Losing elite status in an airline or hotel loyalty program doesn’t mean a member is done travelling—or done with your brand. Too often, brands treat every downgraded member the same, missing a critical opportunity to retain high-value customers. By understanding the distinct profiles of downgraded elites, loyalty programs can tailor retention strategies to keep the […]

The post Rethinking Elite Status Downgrades appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

The New Frontier For Loyalty: Making Money Large firms often use the latest buzzwords to make it sound like they know something about loyalty that you don’t. As a loyalty manager, the reality is that you most likely know more about loyalty, are more in tune with your member base, and have your pulse on […]

The post The New Frontier For Loyalty: Making Money appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

According to a recent SEC filing, American Airlines AAdvantage generated $1B cash in Q2 2022, representing a 73% gross margin for the loyalty business. American Airlines AAdvantage program has been valued at almost $30B, while at the time of the valuation, the entire airline group was valued by the market at less than $15B. Gary […]

The post Loyalty Programs Need More Control to Fuel Growth of Airline Industry Valuations appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Each year I review past loyalty predictions and make new predictions for the upcoming 12 months. The report card for my 2021 predictions is 4 out of 5 transpired throughout the 2021 year. The big one which didn’t happen – yet – ‘a loyalty program will buy/acquire an airline‘ – is coming. Perhaps the call […]

The post Airline Loyalty Predictions for 2022 appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Over the past two years –  airlines, hotels and travel companies extended complimentary status for elites because, Covid. These elite status extensions were mainly justified under the premise of ‘goodwill’ – the idea that elites couldn’t requalify for status based on the published program criteria through no fault of their own. Often due to their […]

The post Will airlines & hotels ever end the unlimited free elite status extensions? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeremy Adamson, who is the author of the recently launched publication, titled Minding the Machines – Building and Leading Data Science and Analytics Teams [Available on Amazon]. Jeremy has a strong background in building and leading big data and analytics, teams, and it’s no surprise that in […]

The post Leadership Interview – Building Data Science Teams appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

The magic of loyalty is something we’ve all experienced in our lifetimes, and yet, few of us can articulate that powerful feeling while linking it back in a business context. The magic of loyalty cannot be explained with numbers. Like falling in love – the magic of loyalty is a moment in time that you […]

The post The Magic of Loyalty appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Some of the brightest people in the travel sector have hung up their boots and are beginning new careers in other industries – and good for them. It can take real courage to shift industries. [side note: A great story on Qantas pilots becoming bus drivers here] These same travel companies are lining up for […]

The post Airlines – Wakeup and Smell the Money appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Each year I publish in advance my thoughts and insights as to where the travel loyalty industry is heading. While 2020 was a tough one to predict, there were direct target hits, the most notable being #5 prediction for 2020 “Airlines That Neglect Loyalty Will Suffer“. It’s now evident that loyalty programs are worth more […]

The post 5 Predictions for Airline Loyalty in 2021 appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

When was the last time a loyalty platform vendor said their technology would generate more revenue for your organisation than it costs to buy their product? Don’t laugh. That is the number one question loyalty programs should be asking as part of the RFP process for a new loyalty platform. After all, in a marketplace […]

The post Leadership Interview: Loyalty Platform Insights appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Something is absent from airline marketing messages in 2020. Something that airlines have spent the better part of the last century branding customers with. That something is love. Let’s rewind back to 2019. You’re about to jump on a plane to visit friends in Las Vegas for the weekend. Even though you’re crammed into that […]

The post Love is the answer for the travel industry appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

The airline industry is on its knees and at the mercy of Governments, Shareholders and cashed-up billionaire investors who’ve always wanted to be millionaires. With limited signs of recovery, and an 18-month outlook that looks at best, dire – many airlines will simply run out of cash and round upon the heap with the likes […]

The post The 4 Keys to Running a Future Successful Airline appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

In 2020 –  United Airlines announced a US $5B loan secured by MileagePlus, proving once again that the Loyalty Program is more valuable than the Airline. Last month, American Airlines President Robert Isom shared on a Wolfe Research call that the AAdvantage Loyalty Program is valued at US $18B – $31B. The Delta Air Lines […]

The post Airline Loyalty is a C-Level Role appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Data monetization — the new loyalty buzzword?! Earlier this week I spoke with top industry experts on loyalty data monetization,  Christian Hylander from Mastercard and Dianne Robillos from Qatar Airways. Airlines and their Loyalty Programs are facing renewed pressure to be the heroes of the airline comeback story — and rightly so — airline elite […]

The post Leadership Interview: Qatar Airways & Mastercard on Monetizing Data appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

According to research by Loyalty Data Co, up to 60% of all Status Match submissions are fraudulent. With no way to know how many times a cardholder has requested matches with competing Loyalty Programs, and no way to verify the cardholders existing status is real – why do Loyalty Programs continue beating down the same […]

The post Loyalty Status Matching – What’s the Future? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

“MASSIVELY INSIGHTFUL – Something all airlines can learn from”.  That is how Aviation Festival Americas organisers described the recent “What’s the Status of Status” Airline Loyalty Discussion Webinar. If you missed the live online event, you can watch the entire 60-minute session via the Aviation Festival Americas website. The key themes discussed on the 1st […]

The post Leadership Interview: Frontier Airlines Insights appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

What is the new normal for the aviation industry? Are we destined for an eternity of wearing masks, social distancing, quarantine periods, Government restrictions? Is the aviation industry doomed? Will flight schedules be back to 1930s levels? How the heck does all of this happen? What can we do as a collective to overcome current […]

The post The Travel Industry Will Soar One Day Again Soon appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Extend elite status or Not to extend elite status? That’s the million-dollar question circling around the travel loyalty industry lately. The unprecedented grounding of aircraft, significant decline in demand, and empty hotel rooms are forcing management to be creative and discover new ways to generate cash, stimulate demand, and in some cases – survive as […]

The post Should Airlines & Hotels Extend Elite Status in Times of Crisis? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Take a moment to consider the following: Who are the most valuable passengers to the airline? How do the airlines track and measure total passenger loyalty? Today, airline loyalty members represent between 20% and 70% of total pax depending on the airline, and it means there is a significant percentage of passengers who are not […]

The post Shadow Loyalty Members – The Revenue Hiding in Plane Sight appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Airline feedback is broken. Everyone knows it, but nobody will admit it. Customer feedback surveys with static questions that demonstrate the airline has no idea what the customer experience should be. Very few airline employees have ever held elite status in their career – and that creates a significant disconnect between airline management and loyal […]

The post Joy – The New Airline Loyalty Metric appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith