It's easy for hotel chains to spend time and resources on their highest loyalty spenders. But there is plenty of money to be had at the other end of the tier as well.
Hilton understands the true conundrum of running a hotel business: Customer preferences will always change faster than the market can react. That is why the company has invested throughout the customer experience, from booking to loyalty partnerships, to keep guests happy.
What if you could use your everyday ridehailing app anywhere in the world? No more cumbersome downloads of another app or losing loyalty points from your app. That’s what Grab wants to achieve with its investment in Splyt. Too good to be true?
For those still loyal to the travel industry, a new spate of partnerships will now make it easier to earn miles and points across airlines, hotels, and shared cars. And with zero barrier to entry, some passengers may find a windfall.
Hilton and Lyft's new loyalty partnership is a win-win for travelers. On one hand, Hilton members get completely free points for riding in Lyfts. On the other, it'll also soon be possible to book rides with extra loyalty points.
Several travel startups dream of going public. Lyft's initial public offering shows that profitability isn't necessarily as important as growth in the eyes of some investors, among some other key lessons.
Lyft wants to become a bigger part of business travel life by offering rewards and more flexible transportation options. And if they start using Lyft in their personal lives as well, that's a big bonus.
As ridesharing platforms mature, they'll offer more options for getting around than just car rides. And they're hoping to capture more spending from business travelers, as well.
Silicon Valley and the sharing economy have helped drive a rapid reorganization of business culture and employee travel habits. Yet not all travel management solutions have kept pace with the changes. The decisions facing Lyft as it overhauled its own travel policy are a great example of the dynamic playing out in boardrooms across the globe.