Dear All,
Last week at the Visit Somerset annual conference we launched a new loyalty passport scheme supporting our Visitor Economy and in particular our accommodation sector and the book direct strategy. The scheme is called the ‘Bath & Somerset Reward Card’ and is a county-wide loyalty scheme supporting Somerset and Bath.
The project is being supported by
Touch Stay and is an extension of an already successful loyalty guide run by
Stay in Bath. The scheme gives guests staying at accommodation providers within Somerset, Exmoor, and Bath the opportunity to enjoy unique offers, that can be used when staying with Visit Somerset accommodation members, with the rewards captured at attractions, venues, restaurants, and other visitor venues – either by showing their key fob, which we are producing for accommodation providers, to give to guests, or through the cloud-based app. (We can see
HERE the numbers of people interested in finding out about the offers, for two small establishments – Herschel Place and St Georges House, this measure in the last year. )
Consumers will be able to visualise through the app and its map, as to where the offers are in real time from the user’s location! See the attached slide.
One point that must be understood, is that all staff must be trained and aware of the scheme, so that those using the scheme will be recognised and greeted professionally from the outset.
The guide/card is a membership benefit that helps members to make their properties more appealing to potential guests, thereby generating more direct bookings.
This scheme is only open to Visit Somerset members. It was trialled in 2018/19 through,
‘Stay in Bath’ (who we are now officially working with), to great success.
If you are thinking of giving an offer or promotion – The business can support with anything from, a free cup of tea, or as the Thermae Bath Spa did an extra hour in the hot springs or the Jane Austen Centre a free cream tea! – The choice is yours. Please email
toby.jones@visitsomerset.co.uk, as he is going to maintain a spreadsheet - with a) details of your offer b) 1 image of your business (we can import images from ‘Google Places’ but you may have a better photo!) c) details of how guests should redeem the offer (e.g. “Show Reward Card on arrival” or “Enter promotion code XXXX when booking online”)
If you want to take part, can you contact Toby directly with the offer, which should be unique, and supported by your T&C’s.
Essentially, we are aiming to empower over 600 accommodation providers to become ambassadors of the program, helping them to help
local businesses to encourage loyalty and return business.
We will be holding live webinars in the coming weeks to discuss this further, please do keep an eye on your inbox for dates for attendance.
Look forward to hearing from you
John Turner
CEO Visit Somerset
