Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Booking's Big Pivot + Marriott Loyalty Rollup + Allegiant Air Fallout

April 17, 2018

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Editor's Note

The first casualty of a merger is typically the consumer. Integration is tough going and executives can often lose sight of what's important. That's why the news that Marriott is making good on its promise to consolidate its loyalty programs after its merger with Starwood is reason for cautious optimism. It is a very complex undertaking and we'll see how the loyalty zealots from Starwood's program react when all's said and done.

Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting lays out the history, the monumental mechanics of making the loyalty consolidation work, and what lies ahead. It's all too infrequent that mergers make good on the early vows so we'll be watching closely how this plays out for Marriott.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

American Airlines' New Flagship Experience Raises the Bar for Passengers

Evolve or be crushed. That's CEO Glenn Fogel's philosophy about business in general and Booking Holdings in particular. But the move toward becoming more of a full-service online travel agency comes with the risk of losing focus on accommodations. No one ever said all this online travel agency stuff is easy.

Marriott Finally Reveals How It Will Combine All 3 of Its Loyalty Programs

How much do we want to bet that the new loyalty brand that debuts next year turns out to be Marriott Preferred Guest? Or better yet, just Marriott Rewards?

How Damaging Will a 60 Minutes Report Be to Allegiant Air?

The 60 Minutes report on Sunday about Allegiant Air was solid, serious journalism. But it wasn't much of a surprise to industry insiders, who have known about the carrier's issues for awhile. Will executives have to deal with a wider fallout now?

Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated

While Americans lost some of the ability to explore Cuba on their own due to restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, cruise ships are offering organized trips approved by the U.S. government. That seems to be working out well for operators, who are eager to increase their presence in the destination.

New Wyndham Branding Should Enhance Its Loyalty Proposition

While a new branding campaign by Wyndham may foreshadow some turbulence ahead for the hotel group, on the surface it will make it easier to find and book network hotels.

Virgin America as Standalone Brand Disappears Next Week

After acquiring Virgin America, Alaska Airlines will switch to a single reservations system next week. The company is confident it will avoid some of the problems other airlines have faced after cutovers. We tend to agree. Let's hope it's a non-event.

Domino's Will Now Deliver Without an Address

Domino's will clearly do whatever it takes to get customers their pizza no matter where they are, and a tech-fueled nationwide marketing campaign — just in time for warm weather — is good business.

Corporate travel policies are restrictive, and perhaps no organization is as restrictive as the U.S. government. The Scott Pruitt scandal is a good reminder that business travel is an important part of life wherever you happen to work. Everyone wants to live the good life, but few really can.

JetBlue's Venture Arm Invests in a Startup That Predicts Flight Delays

If venture-backed startup Lumo has its way, more travelers will avoid flight cancellations thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. No wonder that JetBlue, EasyJet, and other companies are interested.

A Veteran Hotel Designer on the Fallacy of Instagrammable Moments

Gimmicky, Instagram-driven designs are out. Solid, functional, and inspiring design, however, never goes out of style.

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