Reimagining the Airport Lounge Booking Experience via a Smartphone App
Skift Take
A smart move by LoungeBuddy to partner with a platform business travelers already use, and to create a system that's easy for staff to use so congestion can be prevented.
Airport lounges are in a transition phase now, with changes to loyalty programs affecting access to them and new concepts by operators independent of airlines offering a new kind of competition.
Travelers have been left wondering where their loyalty stands, while non-loyalty members want an avenue to one-time, affordable lounge access.
LoungeBuddy, a San Francisco-based startup, launched a service last month that lets travelers search for all lounges available at their airport regardless of their loyalty status and book in 60 seconds or less. The company's consumer-facing app enables travelers to search for and book space in lounges, while a back end system focuses on preventing overcrowding.
The need for a service taking the headaches out of booking a lounge has perhaps never been greater. The Club Airport Lounges now offer a pay-as-you-go model for travelers without lounge memberships, echoing what LoungeBuddy seeks to do, though many lounges still haven't warmed up to the idea of flexibility.
Last year, American Airlines decided to dr
