Tier Promotion Messaging

Encourage Honors members to achieve higher tiers

MY ROLE

Content Designer

Product designer

Product manager

Data scientists and researchers

Developers

TEAM

TIMELINE

5 months

To explore and test tier promotion messaging within the booking experience to motivate Hilton Honors members to achieve higher tiers, enhancing customer engagement, and driving conversion and revenue per visitor. This project focuses on designing and testing tier messaging variations for logged-in Honors members to assess the impact on click-through rates and overall user motivation.

PROJECT

Problem

Early 2024 has been identified as a key period for tier promotion experimentation to support:

  • Hilton Honors occupancy goals

  • Revenue per visitor growth

Understanding Member Motivation

Analyzing user data revealed that Hilton Honors members are highly motivated by the opportunity to progress to higher tiers, yet many lack visibility into how close they are to achieving their next milestone.

  • Identified that members are motivated by clear, actionable milestones (e.g., "just X nights away").

  • Insights revealed a drop-off in engagement for members unaware of their tier progress.

Accessibility Audit

Accessibility reviews highlighted the importance of designing messaging that is inclusive and easy to understand for all users, ensuring progress indicators are clear and actionable regardless of device or ability.

  • Reviewed current booking flow for potential barriers impacting users with disabilities.

  • Ensured all messaging and visuals adhered to WCAG guidelines, including color contrast and screen reader compatibility

DISCOVERY

Competitive Analysis

Benchmarking Loyalty Programs

  • Analyzed tier messaging and reward progress strategies from competitors (e.g., Marriott Bonvoy, Hyatt World of Rewards):

    • Marriott: Progress bars and gamified incentives in the booking experience.

    • Hyatt: Personalized dashboards showing how close users are to the next reward.

  • Identified gaps in Hilton’s booking flow: absence of visible tier progression cues and motivational language.

Best Practices in Messaging

  • Studied how other loyalty programs personalize messaging to encourage engagement:

    • Clear, concise copy tied to achievable goals.

    • Visual hierarchy that emphasizes progress (e.g., countdowns, gradients, and icons).

VARIANTS

One element, three variations of tier promotion messaging.

FINAL MVP DESIGNS

The results revealed that personalized tier promotion messaging successfully encouraged users to engage with their stay details, increasing edits without negatively affecting click-through rates to payment or overall conversion/revenue. The most significant impact was observed in Variant 3, where users with just 1–2 nights remaining to reach their next tier saw an 11.7% lift in conversion, resulting in a 4.34-point increase. Additionally, users with 3–4 nights remaining demonstrated conversion lifts in both variants, with Variant 2 driving a 7.5% lift (2.62-point increase) and Variant 1 achieving a 6.8% lift (2.35-point increase). These findings highlight the effectiveness of tailored messaging in motivating guests, particularly those closest to tier progression milestones.

RESULTS