Yiftee Community Cards

Overview

Integrate a Yiftee-powered Community Card as a Value Add on your Ripe ITA Platform to convert lookers into bookers while keeping tourism dollars local. Value Adds (also called Exclusive Offers in Ripe) are strategic incentives displayed during the booking process that give travelers a compelling reason to book directly through your site.

DMOs using Yiftee Community Cards see an average 30% overspend per transaction, meaning visitors spend significantly more than the card's value at local businesses.

Why Use a Community Card Value Add?

Integrating a local gift card into the booking flow solves four major DMO challenges:

1. Boost Conversion & Direct Bookings

Differentiation: Exclusive offers provide a compelling reason for travelers to book directly through your site rather than an OTA (Online Travel Agency).
Visual Appeal: Offers are displayed prominently on the search results page and navigation menu, highlighting participating properties to catch the user's eye immediately.
Reduced Leakage: By offering a tangible reward (e.g., a $20 gift card) for booking directly, you reduce the likelihood of users leaving to book via major aggregators.

2. Guarantee Local Economic Impact

Closed-Loop System: Unlike generic Visa/Amex gift cards, Yiftee Community Cards are "closed-loop," meaning they can only be redeemed at participating local merchants you select.
Prevent Revenue Leakage: Every dollar invested in the incentive stays in the local community instead of leaking to third-party platforms.
The Multiplier Effect: Data shows that cardholders typically spend significantly more than the card's value. The average "overspend" is approximately 30% per transaction, driving additional revenue to small businesses.

3. Strategic Destination Management

Drive Shoulder Season Travel: You can increase the value of the incentive during off-peak times to drive demand. For example, Park City offered higher-value cards for longer stays during their shoulder season.
Target Specific Sectors: You can curate the list of redeeming merchants to support specific needs, such as a "Restaurant Week" promotion or a "Downtown District" push.

4. Recoup and Recycle Unspent Funds

Expiration Dates: If a guest doesn't use their full balance before the expiration date that you set, the DMO recoups the unspent funds.
Zero Wasted Promotional Dollars: Handing out a national brand gift card means those funds instantly leave your market and unredeemed balances are permanently lost. This allows you to continuously recycle your tourism dollars.

Success Stories: Ripe + Yiftee in Action

Explore Elk Grove (Youth Sports)

The Challenge: High volume of visitors for a soccer tournament with a risk of booking leakage to OTAs.

The Solution: Integrated a $10 Explore Elk Grove Yiftee gift card into the Ripe booking engine for the event.

The Results:

$30,277 in direct booking volume captured
107 gift cards issued to visitors
$6,000+ in saved hotel commissions retained in-market
Zero calls/support issues reported during the event

Park City (MountainKind Card)

The Challenge: Sustaining tourism momentum during the "shoulder season" when snow melts.

The Solution: Bundled the MountainKind Card with hotel stays (e.g., $100 card for 3-night stays).

The Results:

300% Return on Investment (ROI) realized through the partnership with Ripe
$52,000 generated in local sales in just three months
Merchants reported a 5x return on their chamber membership dues solely from card redemptions

How It Works on Ripe

View the Complete Booking-to-Redemption Flow

Traveler Search: When a traveler searches for lodging on your Ripe engine, they see the "Exclusive Offer" (e.g., "Book Now and Get a $50 Local Gift Card") highlighted in the navigation and on property listings.
Booking: The traveler completes their reservation directly on your site.
Fulfillment: The Community Card is digital and delivered via email or text (mobile-wallet friendly), eliminating the need for plastic cards or shipping. If Ripe is providing the fulfillment for these cards, there is a small fee per transaction that will be invoiced monthly.
Redemption: The traveler redeems the card at participating local businesses using their phone (Tap & Go or manual entry).
Reporting: Ripe provides reporting on which offers are selected, allowing you to optimize future campaigns. Yiftee provides reporting on how the card was redeemed so you can see the community impact.

Getting Started

Contact Yiftee to set up your account. Your Client Success Manager can provide the introduction to get you set up. Yiftee will do all of the work to get local retailers up and running with a simple "swipe to play" program.
Define your offer. Decide on the incentive amount (e.g., flat rate vs. tiered by length of stay) and any campaign-specific parameters.
Select merchants. Curate the list of local businesses where the card can be redeemed to align with each specific campaign goal (e.g., "Foodie Tour" vs. "Shop Local").
Enable the integration. Contact your Ripe Client Success Manager to enable the Exclusive Offer widget on your search and lodging pages.
Launch and monitor. Use Ripe and Yiftee reporting to track performance and optimize future campaigns.