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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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