

1. Frictionless membership – Every direct guest is auto-enrolled (no extra forms) into the hotel’s white-labeled loyalty experience.

2. Infinite-tier rewards – Each direct interaction drops an immediate, personalized perk into the guest’s wallet: preorder spa credit, local art tour, even ride-share vouchers to a winery.

3. Brand storytelling – Retain’s email engine keeps members looped into upcoming events and insider rates... always with an instant-redeem reward attached.

Payoff you can take to the bank

• Higher ADR – Members book premium rooms 20 %+ more often across our portfolio.

• Longer stay length – Surprise-and-delight nudges guests to tack on that extra night.

• Lower acquisition cost – Repeat direct bookings shave OTA commissions to the bone.

CRO Approved Plays You Can Steal Today

Map signals to passions. Not every guest eyeing a suite cares about pool cabanas, so stop lumping them together. Let behavior, not demographics, tell you what perk to offer. Pro tip: start by tracking your five most common browsing patterns, then match two high-value rewards to each.

Make reward value obvious. A clean “$50 dining credit” instantly resonates; “500 bonus points” feels like monopoly money. Always translate perks into clear currency (USD, GBP, etc.) so guests know exactly what they’re getting.

Write like a human. Nothing tanks engagement faster than desperate, robotic copy. Swap “Last chance!” for something inviting like “Your getaway is this close.” The difference is subtle but powerful.

Auto-enroll, don’t auto-annoy. Guests love instant benefits, not new passwords. Use single sign-on to drop them into your loyalty hub automatically; let the confirmation email double as their welcome guide.

Put success metrics front and center. Revenue teams invest in what they can measure. Add a quick widget to your weekly RevPAR deck that shows conversion lifts and repeat-booking gains amd watch the budget approvals roll in.

Discount Fatigue? Not When You Reward Smarter

Hoteliers often ask, “Ellis, won’t we train guests to expect freebies?” Short answer: No... if rewards are experiential and brand-aligned.

• Experiential perks (sunrise-yoga deck access) cost less than deep rate cuts yet feel premium.

• Third-party partner rewards (local vineyards, tours) can be bartered or revenue shared.

• Dynamic inventory means you swap rewards as supply and seasonality shift... no perpetual giveaways.

The real threat isn’t discount addiction; it’s irrelevance. A stale, generic promotion costs you twice: lost bookings and diminished brand equity.

Bringing It Home: Numbers Your CFO Will Love

• +43 % average lift in direct-booking conversion after enabling Convert

• 80 %+ opt-in rate to white-labeled loyalty (because it’s instant and hassle-free)

• 5× higher repeat-booking probability among Retain members vs. non-members

• 0 angry emails about points expiring (there are no points)

Those numbers make even the grumpiest finance chief nod appreciatively and free you to reinvest marketing dollars where they belong: crafting experiences, not coupons.

Ready to Transform “Almost” Into “Always”?

If your cart-abandonment dashboard looks like a horror film, it’s time to turn the lights on. Pair instant, personalized rewards with guest-centric loyalty, and watch high-intent browsers transform into always-loyal, higher-spending champions.

I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie, and I promise: when you shift from pressure to personalized appreciation, abandoned carts become your best growth engine. Now quit reading and go rescue some revenue... we’ll keep the champagne cold for when your next returning guest walks through the lobby doors.

P.S. Want the full tech walkthrough? Ping me on LinkedIn and I’ll send you a clickable demo deck... no gate, no gimmicks

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

Let me paint a familiar picture... You’ve got a guest who stays like clockwork. Same room, same service requests, quarterly like a metronome. You might even know what newspaper he reads and how he likes his eggs.

But here’s the kicker... you’ve never seen his name in your loyalty program. Because he books through an OTA. Every. Single. Time.

At Laasie, we call this guest the Masked Loyalist. He’s your best kind of traveler—predictable, profitable, repeat business and you’re paying a 18%+ commission every time he shows up.

Why? Because your tech stack doesn’t recognize him across channels. Let’s change that.

Who Is the OTA Loyalist?

This guest isn’t a points-chaser. He’s a convenience-chaser.

He may book on Booking.com or Expedia because that’s what he knows. He might be traveling for work and defaulting to company tools. He’s not loyal to the OTA, he’s loyal to your property. He just doesn’t know you want a direct relationship with him.

And let’s be real: you don’t want to pitch him the same old “book direct and save” banner. That feels transactional. This isn’t about discounts... it’s about recognition.

That’s where the Laasie Loyalty Platform comes in.

The Opportunity Behind the Mask

Let’s say this OTA Loyalist has stayed at your property four times this year, each time through a different OTA account. Because the booking data is fragmented, your CRM sees him as four unique guests... He’s hidden in plain sight.

Now imagine this: your CRM identifies his stay pattern and flags him as a recurring guest. You merge those identities into one rich guest profile using first-party and third-party data.

Suddenly you’re not dealing with “Booking.com Guest #4891223.” You’re dealing with your best future member.

Unified Guest Identity

The first move is connecting the dots. With Laasie’s integrations across PMS, CRM, and booking channels, we help hotels consolidate guest identities by:

• Matching stay dates, room types, and payment profiles

• Stitching together loyalty signals (repeat preferences, selected rewards, ancillary spend)

• Something to consider: Enriching OTA reservations with first-party interactions (Wi-Fi logins, spa usage, email opens)

That turns anonymous OTA stays into actionable guest records. It also unlocks targeting windows that would otherwise go dark.

Predictive Targeting

Now that we know this guest tends to book every 90 days and loves Room 314, it’s time to act. Using your CRM + Laasie, you can deploy personalized direct booking offers at just the right moment before the OTA gets the first click.

Example:

“Your favorite view is waiting. Book direct this week and enjoy an exclusive welcome gift + a complimentary room upgrade.”

This isn't a generic promotion. It’s relationship marketing.

It says:

• “We know you.”

• “We saved your spot.”

• “You’re not just another traveler.”

That’s powerful.

Offer What the OTAs Can’t

Let’s be clear: you’re not going to out-advertise the OTAs. But you can out-delight them.

That means offering direct booking perks that OTAs can’t touch:

• Complimentary upgrades

• Partner merchant rewards

• Local experience rewards

• Early check-in or guaranteed late checkout

• Spa or F&B credits

• VIP welcome amenities tied to previous stays

With Laasie, these perks aren’t just static benefits. They’re dynamically matched to the guest based on stay behavior, spend history, and profile preferences.

So while the OTA shows “10% off,” your website says:

“Welcome back! Select your complimentary perk for your next stay: A local vineyard tasting OR A 30-minute massage + Room 314 reserved, just for you”

Now who’s got the competitive edge?

This Isn’t Just a Loyalty Play... It’s a Margin Play

Let’s do the math.

If a guest books four stays a year at $842.58 per stay through an OTA, that’s over $500 in commission out the door.

Convert just one of those to a direct booking and you’ve nearly paid for your CRM or CDP license. Convert two, and you’re printing profit.

And when you combine that with Laasie, you get:

• Direct bookings

• Personalized marketing

• Higher ancillary spend

• Repeat behavior across multiple properties

All while giving the guest something OTAs never will: a sense of being seen.

Smart CRM Tactics to Activate OTA Loyalists

Here’s your blueprint:

1. Segment by OTA frequency

Use your CRM to flag anyone who books 2+ times a year via OTAs. These are your “Redirect Ready” guests.

2. Merge guest profiles

Link email addresses, check-in behavior, Wi-Fi logins, and ancillary spend to build a single source of truth.

3. Time your outreach

Set a predictive window (e.g., 70 days since last check-in) and trigger a reward-forward email before the OTA ad shows up.

4. Personalize the perks with Laasie

Don’t send 10% off. Send a room upgrade with the exact room they’ve stayed in before, plus a custom reward.

5. Frame it as VIP treatment

Avoid “book direct” banners. Use phrases like “exclusive return guest experience” or “members-only recognition.”

The Future of Loyalty Is Identity Driven

This use case isn’t about “winning guests back.” It’s about realizing you had them all along. You just needed the tools to see them, the right moment to speak to them, and the platform to reward them instantly.

Laasie does that in one connected loop:

Recognize → Reward → Retain → Repeat

And the payoff? Lower OTA commissions. Higher guest lifetime value. And more of your best guests actually booking with you.

Final Word from the CRO’s Desk

If you’ve got high-value guests hiding in OTA transactions, you’re leaving serious revenue on the table. Let’s stop seeing them as anonymous clicks and start treating them like the VIPs they already are.

Use your tech to recognize them. Use your brand to elevate them. And use Laasie to make that shift feel effortless—for both you and your guest.

Want help building your OTA Share Shift strategy? Let’s talk. I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie, and I’ll show you how to make your best guests book like it.

Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie

You can almost hear it in the lobby. A little quieter than last quarter. Fewer wheels spinning on carry-ons. A little less bustle at check-in. The US hotel industry isn’t in a free fall, but it’s definitely hitting the brakes.

Demand has softened. The why is a messy stew: global uncertainty, tariffs throttling corporate travel budgets, inflation making even the most loyal leisure guests pause before clicking “book now.” Domestic travelers are cautious, international guests are calculating exchange rates with a raised brow, and meetings and events are being reevaluated in favor of virtual alternatives.

This isn’t a unique cycle, of course. Hospitality is no stranger to demand valleys. But unlike in past downturns, hotels today are facing a guest with sharper expectations and more options than ever. The OTAs remain aggressive. Airbnb is a viable competitor, even in markets that once leaned heavily on branded loyalty. And travelers, especially the digitally fluent ones, are deeply tuned into value and experience.

So in this softening demand landscape, we’ve got to ask: How do hotels keep their heads above water while also staying relevant, booked, and beloved?

Here’s the unglamorous truth: now is the time to double down on loyalty. Not just any loyalty. Not the points hoarder from 2012, who begrudgingly tolerates a hotel chain in exchange for a free night sometime in the next fiscal year. No, the loyalty of 2025 is built on real-time value, emotional connection, and the feeling that this place sees me.

Let’s unpack it.

Loyalty Is Not a Line Item, It’s a Lifeline

When RevPAR starts to dip, the gut reaction is often cost-cutting. Slash the ad budget. Pause the tech rollout. Consolidate services. But the hotels that weather downturns best aren’t necessarily the ones with the deepest cost cuts. They’re the ones that invest in the right levers, those that grow the guest relationship and increase share of wallet.

Loyalty is that lever.

It’s the difference between a guest who hesitates and one who rebooks. Between a call center save and a lost lifetime value. Between transactional and emotional.

And no, we’re not talking about plastering a “member rate” badge on your booking engine and calling it a day. True loyalty today isn’t about the label. It’s about relevance. Recognition. Immediacy.

This is where many traditional programs falter. The guest spends $1,000 and gets… points. Maybe enough for a coffee next quarter. And if they’re lucky, someone at the front desk thanks them for being a Gold Elite Tier 2. Warm fuzzies? Not exactly.

Guests aren’t patient anymore. They want to feel seen and appreciated in the moment. Which is exactly where Laasie steps in.

Real-Time Recognition: Because Delayed Gratification Is So Last Season

At Laasie, we believe in the power of instant. Our Retain platform isn’t a gimmick or a plug-and-play widget. It’s a dynamic rewards marketplace that recognizes a guest’s loyalty... right now.

Book direct? Boom: choose a reward you actually want. Amazon gift card, dining credit, ride share. Something tangible. Something immediate. And best of all, something that doesn’t require them to jump through months of hoops to access.

In a softer market, this immediacy becomes even more powerful. When guests are choosier and booking windows shrink, giving them something they can use today helps them say yes now, not three weeks from now. It's not bribery. It’s relationship building.

Because when you recognize loyalty at the time of booking, you’re telling your guest: we value you, not some theoretical version of you three stays from now.

Your Loyalty Program Is Your Rate Strategy’s Best Friend

Here’s another truth bomb: you can’t discount your way to profitability. That game always ends in a race to the bottom. But you can add value in a way that makes your direct booking strategy both defensible and desirable.

This is where a loyalty program does its best work. It creates a meaningful differentiation between booking direct and booking through a third party. Because let’s face it, the OTAs are out there waving the lowest price banner, armed with an ocean of inventory and AI-optimized conversion funnels.

You can’t out-tech them on budget. But you can out-human them. Out-personalize them. Out-reward them.

With Retain, your direct bookers get an instant reward for choosing your hotel. That’s not something Expedia can replicate without breaking their model. And because Retain seamlessly integrates into your CRS, PMS, and CRM, it allows you to tailor the experience without the bloat.

Better yet, we help you own that guest relationship. The data, the contact, the recognition... it all stays with you. So when demand softens, you're not stuck wondering who booked what or relying on a third party to save your shoulder season.

What About Guests Who Aren’t Even Booking Yet?

A softer market means more lookers, fewer bookers. It’s like fishing in a pond where the fish have suddenly decided they’re full. But here’s the thing: the right bait still works.

That’s why we built Laasie Convert. It’s the gentle nudge, the persuasive whisper that turns “maybe” into “yes.”

Here’s how it works: your potential guest visits your website, browses around, considers a room… and then hovers near the “x.” Before they bounce, they’re offered an exclusive reward for completing their booking now. Not next week. Not after three reminder emails. Now.

It’s subtle. It’s elegant. It’s highly effective. And during a down period, it’s a crucial tool for tipping the scale.

We’ve seen a 43 percent lift in direct conversion for hotels using Convert. That’s not magic. That’s behavioral economics and smart technology, working together to make your offer too good to ignore.

Service Recovery That Actually Recovers the Guest

Let’s pivot to another pain point that becomes extra sharp during soft periods: guest dissatisfaction.

When demand is strong, you can absorb a few hiccups. A room not ready. A poor check-in. A slow breakfast buffet. But when demand drops, every guest becomes exponentially more valuable—and more vulnerable to defection.

You can’t afford to lose anyone.

Which is why Laasie Flex exists. It’s your “make it right” superpower. Had a hiccup at check-in? Instantly send a guest a digital reward, directly to their phone. Room wasn’t ready? Boom: here’s $20 to grab a coffee on us while we fix it.

No escalation. No long-winded apology. No comping rooms like it's 1998.

Flex gives your team the power to repair loyalty in real time, without waiting for the survey to come back or for a TripAdvisor meltdown to begin. Because again, it’s not about refunding money. It’s about recognizing humanity. Acknowledging friction. And doing something about it immediately.

In a downturn, it’s these moments that separate the hotels that survive from the ones that deepen guest love and come out stronger on the other side.

Loyalty Isn’t Dead. But It Is Evolving

We’ll say it again for the folks in the back: loyalty is not dead.

It’s just changing shape. And it’s moving faster than ever.

Today’s traveler is not content to play the long game. They want value upfront, not someday. They want to be recognized, not categorized. They want flexibility, not friction.

And they need that recognition even more when travel feels uncertain, budgets are tight, and every booking is a carefully weighed decision.

Hotels that embrace this evolution—by making loyalty immediate, by making rewards relevant, and by making recognition effortless—are the ones that will thrive even when the market cools.

The good news? You don’t have to build this from scratch. That’s what we do. We’re Laasie. And we believe loyalty is about action, not abstraction.

When Demand Falls, Rise to the Occasion

The temptation during a demand slump is to wait it out. Cut costs. Hope for next quarter. But hope is not a strategy. Relationships are.

Loyalty is not just a marketing tactic or a CRM checkbox. It is your hedge against volatility. Your multiplier on every dollar spent. Your secret weapon when everyone else is just waiting.

In this climate, guest recognition isn’t optional. It’s oxygen.

So whether you’re looking to reimagine your loyalty program, convert more direct traffic, or give your operations team the tools to win back a frustrated guest, the question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in loyalty right now.

The question is whether you can afford not to.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just for tech giants and futuristic sci-fi dreams anymore. In hospitality, AI is becoming the not-so-secret weapon behind smarter, more effective loyalty strategies.

Gone are the days of “stay 10 nights, get one free” programs that treat every guest the same. Today’s travelers expect more: they want instant gratification, relevant offers, and personalized experiences and they want it all without having to jump through hoops.

The good news? With the right AI tools in place, hotels can meet those expectations while also driving higher direct bookings, stronger guest relationships, and better business outcomes. Let’s dive into five of the most powerful ways hotels are using AI to reinvent loyalty with examples from Laasie and other forward thinking platforms.

Turning Loyalty Into Instant Gratification

Traditional loyalty programs often feel like credit card points... you accumulate a vague promise of future value, but never quite get to redeem them. Laasie flips that script with instant rewards.

Instead of relying on long-term point accumulation, Laasie uses AI to offer guests something valuable the moment they book. We’re talking digital gift cards, local experiences, and everyday essentials like Uber, Starbucks, or even dinner delivery... all personalized based on who the guest is and what they’re booking.

The real magic is in the AI behind the scenes. It analyzes booking behavior, trip context, location, and past redemptions to recommend rewards that actually resonate. A family booking a beach vacation might see beach gear or food delivery credits, while a solo business traveler might be offered a coffee or rideshare reward.

It’s simple, seamless, and incredibly effective. Laasie sees a 43% lift in direct booking conversion, on average. Loyalty shouldn’t feel like a chore. With AI, it doesn’t have to.

Knowing Your Guests Before They Tell You

Let’s be honest: not all guests are created equal. Some are ultra loyal. Some are one-and-done. And some are just waiting for the right incentive to book directly with you instead of an OTA.

AI helps you sort that out automatically.

MOst CRM platforms use machine learning to analyze guest behavior and segment them based on everything from lifetime value to booking frequency to preferred room types. Instead of blasting the same email to your entire database, you can create smarter campaigns for high-value VIPs, new guests you want to retain, or even those who seem to be slipping away.

Combine this intelligence with a platform like Laasie Flex, and you’ve got the ability to send personalized rewards to the right guest at the right time with just a few clicks. Whether it's a “we miss you” incentive or a birthday gift, these targeted nudges create loyalty that feels genuine, not generic.

Offering Smarter Upsells (That Feel Like Perks, Not Sales Pitches)

One of the best times to deepen your relationship with a guest is after the booking, but before the stay. That’s the window where AI-driven upsell engines shine.

Upsell tools are great at this. They analyze past behavior, trip type, and other signals to suggest things like room upgrades, late checkout, or spa appointments. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, guests get offers that are likely to appeal to them and they’re delivered at exactly the right moment.

Now imagine adding a loyalty layer to those upsells. You could offer your members a discounted upgrade plus a Laasie instant reward like a $10 Starbucks card for accepting. Suddenly, the upsell isn’t just a revenue driver for your hotel. It’s a value-add that makes your loyalty program feel more rewarding.

You’re not just selling extras. You’re creating curated experiences that make your guests feel understood and appreciated.

Fixing Problems Before They Become Reviews

We all know how quickly a bad experience can spiral into a negative review. AI is helping hotels catch those moments earlier and recover more gracefully.

Sentiment analysis tools from companies like Medallia and GuestRevu scan guest feedback in real time, flagging concerns as soon as they pop up. Whether it’s a snippy comment on a survey or a subtle tone in a text message, AI can help your team spot unhappy guests before they head to TripAdvisor.

Then comes the recovery and this is where Laasie Flex really shines. Hotel staff can instantly send a digital reward to help make things right, whether it’s a coffee voucher, food credit, or even a small refund. It's fast, personalized, and cost effective.

The result? A guest who might’ve left frustrated now feels heard and appreciated. Often, they become even more loyal than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place.

Constantly Learning and Improving Your Loyalty Strategy

The beauty of AI is that it doesn’t just help you run your program... it helps you improve it over time.

Let’s say you’re running multiple campaigns: one with a $5 reward, one with a $10 reward, and one with no incentive at all. AI can track engagement, booking rates, redemption behavior, and even guest satisfaction to figure out which campaign is truly moving the needle.

With tools like Salesforce Marketing Cloud or even Laasie’s built-in analytics, you can run smarter tests, track real ROI, and stop wasting time on guesswork. Over time, AI helps you understand which guests respond to which rewards, what channels perform best, and when the timing of an offer makes the biggest difference.

It’s like having a marketing analyst working around the clock, but without the spreadsheets and late nights.

The Bottom Line: AI Makes Loyalty Human (at Scale)

At first glance, AI might sound like something that takes the human touch out of hospitality. But the truth is, it does the opposite.

AI lets you treat guests as individuals not segments on a spreadsheet. It helps you offer rewards and experiences that feel personal, thoughtful, and relevant. And it empowers your staff to respond faster, market smarter, and deliver more value to your most important audience: your guests.

Whether you're running a luxury resort or a small collection of independent hotels, embracing AI isn’t about chasing trends... it’s about building a better, more profitable loyalty program that actually works in today’s world.

And if you're looking for a loyalty solution that brings all of this together personalization, instant gratification, AI-driven insights, and effortless integration... Laasie’s here to help.

We connect with 30+ systems across PMS, CRS, CRM, and booking engines (Sabre, Siteminder, Mews, Opera, Salesforce, and more), so getting started is fast, seamless, and refreshingly stress-free.

Want to see what AI-powered loyalty could look like at your hotel? Let’s talk. Book a quick demo and we’ll show you how Laasie turns first-time guests into lifelong loyalists one smart reward at a time. https://laasie.ai/contact < schedule demo here!