Deloitte
released "A Restoration in Loyalty," an
inaugural survey that
provides insights into consumer travel behavior and loyalty program
satisfaction.
The survey reported
a steep decline in consumer loyalty to travel brands. Only eight
percent of survey respondents indicated they always stay at
the same brand of hotel brand, while just 14 percent
of survey respondents always fly on the same airline.
"According
to Deloitte's survey, it is clear that travel brands need to up
their game if
they want to drive genuine loyalty among consumers," said Adam
Weissenberg , vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. Travel,
Hospitality and Leisure leader. "With heightened competition and
eroding customer loyalty, hotels and airlines, now, more than ever,
need to focus on enhancing and personalizing the consumer
experience."
The
Decline of the Loyalty Program
Considering
that most travel brands consider reward
programs as the cornerstone of consumer
loyalty, such programs ranked low in importance for influencing
consumer travel (20th out of 26 attributes for hotels, and 19th out
of 26 attributes for airlines) – well behind value and past
experience. Only 55 percent consider loyalty programs of high
importance when choosing airlines and 45 percent consider loyalty
programs of high importance when choosing hotels.
Furthermore,
the survey found that most consumers believed even grocery
stores had much more innovative and ultimately rewarding loyalty
programs – just over half of survey respondents said they
are satisfied or very satisfied with their hotel loyalty program (56
percent) and airline loyalty program (53 percent).
The
Pragmatic Traveler
The
state of the economy continues to affect consumer travel habits, with
value for money ranking
as one of the most important considerations when booking
hotels and flights. The survey found
consumers seek value for money, comfort and location when
choosing a hotel, while on-time arrivals and departures, safety and
value for money are the most important factors for choosing
an airline. Consumers are no longer craving the luxury of premium
class, particularly when it comes to domestic travel – 64 percent
of consumers said they fly economy on domestic
flights for business(46
percent for international), while 79 percent fly economy for leisure
on domestic flights (66 percent for international).
The price
of gas continues to have a strong impact –
61 percent of respondents said gas
prices had some effect on their travel plans.
It's
Not All about Smartphones and Social Media
According
to the survey, 63 percent of respondents never want to interact
with a travel brand via social media and 44 percent never visit
social media and review sites for travel. Additionally, 80 percent of
respondents have neverdownloaded a
hotel or airline app to their smartphones. Meanwhile, nearly half
of survey respondents (49 percent) have used flash sale
sites, to follow discounts on travel. In fact, the majority of
consumers are still using tried-and-trusted methods to book travel
reservations – 61 percent use hotel and 59
percent use airline websites most frequently. What really matters to
consumers when being engaged by travel brands is a secure and easy
purchase process, email discounts and the latest news.
At
a time where consumers are more likely to show loyalty to a soda
brand than an airline, what can travel brands do to combat this?
"Travel
brands need to be more innovative and clear in communicating their
product and service offerings," added Weissenberg. "For
example, Deloitte's research showed that while earning and redeeming
points are the most important attributes for choosing hotel and
airline loyalty programs, travel brands should focus on enhancing the
customer experience, making rewards personally meaningful,
encouraging loyalty with unexpected rewards if they want to boost
consumer engagement, and ultimately building long-term customer
relationships."
A
full copy of the survey is available on Deloitte's website
at: www.deloitte.com/us/pursuitofloyalty