Sweepstakes are good, but don't expect loyalty

Hyatt Hotel and Resorts unveiled 'The Big Welcome' sweepstake and contest in April which awards 10365 free nights at Hyatt's around the world and 1 million airline miles (source: Hyatt.com).

Our view is that this is truly a 'big' promotion and a great publicity campaign. The sole purpose of this activity is to acquire new members, since every contestant must join the Gold Passport programme.

In the current economic climate and with hotel occupancy rates suffering across the globe, Hyatt's strategy is to get people into their rooms. Once they are there, Hyatt can engage them further and up sell other ancillary revenue products and services.

Sweepstakes and contests in general do not promote loyalty and this promotion in particular doesn't do anything to protect or reward Hyatt's best members. Like any business engaging in new customer acquisition activities, the trick for Hyatt will be in converting these new customers into loyal ones.

The answer lies in the data you collect and how this is used to effectively engage and drive long-term profitable customer relationships.