Travel Loyalty News

More hotel companies, especially those that occupy the upper upscale and luxury categories, are seeking to expand their guest offerings beyond the traditional guest room or hotel restaurant to build loyalty, offer more “authentic” experiences, and distinguish themselves from the competition.

At a time when most hotel loyalty programs are so highly coveted and promoted by hospitality companies, but also increasingly complicated in some cases, it's interesting to see how Wyndham's easy-to-understand approach is working to help attract new customers and reward them.

Hyatt is the latest U.S. hotel company to enter the direct booking wars, hoping to entice more consumers to book direct instead of booking on sites like Expedia and Booking.com.

In this report, we look at ways airlines can build more reliable paths to true passenger personalization, to reinforce brand, build strong loyalty relationships, reduce the burden on front-line personnel…

Picking up on anxiety within its loyalty program member ranks, Starwood is getting proactive on communication.

Interestingly, the Starwood Preferred Guest program, beloved among frequent travelers, ranked near the bottom, and it's never fared well in past J.D. Powers' reports. So, why is it so admired, and why does Marriott want it so badly?

Alaska Air and Virgin America can rightly argue that they need a marriage to compete with the likes of Delta, America, United and Southwest. JetBlue, meanwhile, which made an unsuccessful bid, gets left out in the cold.

It looks like an Alaska tie-up is more likely and more beneficial to passengers.

For Alaska Airlines, sudden changes to its loyalty program may be a lesson learned in how temperamental frequent flyers can be. But in the end, travel hackers will have to either play the game that the airlines create or quit.

Starwood Preferred Guest members: Don't burn your loyalty cards yet.