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The online travel hub Expedia Group plans to unify and expand customer loyalty program offerings across its brand portfolio.
The move will result in “the industry’s most comprehensive travel rewards offering,” according to the Seattle-based company, with member discounts and rewards earned and redeemed on flights, hotels, rentals. holidays, car rentals, cruises and activities in all countries. Expedia group brands.
The relevant travel brands are Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity and Vrbo.
The step addresses an issue at the enterprise level that has hampered consumer retention efforts. Since American Airlines in 1981 became the first major corporation to roll out a loyalty program, its AAdvantage loyalty plan, travel providers and others have launched many similar programs with the goal of cultivating consumer loyalty to their brands.
The problem is, while some consumers stick with an airline, hotel chain, or car rental company to accumulate reward points as intended, many others register over time with multiple. companies, finding themselves with many balances of low points in a multitude of competing loyalties. programs.
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These days, companies often solve this problem by partially partnering with compatible programs from other companies. Expedia Group applies the model to its wide range of sometimes competing brands, with more than 145 million loyalty program members in total.
“I have a stack of logins and loyalty cards, and soon it won’t be necessary as I will be earning perks, whether I rent a car, book a flight or a hotel room,” Jon said. Gieselman, President of Expedia Brands.
The four main existing programs of the Expedia Group brands will join the brand new global rewards program, he noted. An exact launch date has not been set, but a company spokesperson said the rollout is expected “over the coming year.”
“Our loyalty program will provide members with the ability to earn and redeem points across all brands of the Expedia Group, even brands, like Vrbo, which did not previously have loyalty programs,” said Gieselman.
“A customer will be able to earn points for their Vrbo vacation rental and redeem them for an Expedia car rental, for example,” he added.
If you book a room on Hotels.com, that vacation package you booked on Expedia six months ago will have earned you a loyalty currency, he explained.
“It’s better for travelers, and there is an added benefit to making our partner inventory more visible to new customers for future bookings,” said Gieselman. “It’s going to be simpler and more flexible.”
Membership in what Expedia Group calls the “Unified and Improved” loyalty program will be free.
New and existing members will have a “seamless” experience once the new program is launched, although current members will continue to use their original programs. Some details of the new program, such as redemption and point expiration settings, are still being hashed, according to Gieselman.
Expedia Group plans to build on the benefits of the existing program, such as member rates, reward boosters, upgrades and social amenities offered at thousands of properties around the world. (To date, the company said, its member-only offerings and loyalty rewards in legacy programs have saved customers nearly $ 10 billion in travel.)
While the Covid pandemic and the lockdown forced many travelers to delay their plans until recently, Expedia Group expects a flood of refunds and has stepped up customer service operations to handle it.
“There is no doubt that there will be a rush in travel and the use of loyalty points as soon as the world opens up again,” said Gieselman. “We have added hundreds of agents to phones, introduced a virtual agent, and developed a one-click cancellation tool.”
One of the main goals of the new unified program is to educate Expedia Group customers on the relationships between the company’s brands and how to operate them, “which will make life easier for travelers.”
“There was a time when our brands competed with each other in the market and that, to a certain extent, was part of the strategy,” said Gieselman. “We are now completely focused on best customer outcomes and bringing a more unified experience across our brands.
“Loyalty is a big part of it and a huge step forward towards that vision.”
The Expedia Group family of brands includes CarRentals.com, CheapTickets, ebookers, Egencia, Expedia, Expedia Cruises, Expedia Group Media Solutions, Expedia Local Expert, Expedia Partner Solutions, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, trivago, Vrbo and Wotif.
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