Overview
The Guestbook is the world’s first cashback hotel loyalty program that rewards members for booking direct at over 800 of the best independent and boutique brand hotels in major travel destinations around the globe.
The Guestbook company had never conducted a study on their market to determine their position among competitors, identify their members, and understand what offerings would be suitable as they move forward. Therefore, I designed and launched a comprehensive study.
Impact
In 2024, loyalty had become a powerful driver of hotel business. Yet earning that loyalty was becoming harder. Across U.S. loyalty programs, engagement had fallen 10% and loyalty 20% since 2022, with hotels and airlines among the sectors experiencing notable declines. At the same time, 85% of U.S. consumers ranked points, cash back, and promotions among the benefits they valued most.
For The Guestbook, these dynamics created both an opportunity and a risk. Cash back was highly relevant to what consumers valued, but the reward itself was not enough to guarantee loyalty in an increasingly crowded and disengaged market. To create distinctive value and remain relevant, The Guestbook needed a clearer understanding of who its members were, what mattered to them, and where the company stood in the competitive landscape. Getting those decisions right could determine whether The Guestbook strengthened its position—or became another loyalty program travelers joined but rarely used.
NOTE
Please note that only a few parts of the projects are shared to ensure compliance with The Guestbook’s NDA.
Approach
Team
Number of team members: 6
My role: Principal Researcher
Methodology
Research Approach: Quantitative
Research method: Cross-sectional survey
Data Collection
Instrument: Survey (See Below)
Main Study: 1058 Guestbook members (%95 confidence level and %3 confidence interval)
Data Analysis
Descriptive and Inferential Statistical Analysis
Key Insights
Data collection is still underway, but you can view a sample of the survey questions.
Recommendations
Once the data is in and I analyze it, I will provide the recommendations.
Sample Questions
Q1: On average, how many overnight trips do you take in a year? Please exclude day trips during which you don’t stay overnight.
☐ None ☐ 1-2 time ☐ 3-4 times ☐ 5-6 times ☐ 7 or more
Q2: For what purpose do you usually travel?
☐ Leisure ☐ Business
Q3: How did you first hear about the Guestbook?
☐ Hotel website ☐ Newspaper/magazine ☐ Family/Friends ☐ Instagram
☐ The Guestbook website ☐ Billboard ☐Google search ☐TikTok
☐ Local TV coverage ☐ Facebook ☐ YouTube ☐ Travel giveaways
Q4: Please choose and rank only the top 3 reward programs you use for booking hotels. Drag and drop the items with 1 being the highest rank and 3 being the lowest rank.
☐ Booking.com Genius Program
☐ Priceline VIP Program
☐ Agoda Cash and Agoda VIP Program
☐ Hilton Honors Program
☐ TripAdvisor Plus Program
☐ Kayak Explorer Program
☐ The Guestbook Cashback/Cash Forward Program
☐ Orbitz Rewards Program
☐Marriott Bonvoy Program
☐ Expedia One Key Program
☐ Wyndham Rewards Program
☐ Hotel Tonight Perk Program
☐ Lassie Rewards Program
☐ Stash Rewards Program
☐ IHG One Rewards Program
☐ Preferred Hotels and Resorts Prefer Membership Program
☐ Hotel.com One Key Program
☐ Travelocity Premium Membership Program
☐ Other (Please Specify) ---------------
Q5: Choose and rank the top 5 companies that you consider to be the competitors of the Guestbook. Drag and drop the items from the most similar (1) to the least similar (10).
☐ Booking.com
☐ Priceline
☐ Agoda
☐ TripAdvisor
☐ Kayak
☐ Orbitz
☐ Expedia
☐ Hotel Tonight
☐ Lassie
☐ Stash
☐ Preferred Hotels and Resorts
☐ Hotel.com
☐ Travelocity
☐ Trivago
☐ Other (Please Specify) ---------------
☐ Other (Please Specify) ---------------
☐ None ---------------
Q6: Compared to other reward/loyalty programs, how valuable do you perceive our reward loyalty offering?
☐ Less Valuable ☐ About Equal ☐ More Valuable
Q7: Which type of reward do you like to receive?
☐ Related rewards that are related to the initial purchase (e.g., air miles as a reward for frequent flying)
☐ Unrelated rewards that are unrelated to the initial purchase (e.g., a movie theater ticket as a reward for booking with a hotel)
Q8: What is the highest level of your education?
☐ High school ☐ Associate degree ☐ Undergraduate degree
☐ Master or Doctorate ☐ Other ☐ Prefer not to answer
Q9: Please Mark the box next to the range that applies to your total annual household income before taxes (In US$):
☐ Under 25,000 ☐ $25,000-$49,999 ☐ $50,000-$74,999
☐ $75,000-$99,999 ☐ $100,000-$149,999 ☐ 150,000 & over
☐ Prefer not to answer