• Can you give us a career history, and how did you come to know about the serviced apartment/extended stay sector?
“I have extensive experience in marketing to business and leisure travellers. I’m a Google and Constant Contact partner as well, and have extensive experience managing corporate SEO and SMO marketing initiatives. I joined StayPoints during its inaugural month of business and have been an avid learner of the industry ever since.
StayPoints founder John Hendrix spent 14 years as the co-owner of one of the largest corporate housing companies in the south-east United States before launching the StayPoints Guest Reward Program. At the time he sold his business they had offices in three cities with peak season inventory of over 600 units.”
• How and when did you have the Idea for StayPoints?
“As John fought the good fight to distinguish his company from others, as well as continuing to search for the right leverage to attract business travellers who traditionally would choose a hotel, he noticed that reward points were often the deciding factor when he lost a piece of business. Creating an affordable and scalable rewards platform, where multiple providers could participate yet not jeopardise their brand’s autonomy, was the ultimate answer.
In 2013, StayPoints Guest Reward Program was launched with the primary purpose of allowing corporate housing companies of all sizes to enter the arena of guest rewards marketing. Until then, only the large chains offered reward incentives for lodging decisions.”
• How does the concept work, and what are its main benefits over other systems?
“From the consumer’s perspective, StayPoints works very similarly to other international reward chains. For the participating corporate housing/serviced apartment lodging provider (affiliate), they have the autonomy to reward guests as often as they’d like and award as many points as they wish. Once a guest becomes a member they can redeem their earned points for a huge array of gift options. In addition, they can search for their next extended stay. Regardless of where the guest searches, all enquiries are protected and routed to the affiliate who introduced the guest to the StayPoints program.”
• When did you launch the company and how has the serviced apartment sector in the US responded?
“StayPoints launched in February of 2013 and now has clients located in 50 US markets and 13 international markets. It is delivering forward-thinking innovation to vibrant niche organisations within the corporate housing and serviced apartment industry across the globe.”
• What are your plans for growth and regional expansion?
“Just as HomeAway and Airbnb have introduced the travelling public to a new way to vacation travel, StayPoints’ vision is to become a catalysts for growth for the serviced apartment and corporate housing industries on a global scale. Each market will have a limited number (as few as one) of affiliates. Therefore, there’s a sense of urgency to get involved in the program while they’re available.”
• Where do you see the company in five years time?
“In five years, StayPoints will be a worldwide resource for corporate and extended stay travellers looking to be rewarded for loyalty through our network of affiliated, yet autonomous, providers.
www.staypointsrewards.com
www.staypointsrewards.info
info@mystaypoints.com
