On Thursday Accor, Courcouronnes, France announced the launch of a location-based Facebook application, A|Club Places, for its loyalty program.
Every time an A|Club member stays at one of the program’s 2,300 participating hotels and checks in the application, clients will be able to unlock badges. If a member “checks in” via A|Club Places, it may be viewable on that member’s Facebook page to his/her friends if the member chooses to.
These badges reward regularity, variety of destination, loyalty to one type of hotel, etc. Each badge enables members to earn A|Club points that can be redeemed as A|Club reward vouchers for use in Accor hotels, with partners, or converted into airline miles.
Accor said the application, whose cost and return on investment figures the company declined to release, is part of its strategy to develop its presence on the Internet, on mobile phones and social networks. Sales through these direct distribution channels represent close to 29% of the Group’s total sales.
The Accor loyalty program has 8.3 million members around the world and accounts for over 18% of the company’s sales. As part of Accor’s new brand strategy, the loyalty program will be renamed Le Club Accorhotels in March 2012.