Travel Brands, Remember Who You Really Serve — The Traveling Public

With the travel industry and global economy buckling under the uncertainty of the coronavirus, it has become clear that leaders across travel failed in not only mitigating the scale of the crisis but have no idea how to engage effectively with their customers. Aggressive marketing tactics employed by the travel industry confuse and alienate consumers, limiting customer loyalty in the process. Skift calls this phenomenon hate-selling, but the pushy online behavior of these brands has a serious real-world effect. The arcane terms and conditions travelers accept are extremely anti-consumer in nature. Usually, it amounts to a financial hit on travelers who don't realize it costs money to switch flights or shift a hotel stay. As the stability of the global travel sector has crumbled, and airlines have made their policies more flexible, consumers have begun to realize one thing very clearly: there is no actual reason for that $250 change fee or cancellation fee, it's revenues-for-th