On May 15, Plateno Hotel Group officially announced the upgrade of its membership system from “7Days” to “Plateno Club,” along with the launch of a new official website and WeChat booking platform. The predecessor of “Plateno Club,” “7Days,” was the largest membership system in the hotel industry, with over 70 million members; it was one of the few e-commerce platforms in the industry capable of real-time integration between corporate portals and databases; and it was also one of the very few hotel platforms offering five convenient booking methods: official website, WeChat, mobile app, mobile touchscreen version, and call center.
The upgrade of the membership system not only involved a name change but also saw Plateno Hotel Group streamline the booking process on its official website and make significant adjustments to its membership policies, especially the points system. These changes mark the first step in the group’s integration of the former 7Days membership system.
Booking a hotel in three steps
One major move in this membership system upgrade by Plateno Hotel Group was the launch of the new “Plateno Club” booking website, where users can book rooms at all operational properties under the group’s brands. Compared to the previous 7Days booking website, Plateno Hotel Group has made a series of adjustments to the new website aimed at improving the user experience for members:
Members can complete a hotel booking on the new “Plateno Club” website in just three steps, and the system will automatically recognize the member’s name and phone number, eliminating the need for login. The new “Plateno Club” booking platform also integrates PC and mobile internet, adding a WeChat QR code scan-to-login feature. Compared to the traditional method of entering a username and password, these changes provide users with a faster and more convenient booking experience.
Member points never expire
The new “Plateno Club” booking website prominently highlights member benefits on its homepage. This reflects that, in addition to technical upgrades, the membership system has also undergone a series of policy adjustments. The most notable change is undoubtedly the major transformation in the “Plateno Club” points policy: Plateno Hotel Group has become the first company in the industry to introduce a “points never expire” policy. Luo Zhiqui, Vice President of Plateno Hotel Group and Head of the Membership Division, explained it as follows:
Hotel consumption is a necessity, yet setting expiration dates on points creates barriers for members to use them. It’s common for members to find their points expired just when they want to redeem a room. Plateno Hotel Group hopes that by removing the expiration limit, points can bring tangible benefits to members. At the same time, the new points policy also allows members with insufficient points to use their existing points to offset part of the room fee. This rule makes the use of points more flexible and user-friendly.
In addition to removing the expiration limit on points, “Plateno Club” has also strengthened third-party partnerships outside the hotel industry. Most hotel group membership points are limited to exchanging for a small variety of gifts. But Plateno Hotel Group has begun gradually integrating with peripheral industries around hotels, allowing consumers to use Plateno points at businesses outside the Plateno ecosystem. If the permanent validity of points extends their lifespan, then cross-industry partnerships broaden their usage channels. Luo Zhiqui stated that “Plateno Club” will roll out a series of other membership points policies in the future. The overall goal is to continuously enhance the practicality of Plateno membership points.
In addition to adjusting the points policy, the new membership policy of “Plateno Club” also introduces more member benefits, such as five complimentary no-show waivers per year for Gold Card members, and different price discounts for members of varying tiers.
“Plateno Club” WeChat account builds an O2O closed loop
Another aspect of this membership system upgrade is the official renaming of the exemplary hotel industry WeChat account “7Days” to “Plateno Club.” This WeChat public account under Plateno Hotel Group is positioned as a membership service platform. In just over six months since its launch, “Plateno Club” has surpassed 1.4 million followers, with daily orders exceeding 7,000. It is expected to exceed 2 million followers by the end of 2014.
Building on this, “Plateno Club” has creatively extended its WeChat services: guests can simply scan the QR code placed at the front desk of any property using their mobile phones to complete payment for their rooms. “Plateno Club” aims to cultivate customer spending habits through this initiative. This offline-to-online model makes full use of the hotel industry’s abundant physical store resources and foot traffic, representing a novel expansion of the previously one-sided online-to-offline O2O closed loop.
Zheng Nanyan, Chairman of Plateno Hotel Group and Chief Brand Architect, has repeatedly stated in media interviews that the membership system is a key support platform for Plateno Hotel Group. It can be concluded that the launch of the new website and the renaming of the WeChat account form the technical foundation for the group’s integration of the membership system; while the series of adjustments to membership policies represent the soul and key to the integration plan.