Case Study
Localising a Global Hotel Loyalty Programme Through WeChat
An international luxury hotel needed to make its global loyalty programme more usable for Chinese members. The existing programme provided the overall membership structure, but the local experience had to fit the way users discover content, join activities and manage services through WeChat.
The project combined system integration, monthly campaign operations and local content. This gave Chinese members a practical route into the global programme without creating a separate loyalty system.
Project at a glance
- Client: International luxury hotel, anonymous
- Market: China
- Project year: 2022
- Audience: Hotel members, prospective members and higher-tier travellers
- Platform: WeChat
- Twish’s role: WeChat Mini Program, local loyalty campaigns, content and media optimisation support
The starting point
A global loyalty programme cannot simply be copied into the Chinese digital environment. Registration, campaign participation and everyday communication need to work through familiar local touchpoints.
The hotel also wanted to move beyond first-time membership acquisition. Existing members needed reasons to engage regularly and progress towards higher membership tiers.
What Twish did
Built the local WeChat membership entry
The team built a WeChat Mini Program and connected it to the hotel group’s existing global loyalty system. This allowed local users to enter the programme through a familiar interface while preserving the wider membership structure.
Operated monthly Member Day campaigns
Twish planned, developed and operated monthly campaigns adapted to Chinese user behaviour. The activities gave members recurring reasons to return and interact with the programme.
Produced content and monitored travel media
Ongoing WeChat content supported programme education and member communication. The team also provided monitoring and optimisation recommendations for relevant travel-media activity.
Localising the member journey
The WeChat experience gave Chinese users a familiar route into the hotel’s global loyalty programme. Registration, campaign participation and membership communication could take place within a platform already used for service interactions and travel planning.
Connecting the WeChat Mini Program to the existing global system helped preserve one membership record. Members could use a local interface while the hotel retained the wider loyalty structure, benefits and tier logic. This reduced friction without creating a separate programme for China.
The monthly Member Day format created a recurring reason to return. Campaign content could introduce benefits, explain participation steps and encourage members to use the programme more actively. Ongoing WeChat publishing supported the same objective between campaign periods.
Combining technology and operations
The project required both a working digital entry point and a regular operating rhythm. The Mini Program supported the functional member journey, while monthly activities and content kept the channel active and relevant.
Travel-media monitoring added external context. Reviewing how the hotel appeared across relevant media allowed the team to identify opportunities and recommend improvements. Together, these elements supported acquisition, member engagement and the progression of existing members within the loyalty programme.
Results and evidence
Reported results include:
- Campaign customer-acquisition cost of RMB 3.5
- Monthly member growth above 12%
What this project shows
Localisation of a global loyalty programme involves more than translating campaign copy. The local interface, membership data, recurring activities and content programme have to work together.
WeChat can provide that operating layer for international hospitality brands while the global system remains the central membership record.