As we know, there are various types of loyalty programs. And these include programs tied to banks, retailers, gas stations, etc. Among the promoted programs? Travel-related programs. They offer loyal customers free rooms, airline travel, upgrades, and more. This post focuses on travel programs. Certain U.S. travelers like loyalty programs — and use them.
Background
Often, firms go to great lengths to attract loyal shoppers. And with the competition today, that is not easy. In some instances, shoppers dislike loyalty programs. Period. In other cases, they use the programs infrequently. So, firms need to get their acts together. The goal: active customer loyalty.
Consider these posts:
- What People Want from a Loyalty Program.
- Better Communicating with Loyal Customers.
- Coming Up Short with Loyalty Programs.
- Better Customer Experiences.
- Angry Customers Matter.
Click the infographic.
Certain U.S. Travelers Like Loyalty Programs
Travel loyalty programs offer tangible benefits. To wit, earn specified points. And receive a reward. Yet, travel programs are NOT in the top tier of loyalty programs. Surprising? Maybe. Maybe Not.
“Travel loyalty programs are popular with travelers. But they don’t have the same following among consumers overall. And this applies to young people. A survey of Internet users in North America from CrowdTwist found retail programs had the highest adoption among those 18 to 37. Meanwhile, travel and hospitality programs were in the middle.”
Thus, the bottom-line question: Travel-related firms have to work to increase use of their loyalty programs. So, what could they do to attract young adults?
On the plus side, travelers like loyalty programs. In particular, they use hotel and airline loyalty programs. And business travelers have higher engagement than leisure travelers.
For further information, we again turn to eMarketer:
New data from Phocuswright and Acxiom found that 4 in 5 U.S. travelers were members of a travel-related loyalty program. Naturally, the point of such programs is to help drive revenues and add to the bottom line. eMarketer estimates that digital travel sales in the U.S. will total $189.62 billion this year. And that figure will grow to $219.69 billion by 2021.”
“The Phocuswright and Acxiom survey found that business travelers were more committed to loyalty programs than leisure travelers. This was across pretty much every segment of the travel market. The obvious reason: They are apt to travel more frequently. For instance, 62% of business travelers had signed up for a hotel’s loyalty plan, compared with 54% of leisure travelers.”
