News Briefs

iSeatz, a provider of travel loyalty technology and digital commerce solutions, released a new report that outlines current challenges and evolving expectations from business leaders and consumers that are shaping the travel loyalty industry at a time of resilient demand but rising uncertainty.

The report, Booking, Personalization, Sustainability, and Payments: The Tipping Point for Travel Loyalty in 2023, examines how travel rewards can help companies meet their engagement, revenue, and growth goals while also revealing disparities between most loyalty programs' offerings and what their members expect from their travel loyalty experiences. Among the report's overarching findings are four areas of opportunity for loyalty programs to improve their performance and better meet consumer demands: the booking experience, sustainability, personalization, and payment technology.

"This new research shows that American consumers have clear expectations for what their travel loyalty programs should deliver, and that they want more control over their experiences," says Kenneth Purcell, Founder & CEO of iSeatz. "That means there's a huge opportunity for companies to drive revenue and improve customer engagement if they make flexibility and value the core of their travel loyalty offering."

Broad-based data reveals untapped potential

The report is based on two surveys conducted in November and December of 2022, one of over 2,000 American travelers and members of loyalty programs and another of nearly 300 loyalty program professionals. Survey questions covered a range of topics from current consumer attitudes toward travel to the technological capabilities of loyalty booking platforms.

In addition to the disparities between member expectations and program offerings and the focus on booking, personalization, sustainability, and payments, the report also highlighted key differences in generational attitudes and priorities regarding travel loyalty. Other major findings include:

• 43% of consumers say saving money on travel is what they value most from their loyalty programs
• But only 32% of companies surveyed include travel rewards as part of their earning and redemption options
• 63% of industry respondents say their programs are members' first choice when booking travel, but only 51% of consumers report the same.
• Over 70% of consumers who said they receive personalized recommendations through their travel loyalty booking site say their current loyalty programs provide them with the value they are looking for, while only 44% of respondents who receive no personalized content said the same
• 37% of Gen Z respondents would book more travel if their loyalty program had sustainability-related redemption options
• 31% of consumers want "buy now, pay later" options for purchases made via their loyalty programs, but only 37% of programs support that payment method

Crafting a better travel loyalty approach

The report's findings point to areas where new technologies or updated strategies can have a major impact on a travel loyalty program's performance. Booking technology that gives members more control and options can create more connected experiences. Including more sustainability-related redemption options can help companies engage younger members and boost overall spending. Incorporating personalized recommendations can boost members' affinity for the programs they belong to.

"The most important takeaway from this report is the need for travel loyalty programs to put the member's wants and needs front and center," continues Purcell. "When customer centricity is the guiding idea, alignment between expectations and experience happens naturally, and growth follows closely behind."

Up and coming QSR  Salad and Go  is expanding in Texas with three new locations opening in February in the Houston markets of Katy, Richmond and League City.

The Katy store located opened February 1, the Richmond location at  is set to open February 17, and the League City store plans to open its doors on February 22. These new locations will mark the start of rapid brand expansion across the Greater Houston area.

These suburbs were strategically selected as ideal markets for Salad and Go as some of the fastest growing communities in the region. Conveniently located in some of Houston's most popular suburbs, the new locations will provide fresh, high-quality meals with quick and easy convenience at an affordable price.

As Salad and Go continues growing its national presence with a strong focus on Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada, the brand's expansive growth has it on a positive trajectory to provide fresh and affordable food to communities in more than 125 locations by the end of 2023. Houston is the next step in the brand's expansion across Texas with plans to open additional stores in the market throughout the new year.

Salad and Go's chef-curated menu provides guests with food for any time of the day by offering a variety of delicious and healthy items including salads, wraps, breakfast burritos and soup as well as beverages including hand-crafted lemonades, teas and cold brew coffees.

Salad and Go ensures each meal contains fresh, quality ingredients while keeping prices low by vertically integrating operations and distribution, and sourcing ingredients directly from high-quality local farmers and suppliers whenever possible. The brand's mission to make fresh, nutritious food convenient and affordable for ALL extends beyond its stores and is demonstrated in the work the brand does to donate 4,000 meals every week to those in need, as well as in partnerships with nonprofits to support and fundraise for various worthy causes.

Focus Brands says dual branding is the future of QSR, and the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, is leading the charge. Today, the Focus Brands portfolio boasts 175-plus open dual branded units with at least 65 more in various stages of development across the country. 

Drive-Thru Convenience

The Focus Brands portfolio brands have signed agreements to open more than 50 dual and tri-brand locations in the coming year, many of which include drive-thrus for added convenience as interest in dual branded franchise opportunities continues to surge.

Flexible Store Formats

Focus Brands is among the brands introducing new store formats, including Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box and Panera Bread, which opened its Panera To Go, solely offering Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery shelves where guests and delivery drivers can easily pick up orders.  

Focus Brands has long pioneered the concept of dual branding, predominately in malls and non-traditional locations with Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. Now, the company’s portfolio brands have found new opportunities with streetside dual branded units, which is paving the way for immense franchise growth. 

“Dual branding is the future of our brands, especially on the specialty side of the business,” said Brian Krause, Chief Development Officer at Focus Brands. “There will always be a place in malls, but there is an immense amount of growth opportunity in streetside venues, and, by dual branding, there is more opportunity for enhanced revenue.”

The company invested heavily in consumer research to identify how to create combinations of its iconic brands to resonate with consumers and meet them where they want to be met.

Focus Brands has identified four dual-brand concepts:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon/Carvel
• Auntie Anne’s/Jamba
• Cinnabon/Carvel – Cinnabon Swirl. 

While key consumer benefits vary by dual-brand combination, one consistent benefit has been convenience. Having these brands together in one location makes them far more accessible than they are individually. This convenience also creates opportunity for franchisees, as co-branding leads to an expansive menu that drives enhanced unit-level volume. 

 

Makeready, a hospitality, restaurant and retail management company, announced the merging of their collection of independent hotels under one chain code – MY – within all four global distribution system channels; Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo/Apollo and Worldspan, in addition to DHISCO.

This decision furthers Makeready’s commitment to the travel advisor community at the direction of Makeready COO and President Christine Magrann. “The chain code launch and unification is an exciting next step for the Makeready collection and our brand's commitment to developing and managing independent lifestyle hotels,” says Magrann.

Makeready hotels that are now under the MY chain code include:

• Emeline, Charleston
• Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek
• The Junto, Columbus
• Noelle, Nashville
• The Ryder Hotel, Charleston

Tapped to lead this initiative, Makeready Corporate Director of Commercial Strategy Marcia Murphy has been working towards this launch for years. “As a management company, Makeready has purposely remained in the background, allowing its individual hotel brands to be at the forefront in our guest’s minds,” says Murphy. “By implementing this GDS chain code – MY – we are solidifying our commitment to building consumer confidence in Makeready hotels and empowering travel advisors to cross-reference all of our independent hotels in our collection and book with ease. We look forward to welcoming this wonderful community that serves as an extension of our sales family to experience Makeready.”

In celebration of this advancement, Makeready is offering compelling industry rates and upgrades exclusively to travel advisors worldwide. To indulge in the Makeready experience, Makeready invites travel advisors to simply contact them at [email protected] to learn more about the collection and secure their stay.

The implementation of Makeready’s chain code comes shortly after the brand’s Nashville hotel, Noelle, announced its independence from Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio where it has operated since its opening in 2017. This also follows the news of their newest lifestyle hotel, The Junto, opening this spring in downtown Columbus, Ohio. All of Makeready’s independent hotels have their own distinct identity and point of view, each sharing a common purpose: to inspire deeper connections with the world around them – place by place, person by person.

 

H World Group, announced that it upgraded its H Rewards program to extend its successful direct marketing membership business model in China to its overseas hotel operations. This will further enhance the Group's operational efficiency and add new momentum to its global strategy.

To support the H Rewards upgrade, H World Group moved to a unified global distribution platform, integrating inventory management, connection of direct marketing channels, price control and membership matters across the Group's domestic and overseas operations. H World Group has successfully connected its hotel booking and distribution platforms in China and overseas with unified standards. Over 200 million members will be able to cross-book the Group's domestic and overseas hotels through the platform and link their membership benefits worldwide. This will provide a continuous flow of guests to the Group's hotels around the globe. At present, 80% of H World Group's hotel bookings are made through the unified global distribution platform, with 76% coming from H Rewards members.

With this loyalty program upgrade, H World Group added personalized services to attract more new members. For example, Chinese travelers staying at H World Group hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will have access to Chinese-language menus, Chinese-speaking staff and other services. The Group aims to digitize the traditional hospitality industry. Its overseas guests will experience the added efficiency of digital self-check-in machines, delivery robots, a free wireless portal and smart TV.

H Rewards is an autonomous customer-driven direct-marketing platform. "To stand out in the global hotel industry, digitalization and technological capabilities are key," said Liu Xinxin, President of H World Group. "The Group leverages technology to deliver an innovative experience, creating a closed loop of differentiated services while remaining customer-centric. These are some of the key drivers of our success in China, and have attracted a large number of customers to become members. We are now extending our successful business model in China to our global hotel business."

With strong branding, industry-leading end-to-end digitalization, and its own guest-driven traffic platform, H World Group has developed a unique business strategy of "Brand + Technology + Traffic".

H World Group is also committed to sustainable development. It launched the Green Living project to actively encourage members to reduce waste by converting cancellation of certain services into membership points, which can be used to offset accommodation fees.

Animoca Brands, the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, and Planet Hollywood Group (“Planet Hollywood”), through their joint venture Meta Hollywood, announced they will launch CLUB 3, a private, members-only club that will act as the physical meeting place for the greater global community involved in Web3, NFTs, and open metaverse industries.

The first CLUB 3 location will open in the heart of the famed Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, in the second half of 2023. It will be a 10,000-square-foot facility consisting of diverse dining options, including a main dining room and a rooftop restaurant, eclectic bars and a cocktail lounge, meeting rooms, karaoke rooms, and other facilities. Additionally, CLUB 3 will offer fully programmable areas for experiential events that will be available both in person and virtually, such as industry events, community meetups, talks, experiences, seminars, AMA sessions, and more.

Following the opening of its first location, CLUB 3 plans to expand in multiple iterations in the world’s most popular cities, including New York, Miami, Tokyo, London, Paris, and Hong Kong.

CLUB 3 will offer four types of memberships: Founding, Social, Global, and Corporate Memberships. Membership perks will include access to amenities with respect to the membership type and all members will be able to communicate with each other through CLUB 3’s exclusive community chat. All four types of memberships will be available on launch starting from the internal sale.

The Social Membership will provide its owner with access to one specific CLUB 3 location. The Founding Membership is an ultra-exclusive pass available in limited numbers per club, granting special benefits such as access to a private founders-only lounge and other benefits. The Global Membership, an upgrade to all membership levels, will give owners access to all CLUB 3 locations around the world.

Memberships are available as mintable NFTs and interested parties can go to www.club3members.com to reserve a place on the waitlist. The one-time membership fees for a Social Membership and a Founding Membership are US$2,500 and US$7,500, respectively. All memberships can be upgraded to a Global Membership for a fee of US$1,500. To find out more about memberships and to sign-up for the waitlist, please visit www.club3members.com.

CLUB 3 will be integrating Web3 mechanics into the club’s operations such as community voting on seasonal menus, specialized perks, and collaborative promotions for certain NFT projects and membership holders.

Robert Earl, founder and chairman of the Planet Hollywood Group, commented: “I am proud to be a partner in CLUB 3. Imagine a club composed of groups of like-minded individuals - the setting is designed to be comfortable with great food, wonderful cocktails and exciting programming. CLUB 3 is truly international, both in its footprint around the world and its membership base - come join our journey as we get ready to launch our first CLUB 3 in Los Angeles.”

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “CLUB 3 will foster and galvanize the broader Web3 community and serve as a launchpad for those wanting to learn more about this new world. Members will interact within the club’s numerous facility perks and experience what Meta Hollywood can offer. With this project communities across the Animoca Brands ecosystem will have access to new possibilities.”