Guests who make memories at your hotel are far more likely to come again – and book direct. Learn how Göçtur uses its loyalty program to delight guests and extend its peak holiday season.
Whether you’re into sun, sea, and sand, adventure, excitement, and adrenaline, or history, culture, and food, traveling is about more than just taking a trip. It’s about making memories and sharing magical moments with the people you love.
When guests have an unforgettable experience at a hotel or resort, they’re far more likely to come again – and they won’t waste time using a third-party booking site. They’ll book direct. That’s not just more revenue for the hotel; it’s an opportunity to make the guest’s next visit even better.
For companies like Göçtur, curating moments that matter is everything. So, what’s its strategy for attracting more repeat bookings, increasing occupancy during off-peak and shoulder seasons, and helping guests make lasting memories?
It all comes down to loyalty.
Exceptional hospitality shaped around the guest experience
Göçtur runs hotels and resorts across the Aegean coast of Türkiye. Its flagship resort, Pine Bay, is known for its stunning natural surroundings, proximity to local heritage site, Ephesus, and high levels of satisfaction for both guests and employees.
Behind the human face of hospitality, Göçtur runs a tight ship. As Bora Çukurova, the company’s Chief Technology Officer explained, “Exceptional hospitality is based on the guest experience, which relies on employee satisfaction and operational efficiency. We invest in automation, platform technology, and data analytics, and build workflows around human interactions to achieve that.”
The company’s integrated environment includes Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. It’s omni-channel and connected to the property management system. Salesforce provides scalability, reliability, and flexibility while being customisable, so Göçtur can adapt it to perfectly meet its needs.
This environment gave Göçtur the perfect foundation to build and digitalise its loyalty program, known as ‘Moments and Memories’. Based on points, tiers, and perks, the goal is to use guest loyalty to increase direct bookings from 33% to 60%.
“When we get a booking through a travel agent, we only see the customer’s family name. We don’t know who they’re travelling with, so it’s difficult to tailor the experience to them,” said Rena Çukurova, General Manager at Pine Bay Hotels & Resorts. “By encouraging people to sign up for our loyalty program, we can build a comprehensive customer profile and collect more data during their stay.”
The resort can then use these insights to make the guest even more comfortable – from knowing their dining preferences and interests to resolving issues quickly. All things the customer will remember next time they book a trip.
Tailoring perks and privileges for different travellers
Segmentation is key to building a loyalty program that stands out. Travellers have different expectations whether they’re on a work trip, romantic getaway, or family holiday.
“Corporate events are often during off-peak or shoulder seasons, but they’re an opportunity for guests to see what we have to offer and come back with their families in the summer,” explained Rena. “It’s hard to connect with individuals when they arrive as part of a company booking. If they sign up for our loyalty program, we can start building a one-to-one relationship and segmenting them according to their interests.”
Moments and Memories is built on Loyalty Management. Göçtur used its in-house Salesforce skills to build a pilot app that recently went live to a few repeat guests as part of a phased rollout.
Guests can log in to see how many points they have, which tier they’re on, and how many points they need to progress. Points unlock an array of personalised offers, discount vouchers, and perks.
These are customised for different segments. For example, corporate guests might value late check-outs and room upgrades, while families might prefer discounts on activities that suit their interests. If the hotel is aware it’s a special occasion, it can help honeymoon couples or those celebrating anniversaries enjoy a private dining experience with a private butler in a secluded area. Similarly, friends travelling together can experience a visit to Ephesus or try scuba diving, for instance.
The app isn’t just for perks, it’s also functional. Guests can make direct bookings and payments and have priority access to support agents – all facilitated through backend integrations to give them a frictionless experience.
“We’ll be tracking what works and adapting the app based on guest feedback. For example, we may need to tailor the experience for different seasons,” added Rena. “These insights will help us improve the user experience when using the app and the perks themselves.”
Making life easier for everyone
The loyalty app captures more structured, high-quality data that staff can use to understand their needs. It also frees up more time by automating low-value, repetitive tasks and streamlining collaboration.
“We don’t want silos between departments. Central data will help break down barriers between teams and improve communication while keeping the guest experience front-of-mind for everyone,” said Bora.
And while that’s crucial, the long-term benefits of the loyalty scheme are expected to go beyond simply improving the guest experience. Increasing the number of returning guests and getting more direct bookings will boost occupancy rates and revenues.
“Sustainable growth is really important to us. We want to reduce reliance on third-party booking sites, attract guests who prioritise quality over cost, and expand our peak season to 12 months a year,” said Rena. “When you’re operating on a 12-month basis, it’s easier to retain the best staff – people who are passionate about going the extra mile for guests.”
In the future, Göçtur plans to explore AI and Agentforce to augment these human interactions. It’s considering using next best action to help staff better serve guests and rolling out an AI chatbot for first-line support.
Getting started with customer loyalty
One thing that sets Göçtur apart from the competition is its focus on long-term strategy. Loyalty programs are unusual outside of chain hotels in Türkiye, and Göçtur is an early pioneer of year-round tourism in the region.
So, what can we learn from Göçtur about launching a successful loyalty program?
- Don’t just focus on loyalty points. Think about the customer experience and play to your strengths. At Pine Bay, the team is focused on destination-driven engagement – building a loyalty program that works with its unique position on the west coast of Türkiye and close to a site of historical interest. “Ephesus attracts a lot of guests, so we’re thinking about how we can design holistic experiences for them rather than just being the closest hotel to the site,” added Rena.
- Map guest touchpoints at every stage of their journey. Analyse their expectations and pain points at every touch. As Bora explained, “Looking at touchpoints will help you find new ways to surprise and delight your guests, so your perks and rewards aren’t too generic. Unique experiences make your brand more memorable and will encourage repeat bookings.”
- Integrate your loyalty app with company systems and data. Everyone who uses the app should have a seamless experience. It should be easy to navigate, connected to the property management system and booking platform, and tailored for both customers and staff. No one wants to jump between multiple apps and systems to engage with one company.
- Develop an ongoing campaign to promote your loyalty scheme to guests, and make sure staff know about it too. Everyone on your team should be on the same page, and that starts by showing them how the loyalty app can make their lives easier as well. It should be easy to sign up for the loyalty program on the website and hotel app. The benefits should be clear to everyone, and you can use real guest testimonials to show others how signing up translates to a better stay.
- Start small and iterate, but make sure to capture data to support decision making. Göçtur’s approach is helping the team build a loyalty program that aligns with company goals, promotes its unique culture, and offers real value to guests. And if guest expectations change over time, it will be able to react quickly before it impacts bookings, revenue, or customer satisfaction.
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