Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Direct-Booking Winners and Losers + Loyalty Without Loyalty Programs + Lux Airport Lobbies For Big Spenders

July 10, 2017

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Note From the Editor

We have a story today about the ongoing battle between hotels and online travel agencies as they vie for hotel bookings and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on TV advertising. It is not a zero-sum game as the whole pie is growing. Over the last year, as sectors, they've slugged themselves silly into a draw. However, there were standouts: Wyndham and Booking.com, in particular, made impressive gains.

We have two contrarian stories today, as well. Europe editor Patrick Whyte draws a portrait of Premier Inn. The UK hotel chain attracts the vast majority of its bookings directly and without online travel agency assistance. Meanwhile, in this seeming age of loyalty, hospitality editor Deanna Ting writes about companies that have loyalty strategies but no formal loyalty programs. Au contraire.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

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Expedia and Booking.com, which each doubled Marriott's TV advertising spend over the last year, are still growing like weeds despite hotels' direct-booking campaigns. That makes for a tough environment for hoteliers, although some brands will do better than others.

U.S. Airlines Are Making Their VIP Lobbies Even More Posh

No, these special airline VIP lobbies are not new. But all three full-service U.S. airlines are investing in them, with each trying to one-up the other. If you're a regular coach customers, you likely don't care. But if you have access to these lobbies, you're probably pleased.

Why Not Having a Formal Travel Loyalty Program Works — For Some

Not every travel business needs to have a formal loyalty or rewards program to have loyal customers. But if you're going to go that route, you better know what you're getting into. And for some companies, it might be time to reconsider doing without.

The Hotel Chain That Doesn't Need Booking.com or Expedia

Premier Inn's proportion of direct bookings is pretty eye-opening, but the brand operates under a particular set of circumstances. If it decides to ramp up its international expansion, it will be interesting to see if it chooses to make more use of online travel agents.

Tech Investors Are Still in Love With London Despite Brexit

So far it seems that London's tech scene hasn't suffered any negative impact from last June's Brexit vote. The bigger test will come when the results of the negotiations are known. Only then will entrepreneurs and investors find out where they stand.

Some U.S. travelers will always want to stay close to home, regardless of the state of the world. Road trips to visit nearby friends and family continue to be the foundation of most American trips, and that will likely be the case again this year.

Many Airline Passengers Still Prefer Interacting With Employees Instead of Technology

It's 2017. According to SITA, 98 percent of airline passengers fly with at least one mobile device. It's amazing that so many passengers still prefer to the face-to-face experience at airports. It's a lot slower than self-service, and often less effective.

Upper House Luxury Hotel Experience Aims for Custom Approach to Tech and Personalization

Upper House's general manager details how the Hong Kong-based hotel finds the balance between tech, customer relationship management, and frontline service.

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