IHG x Georgia Tech
IHG Loyalty Program Redesign
IHG and Georgia Tech partnered for my senior studio project. My group’s task was to improving IHG’s loyalty program with gamification and a visual redesign.
Timeline
Fall 2021,
12 weeks
Team
4 Design Students
Professor
IHG Stakeholders
Tools
Figma
Google surveys
The Problem: Customers aren't staying loyal to the IHG brand
1. IHG needs its customers to book directly through their site to maximize revenue. Customers will book where they are most incentivized to go. Loyalty programs and gamification offer great motivation to be a returning customer.
2. IHG needs to retain its customers. Customers will purchase hotels based on need, price, and location. Loyalty programs can provide discounts and priority over non-member customers.
IHG’s loyalty site is confusing and frustrating
The previous site is incredibly difficult for users to interpret and the ideal path is not well defined. The text hierarchies are unclear, the site lacks design consistency, and has lots of distractions. We noticed many areas for improvement in both the overall design of the site and in the features it uses.
Each hotel and brand is connected together by the website and only the website.
Multiple employees discussed the limits and challenges when designing and implementing IHG’s current loyalty program. Because IHG’s 16+ brands and even their individual hotels operate as separate businesses, creating a loyalty solution that worked for all of them was nearly impossible. Booking on the IHG website is the only part of the process they control, which is why many of the current loyalty touch points occur during booking.
"The hotels operate as individual businesses with their own owners, so if we want to change something for the entire company, like telling them to accept loyalty points in a new way, we have to get every single owner to agree to comply."
-Alison, IHG employee
Customers favor loyalty programs but many feel rewards are unattainable.
We wanted to understand the travel habits, outlook on hotel loyalty programs, and the major pain points of our target users. To do so, we conducted a survey of almost 300 people using Google surveys.
46%
Do not think they travel enough to reap the benefits of a hotel loyalty program
40%
Ranked hotel loyalty in their Top 3 Priorities when booking a trip
52%
Said the ability to save money through loyalty strongly impacts their final booking decision
"I know their loyalty program is supposed to help me save money, but I don't travel 20 times a year. It feels like I will never earn free nights and it's so frustrating to use the same brand to get these discounts and then never actually get rewarded."
-Caroline, 32
"I pick my hotel based on price, availability, and location, but the places I check first are based on the brand. I am a Hilton rewards member so if I'm traveling, I always check their hotels first and look for their best deal to earn my points and hopefully redeem my points for a cheaper price."
-Thomas, 47
Strengths & weakness across the industry and more
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis reviewed top competitors Marriott, Hilton, and AirBNB. Hyatt was notably excluded because they did not offer a comparable service at the time of this study. IHG was lacking in areas such as brand awareness, indispensability, and experience management.
Hilton
Marriott
AirBNB
Comparative Analysis
The comparative analysis looked at brands with loyalty programs or booking processes. By looking across industries including restaurants, airlines, and theme parks, we identified loyalty tactics including gamification and dollar value transparency that could be helpful in the hotel industry.
Disney
Chick-fil-A
Starbucks
Delta
Add a sprinkle of gamification
Gamification is the use of game mechanics, elements, and designs in a non-game context to encourage users to complete tasks that are not game related. Game mechanics can include: badges, points, levels, prizes, bonuses, rewards, leader boards, customization, and progress graphs.
Gamification can have many forms in UX, but generally, it is the use of game mechanics in design to engage users in a delightful, efficient, and intuitive experience. It incentivizes customers to enjoy product experiences repeatedly, increasing customer retention and customer spend. Some great examples are shown below.
How can we build a better program for earning points faster and easier?
Make earning points easier.
Make point earning more achievable and engaging so guests prioritize hotel loyalty and do not feel discouraged by unachievable expectations.
Increase loyalty touch points.
Encourage more frequent use of loyalty by increasing loyalty touch points throughout the user’s journey. Making loyalty indispensable throughout the customer journey will promote the rewards program and help users understand how to earn points.
Build trust.
Make loyalty a top priority by showing guests the full value of loyalty points and the best way to use them to the benefit of the customer. Make rewards feel attainable and worth their time. We want out customers to feel appreciated for their business.
The new and the improved
Quick Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Milestone Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Membership Tiers
Loyalty members can earn elevated experiences through loyalty tiers by points earned and nights stayed. It is not currently displayed in an easily consumable way, so the goal is to cut down on the user's cognitive load when understanding their current loyalty tier and how to reach the next one.
Available Points
Lifetime points reflected in tier statuses may differ from points available for redemption if the user has already redeemed some or all of their points for rewards. This difference needs to be displayed without causing confusion about the different numbers displayed. It should also promote ways to earn points and not just point spending, as redeeming points happens far less often than earning points does.
The solution
We redesigned and rebranded the entire site to align with user needs and IHG's new brand standards. We adhered to business requirements, like promoting the IHG credit card. A clear typography hierarchy was established along with a system of reusable components for a more unified, consistent design.
Prototyping and componentizing
IHG x Georgia Tech
IHG Loyalty Program Redesign
IHG and Georgia Tech partnered for my senior studio project. My group’s task was to improving IHG’s loyalty program with gamification and a visual redesign.
Timeline
Fall 2021,
12 weeks
Team
4 Design Students
Professor
IHG Stakeholders
Tools
Figma
Google surveys
The Problem: Customers aren't staying loyal to the IHG brand
1. IHG needs its customers to book directly through their site to maximize revenue. Customers will book where they are most incentivized to go. Loyalty programs and gamification offer great motivation to be a returning customer.
2. IHG needs to retain its customers. Customers will purchase hotels based on need, price, and location. Loyalty programs can provide discounts and priority over non-member customers.
IHG’s loyalty site is confusing and frustrating
The previous site is incredibly difficult for users to interpret and the ideal path is not well defined. The text hierarchies are unclear, the site lacks design consistency, and has lots of distractions. We noticed many areas for improvement in both the overall design of the site and in the features it uses.
Each hotel and brand is connected together by the website and only the website.
Multiple employees discussed the limits and challenges when designing and implementing IHG’s current loyalty program. Because IHG’s 16+ brands and even their individual hotels operate as separate businesses, creating a loyalty solution that worked for all of them was nearly impossible. Booking on the IHG website is the only part of the process they control, which is why many of the current loyalty touch points occur during booking.
"The hotels operate as individual businesses with their own owners, so if we want to change something for the entire company, like telling them to accept loyalty points in a new way, we have to get every single owner to agree to comply."
-Alison, IHG employee
Customers favor loyalty programs but many feel rewards are unattainable.
We wanted to understand the travel habits, outlook on hotel loyalty programs, and the major pain points of our target users. To do so, we conducted a survey of almost 300 people using Google surveys.
46%
Do not think they travel enough to reap the benefits of a hotel loyalty program
40%
Ranked hotel loyalty in their Top 3 Priorities when booking a trip
52%
Said the ability to save money through loyalty strongly impacts their final booking decision
"I know their loyalty program is supposed to help me save money, but I don't travel 20 times a year. It feels like I will never earn free nights and it's so frustrating to use the same brand to get these discounts and then never actually get rewarded."
-Caroline, 32
"I pick my hotel based on price, availability, and location, but the places I check first are based on the brand. I am a Hilton rewards member so if I'm traveling, I always check their hotels first and look for their best deal to earn my points and hopefully redeem my points for a cheaper price."
-Thomas, 47
Strengths & weakness across the industry and more
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis reviewed top competitors Marriott, Hilton, and AirBNB. Hyatt was notably excluded because they did not offer a comparable service at the time of this study. IHG was lacking in areas such as brand awareness, indispensability, and experience management.
Hilton
Marriott
AirBNB
Comparative Analysis
The comparative analysis looked at brands with loyalty programs or booking processes. By looking across industries including restaurants, airlines, and theme parks, we identified loyalty tactics including gamification and dollar value transparency that could be helpful in the hotel industry.
Disney
Chick-fil-A
Starbucks
Delta
Add a sprinkle of gamification
Gamification is the use of game mechanics, elements, and designs in a non-game context to encourage users to complete tasks that are not game related. Game mechanics can include: badges, points, levels, prizes, bonuses, rewards, leader boards, customization, and progress graphs.
Gamification can have many forms in UX, but generally, it is the use of game mechanics in design to engage users in a delightful, efficient, and intuitive experience. It incentivizes customers to enjoy product experiences repeatedly, increasing customer retention and customer spend. Some great examples are shown below.
How can we build a better program for earning points faster and easier?
Make earning points easier.
Make point earning more achievable and engaging so guests prioritize hotel loyalty and do not feel discouraged by unachievable expectations.
Increase loyalty touch points.
Encourage more frequent use of loyalty by increasing loyalty touch points throughout the user’s journey. Making loyalty indispensable throughout the customer journey will promote the rewards program and help users understand how to earn points.
Build trust.
Make loyalty a top priority by showing guests the full value of loyalty points and the best way to use them to the benefit of the customer. Make rewards feel attainable and worth their time. We want out customers to feel appreciated for their business.
The new and the improved
Quick Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Milestone Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Membership Tiers
Loyalty members can earn elevated experiences through loyalty tiers by points earned and nights stayed. It is not currently displayed in an easily consumable way, so the goal is to cut down on the user's cognitive load when understanding their current loyalty tier and how to reach the next one.
Available Points
Lifetime points reflected in tier statuses may differ from points available for redemption if the user has already redeemed some or all of their points for rewards. This difference needs to be displayed without causing confusion about the different numbers displayed. It should also promote ways to earn points and not just point spending, as redeeming points happens far less often than earning points does.
The solution
We redesigned and rebranded the entire site to align with user needs and IHG's new brand standards. We adhered to business requirements, like promoting the IHG credit card. A clear typography hierarchy was established along with a system of reusable components for a more unified, consistent design.
Prototyping and componentizing
IHG x Georgia Tech
IHG Loyalty Program Redesign
IHG and Georgia Tech partnered for my senior studio project. My group’s task was to improving IHG’s loyalty program with gamification and a visual redesign.
Timeline
Fall 2021,
12 weeks
Team
4 Design Students
Professor
IHG Stakeholders
Tools
Figma
Google surveys
The Problem: Customers aren't staying loyal to the IHG brand
1. IHG needs its customers to book directly through their site to maximize revenue. Customers will book where they are most incentivized to go. Loyalty programs and gamification offer great motivation to be a returning customer.
2. IHG needs to retain its customers. Customers will purchase hotels based on need, price, and location. Loyalty programs can provide discounts and priority over non-member customers.
IHG’s loyalty site is confusing and frustrating
The previous site is incredibly difficult for users to interpret and the ideal path is not well defined. The text hierarchies are unclear, the site lacks design consistency, and has lots of distractions. We noticed many areas for improvement in both the overall design of the site and in the features it uses.
Each hotel and brand is connected together by the website and only the website.
Multiple employees discussed the limits and challenges when designing and implementing IHG’s current loyalty program. Because IHG’s 16+ brands and even their individual hotels operate as separate businesses, creating a loyalty solution that worked for all of them was nearly impossible. Booking on the IHG website is the only part of the process they control, which is why many of the current loyalty touch points occur during booking.
"The hotels operate as individual businesses with their own owners, so if we want to change something for the entire company, like telling them to accept loyalty points in a new way, we have to get every single owner to agree to comply."
-Alison, IHG employee
Customers favor loyalty programs but many feel rewards are unattainable.
We wanted to understand the travel habits, outlook on hotel loyalty programs, and the major pain points of our target users. To do so, we conducted a survey of almost 300 people using Google surveys.
46%
Do not think they travel enough to reap the benefits of a hotel loyalty program
40%
Ranked hotel loyalty in their Top 3 Priorities when booking a trip
52%
Said the ability to save money through loyalty strongly impacts their final booking decision
"I know their loyalty program is supposed to help me save money, but I don't travel 20 times a year. It feels like I will never earn free nights and it's so frustrating to use the same brand to get these discounts and then never actually get rewarded."
-Caroline, 32
"I pick my hotel based on price, availability, and location, but the places I check first are based on the brand. I am a Hilton rewards member so if I'm traveling, I always check their hotels first and look for their best deal to earn my points and hopefully redeem my points for a cheaper price."
-Thomas, 47
Strengths & weakness across the industry and more
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis reviewed top competitors Marriott, Hilton, and AirBNB. Hyatt was notably excluded because they did not offer a comparable service at the time of this study. IHG was lacking in areas such as brand awareness, indispensability, and experience management.
Hilton
Marriott
AirBNB
Comparative Analysis
The comparative analysis looked at brands with loyalty programs or booking processes. By looking across industries including restaurants, airlines, and theme parks, we identified loyalty tactics including gamification and dollar value transparency that could be helpful in the hotel industry.
Disney
Chick-fil-A
Starbucks
Delta
Add a sprinkle of gamification
Gamification is the use of game mechanics, elements, and designs in a non-game context to encourage users to complete tasks that are not game related. Game mechanics can include: badges, points, levels, prizes, bonuses, rewards, leader boards, customization, and progress graphs.
Gamification can have many forms in UX, but generally, it is the use of game mechanics in design to engage users in a delightful, efficient, and intuitive experience. It incentivizes customers to enjoy product experiences repeatedly, increasing customer retention and customer spend. Some great examples are shown below.
How can we build a better program for earning points faster and easier?
Make earning points easier.
Make point earning more achievable and engaging so guests prioritize hotel loyalty and do not feel discouraged by unachievable expectations.
Increase loyalty touch points.
Encourage more frequent use of loyalty by increasing loyalty touch points throughout the user’s journey. Making loyalty indispensable throughout the customer journey will promote the rewards program and help users understand how to earn points.
Build trust.
Make loyalty a top priority by showing guests the full value of loyalty points and the best way to use them to the benefit of the customer. Make rewards feel attainable and worth their time. We want out customers to feel appreciated for their business.
The new and the improved
Quick Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Milestone Challenges
The first new capability is quick challenges. These are one-and-done tasks for users to complete and instantly earn points. This is a great way to encourage users to engage with the IHG website directly, allows them to earn points in more ways than just booking stays, and promotes different parts of the IHG brand.
Membership Tiers
Loyalty members can earn elevated experiences through loyalty tiers by points earned and nights stayed. It is not currently displayed in an easily consumable way, so the goal is to cut down on the user's cognitive load when understanding their current loyalty tier and how to reach the next one.
Available Points
Lifetime points reflected in tier statuses may differ from points available for redemption if the user has already redeemed some or all of their points for rewards. This difference needs to be displayed without causing confusion about the different numbers displayed. It should also promote ways to earn points and not just point spending, as redeeming points happens far less often than earning points does.
The solution
We redesigned and rebranded the entire site to align with user needs and IHG's new brand standards. We adhered to business requirements, like promoting the IHG credit card. A clear typography hierarchy was established along with a system of reusable components for a more unified, consistent design.
Prototyping and componentizing
