Is gratitude profitable? How Hyatt hotels is using gratitude to improve their bottom line
Hyatt hotels seems to think so. In a new program this summer, the worldwide hotel chain’s CEO empowered employees to bestow unexpected gifts and benefits on customers. The goal? The bottom line. “Gratitude is a powerful, and potentially quite profitable, emotion to inspire” according to the Rob Walker of the New York Times Magazine. While it’s questionable if these “acts of generosity” can really be called “random,” the impact should be the same: developing gratitude in customers. And according to a recent article in the Journal of Marketing (link is a PDF), gratitude can “increase purchase intentions, sales growth, and share of wallet.”
The New York Times Magazine column Consumed includes additional information and commentary.
What do you think?
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Great posting. Thank you for the information and the links you have provided.
With an attitude of gratitude,
Corinne McElroy
Corinne – thanks for your comment. Glad that the post was helpful. I love hearing about this stuff – it’s always fun to see companies putting psychological findings into practice!
-Andrew
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You have to appreciate the irony – using gratitude to promote consumption
Yes, a perk should be a ‘Random Act of Kindness’ (something given expecting nothing in return).
Otherwise it may be perceived as a bribe!
Whereas, given ‘authentically’ a person becomes grateful. Gratitude increases feelings of being more ‘positive’ upbeat, and optimistic, which may lead to choosing the Hyatt often and even all the time.
I will give you a personal example. In the AARP magazine I found an ad for some special face crème advertising free trial just pay shipping for sample at $4.99. This I did, and I actually liked the crème, and after reading the advertisements enclosed thought about ordering it. Before I could order they had shipped me three different products and charged my card $79.00 – three times – without my permission!
I immediately called AARP and they pulled the ad, and gave me the direct line to the company. First I called the Better Bu Bur in their home town. Then I called the Federal Govmt for the Identity Theft Hot Line and then I called the company. I told them exactly what I had done, and the manager could not have been nicer-he refund my money and offered to send me more FREE, which I turned down.
First of all the products were all advertised in their own brochure at $39.00 each and I don’t know where they came up with the $79.00. But, nothing was honest about this company, and I would have been a regular customer if they had only been fair and honest!
Clients, customers, passengers, employees, students, etc do not want to feel that they are being cheated or taken advantage of.
Honesty up front is always the best policy!
- Joyce D