About Memberships

The ORS/OCIS Memberships module provides extensive features for configuring and managing a wide variety of guest loyalty and frequent flyer card programs. The Memberships module provides the following major features:

Note: The Membership module is available when the OPI<version number>OCIS license code is active.

Gathers and maintains guest membership profile information.
Supports flexible, user-definable criteria for award points calculation based on each individual transaction. Award points are calculated at check out and can be redeemed for room type upgrades, special rates, or products. Bonus points can also be administered, giving the properties an additional marketing tool to encourage stays at selected properties or during specific time-frames.
Manages redemption of award points for awards, or benefits, such as special rates, room type upgrades, specialty products (e.g., champagne, chocolates, spa offerings, golf privileges, etc.), and other third-party gifts. Award points are deducted at the time of award consumption. Awards may be cancelled, with or without user-defined penalty; unused points can be re-credited to the membership account.
Calculates and manages tier points used to determine guest membership levels. Each membership program can be configured with any number of tiers (e.g., Classic, Elite, Executive; Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze) with each level having user-definable qualifications. Tier points can be based on multiple criteria including revenue spent, number of stays, and/or number of nights.
Provides batch upgrade and downgrade processes that adjust memberships tiers based on tier points. The upgrade process automatically evaluates a member for level upgrade each time a transaction occurs; the downgrade process can be run at user-defined intervals, usually at the end of each calendar or rolling year. Upgrade and downgrade rules are flexible definitions of the criteria that control whether a membership is upgraded or downgraded.
Provides renewal processing, which is usually handled along with downgrade processing. Renewal processing may be used to check membership activity and to expire memberships that have been inactive for a user- defined period.
Offers automatic validation of membership card numbers (length, prefix, and number ranges), membership status, and tier.
Handles claims and client inquiries, and allows manual adjustments, for example in cases where a member fails to provide membership information at the time of the stay.
Allows export of membership information to external program sponsors (such a frequent flyer programs).
Enables configurable custom folio text to relay valuable information at check out to the individual member (such as award points accrued during the stay), or to non-members (such as points that would have been awarded if the guest was a member, the membership program web address or phone number, etc.).

OPERA's Memberships module supports resident membership programs at this time, with non-resident programs (e.g., diners clubs) anticipated for the future. Points can be managed for any number of membership types and individual memberships. Although the Memberships module supports a great deal of flexibility, be aware that the more complex the configuration, the greater the number of client questions.

Membership Definitions

Resident Membership Programs: Resident membership programs involve a guest stay. Such programs are usually developed by a hotel or chain to encourage and reward repeat business.

Non-Resident Membership Programs: (The OPERA memberships module will support non-resident programs in the future). Non-Resident Membership Programs are not directly related to a stay at a participating property but that are supported by the property Membership program. For example, a diner's club might award points without involving a guest stay.

Awards - Awards are benefits given to guest in recognition of their patronage. Award points are credited to guests based on stays, nights, and revenue generated. Award points may be redeemed for the specific awards which have been configured for each membership type. Awards can take the form of products (such as champagne, chocolates, flowers, or a facial), special room rates, room type upgrades, or other "perks" such as a choice of gifts from a third-party catalog. Awards points are accrued based on flexible conditions such as date of stay, the member's tier or level, and other factors.

Tiers - Participants in membership programs are usually categorized into tiers, or levels, depending on the amount and quality of business they generate. Tiers determine the types of awards the guest is eligible for. Individual memberships can be upgraded from a lower tier to a higher tier, or downgraded from a higher tier to a lower tier, based on tier points credited for the following:

Revenue generated by the guest during a given period
Number of stays booked by the guest during a given period
Number of nights the guest was in residence during a given period.

Tier points are calculated for upgrade/downgrade purposes based on a calendar year (January to December) or on a rolling 12-month year (determined by the date the upgrade batch is run). How stays, revenue, and nights translate into tier points is set by the membership points calculation rules.

Grace Period- During downgrade batch processing, each member's tier points are evaluated based on the level rules set up for the membership type in membership type configuration. If the membership is targeted for downgrade based on the rules, set up for the membership type , you may either allow the membership to be downgraded or postpone the downgrade for whatever reason by granting the membership a "grace period." The Grace status is attached to the membership until you manually remove it.