On May 15, Plateno Hotel Group officially announced the upgrade of its membership system "7 Days Club" to "Plateno Club," along with the launch of a new official website and WeChat booking platform. The predecessor of "Plateno Club," "7 Days Club," 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 among 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 7 Days membership system.
Book a hotel in three steps
One major move in this membership system upgrade by Plateno Hotel Group was the launch of the new version of the "Plateno Club" booking website, where rooms at all operational properties under the group’s brands can be booked. Compared to the original 7 Days booking website, the group has made a series of adjustments to the new version 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 to log in. The new booking platform also bridges the gap between PC and mobile internet, adding a WeChat QR code login option. Compared to the traditional method of entering a username and password, these changes offer users a faster and more convenient booking experience.
Membership 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 policies of Plateno Hotel Group have also undergone a series of adjustments. The most notable change is undoubtedly the major shift in the "Plateno Club" membership points policy: Plateno Hotel Group has become the first company in the industry to introduce a policy where membership points never expire. Luo Zhiqi, Vice President of Plateno Hotel Group and Head of the Membership Division, explained it as follows:
Hotel consumption is a necessity, yet setting an expiration date on points creates a barrier for members to use them. It often happens that by the time members want to redeem a room, their points have expired. 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 whose points are insufficient to redeem a room 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 industry. Most hotel group membership points are only exchangeable for a limited range of small gifts. Plateno Hotel Group has begun gradually integrating with surrounding industries, allowing consumers to use Plateno membership points at businesses outside the Plateno ecosystem. If the policy of permanent point validity extends the lifespan of points, then cross-industry partnerships broaden their usage channels. Luo Zhiqi stated that "Plateno Club" will introduce a series of other membership points policies. The overall goal is to continuously increase the practicality of Plateno membership points.
In addition to adjustments to the points policy, the new membership policy of "Plateno Club" has also added several 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 "7 Days Club" 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, the "Plateno Club" WeChat account has surpassed 1.4 million followers, with an average daily order volume 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 a property using their mobile phones to complete payments such as room fees. "Plateno Club" aims to cultivate consumer habits through this approach. This offline-to-online model fully utilizes 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 major supporting 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 its membership system; while the series of adjustments to membership policies represent the soul and key elements of the Plateno membership system integration plan.