Independent hotel loyalty club Wanup has reported it has generated more than €3million in direct bookings for partner properties since its launch in October.
Wanup members book the hotel through the site or direct if the property has the ‘Wanup booking widget’.
Wanup, which was named in BBT’s 2017 Hotlist, has been billed as a sharing economy loyalty scheme. It was created to address the needs of the independent hotelier who want to offer guests rewards for their loyalty but lack the resources to do so.
Guests enjoy benefits known as ‘Wanup Winnings’ – these come in the form of ‘travel cash’, which can be redeemed immediately on future bookings, or as in-destination perks such as early check-in.
Since its October 2016 launch, Wanup has added more than 560,000 users, and given back €220,000 of ‘travel cash’ to club members.
Wanup said that in a climate where one out of every two online bookings are made via an OTA, it helps its partner hotels reduce their reliance on these and save commission. “With 400 hotels currently signed up, the potential for growth is enormous, as there are more than 340,000 hotels in Europe alone without a loyalty scheme. Of that pool, Wanup selects the top 20% per destination, based on online reviews and reputation, for its collection,” the company said.
“We have seen a lot of interest by independent hoteliers and chains that want to strengthen their direct booking channels, reduce commissions, and ultimately take back the customer relationship from the OTAs” says Jorge Rodergas, CMO of Wanup.