Isn't the whole point of a rewards program to reward customers for being loyal and spending more? If you give the same discounts and rewards to everyone regardless of how much they spend then it's not a rewards program it's just a discount or a coupon or a sale. The airlines and casinos both have true loyalty rewards programs. If you fly 25,000 miles in a year you get to silver status or something. If you accumulate 25,000 miles you get a free flight. At casinos if you gamble frequently and spend enough money you get free meals, hotel rooms and show tickets. They don't give the same rewards to an old lady playing penny slots as the guy playing blackjack at $100 a hand.
Bringing it all back to WDW, if they want to create a reward/loyalty program it could be based on a bunch of factors including frequency of visits and money spent on property (including how much you spend for your room). The guests spending more would get more perks. It shouldn't be based solely on which hotel you are staying at.
Right. Based on the countless conversations on here, one's budget and the amount that they spend at the WDW isn't dependent upon the where they stay with the notion of people that rolled off the People of Walmart site and end up at the "deluxe" resorts.
If you want a so-called loyalty program, then it should be based upon dollars spent as you noted. For all this talk of casino loyalty cards, they do differ a tad from business travelers with hotel stays and airline programs. The casinos have a product that has ridiculously high margins. When you look at the theme parks fiscals, you'll see that the margins aren't spectacular, but the income is so high, and they have a nice operating profit per quarter. Free food, drinks, cheap to free room stays, well, those are of such little cost to the casinos and their money is made on the floor. There truly isn't a high cost. They are giving away food, which has about the highest margins in retail/dining outside of clothing and jewelry, and the room cost.
As a prior excellent post mentioned, hotels, it's all about acquisition cost and getting someone such as our reporter friend here on the board staying with a particular brand for months out of a year, it's well worth the upgraded rooms and free rooms for him or her especially with the fact that most hotels are never at full capacity and there is always room availability. So, you upgrade someone from a $250 room to a $600 room. Well, if the $600 was going to be vacant and the traveler is with you for dozens of days a year, there is only on paper cost, not real world cost and the gain of keeping that traveler. Ok, maybe some additional bars of soap from a higher grade room, but you get the idea.
Have we seen anything of the Orlando property other than taking more and more from the customer? So, here's how I read it and I think common sense dictates so: Ok, if they are adjust rates, product pricing, you name it based upon a customer's spending and other analytical data, in the end, prices from ticket media to food will continue to soar. So, a small minority supposedly benefit, but by the time you get through with all the hikes, your so-called discount would end up where you are today. It's always bait and switch with TDO.
My favorite was the discussion about how guests at Universal are better dressed than guests at WDW. Funny part is most people visiting universal spend some time at Disney too. I guess they just save their better clothing for the days they visit Universal
