Jay Sorenson has an interesting new report (.pdf) declaring ‘revenue is now king’ that revenue-based programs are the new ‘it’ in loyalty. The piece begins by citing all sorts of reasons why revenue matters to a company, which is of course both true and unenlightening.
While mileage alone doesn’t incentivize loyalty, the goal of a marketing program isn’t to ‘reward customers who spend the most’ it’s to move the needle on incremental business .
I have absolutely no doubt that there’s intelligence surrounding attempts to hide explosive devices inside electronics. There has been specific intelligence on this before. That’s why at times we’ve had to turn on electronic devices, and It’s certainly conceivable that the technical know how could have advanced to the point that a real working laptop could be used to hide nefarious objects.
Developing a threat in this way wouldn’t be easy, and aspiring to do this is very different than actually developing the capability, but it’s a claim we simply cannot disprove no matter how much the intelligence community has given reason not to trust its pronouncements.
My recent stay at the Hyatt Centric Arlington (former Hyatt Arlington) was a case study in how to slap together a renovation. The bathroom countertops, floor tiles, and much of the wallpaper are the same as before the renovation.
There was little thought that had gone into my room even for those things that were changed, and consistent mis-execution during the stay. Here’s what I criticized:
The Andaz Maui rarely offers cash and points awards, which is fair, because those are voluntary. They restricted top tier elite suite upgrades to a new separate room type, poolside suites — a lesser room category that there’s only a few of on property.
They’re even tough to get an award night at, perhaps more than any other Hyatt hotel they’ve revealed the games a property can play to stretch the rules of a loyalty program.
I generally say business class is all about the seat and I believe that but I will also say that I love a larger pillow and 2 pillows plus the option for the gel pillow on United now in business class.
I realized what I am looking forward to least about an upcoming American Boeing 787-9 business class flight from Paris to Dallas — though that’s a netter seat — is the single tiny pillow, call me a teenage girl but I may buy a pillow in the Paris airport and toss it in Dallas on arrival.
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Malaysian founder of AirAsia Tony Fernandes posted to his Instagram account a video of a cabin crew member performing Britney Spears Toxic.
Marriott announced today that they’ve surpassed 100 million members between Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest. That’s a huge data file to market to.
Earlier we learned that a ban on electronics was about to go into effect on flights to the U.S.
Now the Associated Press is reporting that the ban involves 9 airlines and 10 cities and is ‘indefinite’.
American is tight-fisted with award availability on its own flights. While transatlantic business class began tightening mid-2012, and transpacific business class 18 months later, we’ve seen that overall the percentage of American Airlines seats occupied by award passengers even at higher mileage costs has declined and is now less than on either United or Delta.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
