Travel Loyalty News

Smart travel companies already know that the Chinese travel market will be absolutely crucial to their future growth and success. But the way they approach that market is what counts, and to do so, they need to be well-informed and tech savvy.

We'll argue that the price of getting better service is just that: Paying a bit more for your room or seat.

Booking.com displaced Southwest's long-time hotel partner, Orbitz, on Southwest.com. Booking.com's pay-at-the-hotel system meshes much better with Southwest's flexible fare structure than did Orbitz's preponderous hotel bookings requiring prepayment. Booking.com's integration of its Rocketmiles acquisition on Southwest now makes total sense.

Price and awards will always be a strong pull for getting travelers to join loyalty programs but Facebook IQ's data show that that's more true for some travelers than for others.

Everyone in the hotel space is taking a good, hard look at their loyalty programs for good reason, and Hyatt is no exception. It'll be interesting, however, to see if their strategy to appeal to the "sophisticated high-end traveler" delivers.

Wyndham Worldwide, like its peers, is betting big on loyalty, but unlike its peers, it plans on keeping its timeshare and vacation rental businesses all together, instead of spinning them off like others have.

This is a much smarter, more thought-out move on Wyndham Rewards' part, compared to its failed attempt to woo away Starwood Preferred Guest members a few weeks ago. Drawing on its parent company's strong portfolio of vacation rentals and timeshares gives Wyndham Rewards an edge in attracting travelers who desire a wider variety of accommodations when they travel.

When it comes to points Vs. price, the starting point is always who's the traveler and who's paying.

Learn how travel marketers are driving loyalty through customer experience and personalization with this video recap of our recent webinar with Boxever!

Marriott and Starwood now allow members who use a co-branded credit card to earn bonus points when booking on the other carrier's hotels. It's a small perk, but it should be added incentive to booking within the network before wandering off to a third-party carrier.