Are travelers getting stingier with their loyalty?

[jmbklj]

Are travelers getting stingier with their loyalty? Yes, according to a new survey by Deloitte.

It may be more challenging for service providers to foster loyalty in the future, if these results are indicative of a new trend. Have we now gone full circle?

Just 8% of travelers surveyed in October by the professional services firm say they're loyal to the same hotel brand. Only 14% say they're loyal to the same airline.

The findings don't bode well for hotels and airlines going forward. It seems that price, comfort and service are the driving decisions - more than loyalty programs, according the the survey.

Customers now often complain that it's not easy to accrue or redeem miles and points, or to achieve elite status. It's interesting that the survey found that many consumers said they consider grocery store loyally programs more rewarding than those run by hotels and airlines. Hmm, now that I think of it………I do use my Kroger card every week.

Travelers get stingier with their loyalty

Deloitte | A restoration in loyalty | Travel, hospitality and leisure | Loyalty programs | customer loyalty | Travelers

[omegaet]

Apparently, I wasn't sampled in this survey.

The loyalty programs in which I participate, continue to provide excellent benefits (OK, there are inflation issues that pop up now and then, but that seems to be the case in all aspects of my life).

Buying hotel packages from Luxury Link (which is in a sense is a 'loyalty' manifestation - since 'status' often is rewarded with a VIP Cert), is about the only time I stray away from my usual hotel loyalty programs.

[kyshel]

I can believe those results. They're only asking 4000 travelers. Makes sense to get a big chunk who don't have any loyalty to anything except price. So many major cities have multiple airlines to serve the same destination, so it's easy to choose $ and schedule. Reward programs can be very frustrating to maintain and redeem.That's part of my job at home--getting the best for less (hence, LuxuryLink!)

[bonniejoy03]

Good points. I find my loyalty to Luxury link. I do look at Jetsetter, SLH, etc but always come back to LL!

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I have been loyal to LL for the past couple of years. Was very loyal to Continental airlines, however, since their merger with United I have strayed and used AA for the 1st time. I do like a good price, however, I have found myself looking for the best times for arrival in my destination - I do like to arrive in the Latin American countries during daylight hours if at all possible.
Was never loyal to any particular hotel since I stay at so many different places through the LL packages - other than the LL trips we do, we don't really do any other travelling to make a hotel program worthwhile for us.