YOUR REGULARS ARE WORTH MORE THAN YOU THINK
Two campaigns launched within days of each other this month, and both make the same quiet argument: in an era of algorithmic discovery and one-off deals, the customers who already know your name are your most valuable asset. Payments company Square has put fresh numbers behind the idea of local loyalty, while IHG Hotels & Resorts has relaunched a campaign that turns everyday room nights into food relief. Neither is a discount strategy. Both are a reminder that community connection, done consistently, still moves real revenue.
The “regulars” economy, by the numbers
Square’s Neighbourhood Nation research found that almost three quarters of Australians’ monthly dining spend, 73 per cent, goes to local venues rather than big chains, and the company reports that most Australians feel more connected to their community than they did five years ago. The commercial case is even sharper in Square’s separate Local Economy Report: customers who visit a venue three or more times a month generate five times the annual revenue of a one-off visitor, with three times the average daily spend and four times the daily transactions. Square has built its “See You in the Neighbourhood” campaign around this data, recruiting recognisable faces such as Naomi Watts, Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Fanning to publicly back their own favourite local cafes, bakeries and bars. “Restaurants, cafes, bakeries and bars are where people gather, connect and feel at home,” said Stacey Lowther, Head of Marketing at Square Australia. “By helping those businesses thrive, we help their neighbourhoods thrive.”
A hotel campaign that turns stays into meals
IHG Hotels & Resorts is running a parallel play with its Stay for Good campaign, back for another year across Australia and New Zealand throughout September. Participating hotels donate one dollar from every room night booked directly to OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest, with each dollar funding two meals and helping divert a kilogram of food waste from landfill. The timing matters: OzHarvest’s 2026 Frontline Report found more than 350,000 people are now seeking food support each month, with over 74,000 turned away monthly due to insufficient supply, and 70 per cent of frontline charities reporting rising demand. “Stay for Good gives our hotel network another opportunity to build on that impact,” said Matt Tripolone, Managing Director, Australasia and Pacific at IHG Hotels & Resorts. OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn welcomed the renewed support, noting that the partnership has now delivered one million meals since it began.
Shared local purpose
Neither Square nor IHG is selling a discount, and that is the point worth taking back to your own marketing plan. A loyalty program that simply reduces the price trains guests to wait for the next deal, while a program built around genuine recognition and shared local or social purpose builds the kind of habitual visits that Square’s data shows are worth several times more over a year. For pubs, clubs and hotels, the practical takeaway is straightforward: know your regulars by name where you can, make sure your point of sale or booking system is actually capturing repeat visit data rather than treating every guest as new, and look for one authentic local or community partnership, rather than a generic discount code, that reflects what your venue and its neighbourhood already stand for.
That last point is worth sitting with. Square’s campaign works because it puts a genuine face and a genuine story behind each venue, and IHG’s works because the dollar donated is tied to a measurable, reported outcome rather than a vague feel good message. A club that quietly supports a local food charity, or a pub that publicly credits the regulars who keep its Friday nights busy, is telling the same kind of story, and telling it consistently over months is what turns an occasional visitor into a habitual one. In a market where guests can just as easily discover a venue through an algorithm as through a friend, that human, local layer is becoming a genuine point of difference rather than a nice to have.
