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P. 60

TRAVEL LOYALTY


                                                                                                                                                 IS OVERDUE



                                                                                                                                                 FOR DISRUPTION








                                                                                                                                                      Skift Take:
                                                                                                                                                      Being a member in loyalty programs
                                                                                                                                                      today is about as engaging as a trip
                                                                                                                                                      to the auto mechanic. For most,
                                                                                                                                                      complex rules and constraints

                                                                                                                                                      take much of the utility out of
                                                                                                                                                      the programs while other, more
                                                                                                                                                      motivated travelers simply find them

                                                                                                                                                      uninspiring. To survive, tomorrow’s
                                                                                                                                                      loyalty programs will need much
                                                                                                                                                      more than blockchain — they’ll need
                                                                                                                                                      true disruption.




                                                                                                                          We're in an era of copy-and-paste loyalty programs.  pay for a ticket," said Jonathan Khoo, a software
                                                                                                                          Cowed by active investors and afraid of straying  engineer who travels frequently for work. "Now,
                                                                                                                          too far from the pack, operators of today's airline,  I pretty much make flight booking decisions on
                                                                                                                          hotel, and car loyalty programs run the conser-  wherever the cheapest flights take me."
                                                                                                                          vative game of offering nearly the exact same
                                                                                                                          thing that the competition delivers. It annually  According to research f rom Skift, tomorrow's
                                                                                                                          takes 25,000 miles and $3,000 in spend to earn  travelers are less interested in the drumbeat
                                                                                                                          low-level elite status on the major U.S. carriers.  of accumulating points for their weekly flight
                                                                                                                          Stay in a big-brand hotel for 10 nights and the  between Omaha and St. Louis and more in how
                                                                                                                          loyalty benefits start to roll in.        they can use those points for unique experiences.
                                                                                                                                                                    In short, they want faster gratification and deeper
                  Writer: Grant Martin
                                                                                                                          That formula may work for now, but tomorrow's  engagement from their loyalty programs. Even
                                                                                                                          consumers want more from their loyalty program.  shorter: they want disruption.
                                                                                                                          "Airline loyalty programs stopped becoming useful
                                                                                                                          to me after all of the airlines started determin-  If only it were so easy. Most legacy loyalty programs
                  Sponsored by                                            Illustrator: Amanda Berglund                    ing status in the same way — by how much you  are so intertwined with co-branded credit


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