Q: What is GuestAdvantage™?

A: GuestAdvantage is a loyalty program for the vacation rental industry designed to help you gain new customers and encourage repeat purchases by existing customers.  By tracking member behavior, and giving members ‘points’ every time they book a property, you will then be able to use those points to reward your customers and create loyalty.

Q: Why would GuestAdvantage™ be good for my business?

A: Creating and keeping loyal customers is always good for business. Some of the benefits you will receive include (but are not limited to): More frequent bookings and longer stays, improved customer retention, reduced marketing costs and a measurable increase of your bottom line. GuestAdvantage™ provides the direct effect of moving your customers to book online thus decreasing operational overhead and marketing costs.

Q: What kind of increase in my business can I expect to achieve?

A: Successful loyalty programs can have a huge impact on a customer’s purchasing habits.  One program put in place by a popular hotel chain doubled the number of repeat guests in the first 18 months, and increased the average stay duration by 25%.  A loyalty program can encourage your customers to book earlier, stay longer, and vacation more often.

Q: What is the cost of the GuestAdvantage™ program?

A: There is no set up fee for using GuestAdvantage™. Please contact a Visual Data Systems Account Representative for more information.

The GuestAdvantage™ fee schedule was designed to accommodate all property management companies, no matter their size. Industry statistics have proven a measurable increase in business once a loyalty program is instituted. Therefore, we’ve designed a fee schedule to match your success.

Q: I worry about staff resources. How much time will it take to manage my loyalty program?

A: The GuestAdvantage™ interface is very easy to use and manage. Furthermore, your account is designed with pre-built plans! Once you have established a few plans, you’re off and running. That being said, this program will be one of the biggest commitments you make to your business. We’ll be there to help you every step of the way by giving you access to our GuestAdvantage™ user forum, a yearly GuestAdvantage™ user group conference and a library of articles to peruse. Also, you’ll have interaction with industry peers who have already successfully launched their own GuestAdvantage™ program.

Q: Is there any training available if I need it?

A:  While the GuestAdvantage™ application is designed to be easy to learn and can be used immediately, we do offer administrator assistance defining and setting up programs, plus a walk-through of the features.  The sessions run less than one hour and cover typical usage by an administrator. The sessions are run through the Internet allowing you to participate with your GuestAdvantage™ trainer right from your office.  In addition a full on-line help system is available for you to access at any time.

Q: Do I decide on points and redemptions or are they automatically built in?

A: You have complete control over your program. Once you create a plan and make it active, it will automatically update your website with the plan points. Although we will kick start the process by setting up some initial constraints and parameters of your GuestAdvantage™ program, the specifics of how your loyalty program works is entirely up to you.  You will have control over when and how members will earn points, as well as complete flexibility to specify what discounts on which properties and what time periods they can be redeemed.

Q: How do I let my customers know about the program?

A: As part of your GuestAdvantage™ account, you get access to our bulk email tool Opt-In Advantage™! You’ll be able to import a .CSV (comma separated value) formatted list of your email addresses directly to Opt-In Advantage™, create an invitation and send out to your prior guests – all within minutes. Of course, we’ll be there to help you through every step, including providing you sample copy for your invitation.

Q: What steps do I need to take to become a GuestAdvantage™ partner?

A: Simply call 410-964-8665 xt. 252 or email kelly@vdsys.com. Once registered for the program, you will receive a welcome packet which will include a few easy steps to get started. A GuestAdvantage™ Account representative will contact you immediately to get you started.

Q: Can you give me the name of some companies who are using GuestAdvantage™?

A: Sure. Sand N Sea (Galveston, Texas), Village Realty (Outer Banks, NC), Railey Mountain Lake Vacations (Deep Creek, Maryland) to name just a few.