Travel Loyalty News

Tripadvisor is trying to become a much larger transaction site again. But here are two challenges: Will the benefits be so superior to discounts you can get for free booking on HotelTonight or elsewhere? And hotels will get a break on commissions, but do they really want to train guests to book on Tripadvisor?

Even before the pandemic, Tripadvisor faced many challenges monetizing its user base. The travel platform is now turning to more user-friendly subscription models to change that. But will it be able to meet the evolving demands of travelers in a post-Covid world?

In its top travel stories this week, Skift covered the airline pilot shortage, ghost kitchens, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the emergence of TUI Musement in tours and activities.

Many global airlines have reduced long-haul flights or exited markets altogether due to the pandemic, but more often than not their loyalty points have an expiration date. Now is a really good time for airlines to put customers first and adjust their valuable currency — or risk losing their loyalty.

Some companies will add subscriptions to their mix of revenue streams, while others will go to market with subscriptions as the foundational offering in attempts at becoming a sort of Netflix of travel.

It's as good a time as any to test new revenue models, but this may just be a financial buffer until demand comes back.

If airlines and hotels end up cutting back too much, they would risk providing plenty of opportunities for new companies to emerge, fill gaps, and gobble up market share. But a faster recovery in corporate travel would make this issue moot for a lot of companies.

Oracle Hospitality's first acquisition under new top boss Alex Alt takes the hotel tech giant deeper into guest-facing interactions before guests arrive at a property, not just once they reach the front desk.

Has Tripadvisor finally come up with a subscription plan for consumers that would enable it to differentiate itself from competitors and to more effectively compete with consumers? One challenge would be to get hotels to offer perks when many may see Tripadvisor's offering as clashing with their own loyalty efforts.

Air Canada relaunches its Aeroplan program on November 8. But are loyalty programs still relevant amid a global pandemic? An airline executive says they are. We tend to think he's right.