Hospitality in the News

Your latest instalment of articles and opinions from across the Hospitality sector.

TW: thinkingdifferently

How loyal are you? Mark Twain said "loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it". The same might be said of the many hotel loyalty schemes out there…..

Hotel brands are currently busy relaunching and creating loyalty programs. This week American Airlines and Hyatt Hotels announced that they will share loyalty benefits with each other's members and this comes in the wake of Wyndham going back to tiered redemptions in their loyalty program, Accor rebranding and launching "Accor Live Limitless" and Marriott merging SPG and Marriott Rewards into "Marriott Bonvoy". In the aviation sector, consumers will consciously choose their flights to continue to earn loyalty points with their preferred airlines. Many years ago, petrol companies persuaded people to drive miles out of their way to fill up with gas and collect coupons to be redeemed for some pretty naff glass tumblers.

Why doesn’t the same level of customer loyalty seem to exist with hotel loyalty schemes? Road warriors apart, is it because most people join the schemes at check-in just to receive an upgrade, free wifi or other perk? Is it because, with all these new brands being launched, customers are actually brand agnostic?