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cards, dining-for-miles schemes, and esoteric   The simplest solution to this hurricane of  writer Seth Miller soberly pointed out that many
 partner programs that throwing a wrench into   complexity, of course, is to wipe the slate clean  of the blockchain concepts currently in devel-
 the mechanics could make the whole machine   and rebuild. Slowly, some operators are starting  opment were solutions looking for a problem.
 explode.   to pull it off.                           One diamond in the rough at the conference,
                                                      however, was in a new system designed to recog-
 "The problem with loyalty programs today is   In 2015, Wyndham relaunched its rewards program  nize and post loyalty points on a faster cycle. In
 that they have become too complicated and it   to offer a simple, fixed kickback on every night  the next 10 years, blockchain could easily help
 often seems like a bait and switch," said Michael   booked. Every hotel in its portfolio earned the  your miles post to your account the instant you
 Trager, who runs TravelZork, a website dedicated   same number of points per night while every  step off the aircraft.
 to loyalty programs. "Promises of free flights to   award night – whether at the Howard Johnson or
 great destinations often require way too much   Wyndham Grand – cost the same. For its efforts,  As the median-age traveler moves more toward
 work or are impossible to book. Not to mention,   Wyndham saw a boom in new loyalty program  the digital generation, mobile technologies will
 most want to use their miles for family and leisure   sign-ups and was picked as the "most rewarding"  also take a front seat to innovation in the loyal-
 travel. This means they are trying to travel during   hotel loyalty program in 2017.  ty program space. Until recently, it still wasn't
 peak periods. It’s very difficult for a family to be   possible to book an award ticket through an
 flexible, when they have to book (for example)   Hilton ran a similar overhaul to its Honors program  airline's mobile app or pay for an upgrade. But
 during Easter break."  in 2017, taking special care to offer flexible options  later in 2019, both American and Delta plan to
 COWED BY ACTIVE   for more particular travelers. After the relaunch,  open up that functionality, making it easier for
 Indeed, since the inception of revenue-based   travelers could redeem Honors points for partial  mobile-first travelers to streamline their journeys.
 loyalty programs several years back, the calculus   INVESTORS AND AFRAID OF   room payments and e-commerce purchases. They
 for earning award points and elite status has   could even pool points into family accounts, a  Hopeful as these technologies may seem,
 become dramatically more complex. Fly from   STRAYING TOO FAR FROM   perk nearly unheard of in the domestic loyalty  there's still a long way to go toward making
 JFK to San Francisco, for example, and you'll   program game.  loyalty programs ready for the next generation
 earn 2,500 elite qualifying miles – the distance   THE PACK, OPERATORS OF   of travelers. To get started, airline, hotel, and
 between those two points on the earth. But   For those without the ability to start from scratch,  car rental loyalty program operators need to
 in terms of award miles, the points redeemed   TODAY’S AIRLINE, HOTEL, AND   the solutions may come in the form of better  f ind the courage to step away f rom the pack
 for your next vacation in Hawaii, you only earn   technology adoption. One group ahead of the  and truly innovate. Some, like Wyndham and
 1,400  – because your flight cost $200 and as a   CAR LOYALTY PROGRAMS RUN   curve is Carnival Corp. Last year, the operator  Hilton, are already doing that. Others need to
 Gold member of your loyalty program, you earn   started piloting the Ocean Medallion, a wearable  start thinking more disruptively – else they get
 seven award miles per dollar spent.  THE CONSERVATIVE GAME   bit of technology that allows travelers to wirelessly  left behind in the dust.
            access VIP levels of the cruise experience and
 Loyalty program backends, too, have become   OF OFFERING NEARLY THE   feed valuable location and preference informa-
 staggeringly complex, especially when giants   tion to the mothership.
 like Marriott and Starwood merge IT systems.   EXACT SAME THING THAT THE   Big data may also help travel providers better

 "Marriott's done a fairly good job of incorporating   COMPETITION DELIVERS.  target and address customer needs. It's far easier
 some of the best benefits of Starwood, like free   to fly 125,000 miles and earn Delta Diamond
 breakfast and suite upgrades at many hotels,"   status out of Detroit, a Delta Air Lines hub,
 said Zach Honig, an editor-at-large at The Points   than it is out of San Francisco, where United is
 Guy. "These perks are implemented inconsistently,   king. So why is a San Francisco-based Diamond
 though – hotels often don't provide an upgrade   treated the same as one from Detroit? Could a
 unless you ask, and the breakfast benef it can   loyalty operator potentially create a program
 range from coffee and a pastry in the hotel lobby   custom-tailored to that Delta passenger in San
 to a full à la carte or buffet spread. Customers   Francisco?
 never know what they're actually going to get
 until they arrive at the hotel."  Dig through the mountains of hype, and block-
            chain could be one of the keys to getting us out
 Airlines are no better. It still takes at least 24   of the doldrums of today's loyalty programs.
 hours for miles to post from a United flight, and   But there isn't an easy solution on the horizon.
 if the credit is coming from a partner carrier or   Reporting from the Loyalty Live 2018 conference,
 credit card, it could take weeks.




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