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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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