S6/E13 The Power of True Guest Loyalty in Scaling a Global Boutique Hotel Brand with Lennert De Jong, CEO, another star (former citizenM)

In the final episode of our Loyalty Series, we sit down with citizenM’s former CCO and CEO and now another star CEO Lennert de Jong to unpack how a boutique hotel brand reinvented loyalty as a product rather than a points program. The result was a paid subscription model, guaranteed room availability, and a bold brand IP sale to Marriott, all of which reshaped citizenM’s growth, distribution strategy, and guest experience without diluting its identity.

Lennert takes us back to the company’s early stance against traditional loyalty models and the forces that pushed a rethink: OTA pressure, the strength of U.S. direct-booking behavior, and the need for scale to protect rate integrity. Out of that emerged mycitizenM+, a simple paid membership that delivers immediate, tangible perks most notably guaranteed rooms when travelers need them most. The psychology mirrors Amazon Prime: when guests pay to join, they default to the brand and return more often. We explore how citizenM measured success through customer lifetime value, switching behavior, and how benefits like coworking access and F&B discounts aligned perfectly with the brand’s living-room-centric design.