Consumer sentiment plays a major role in deciding the fate of the travel and hospitality industry, especially in the case of loyalty programs. This year's Freddie Awards showcased that consumers are looking for more value than ever when cashing in on rewards from their loyalty programs.
Consumer voting and engagement with particular loyalty programs showed that quantity and volume are top considerations in order to realize more bang for the buck. The big winners this year were American's AAdvantage frequent-flier program and Marriott's Marriott Rewards program. It's the fourth consecutive win for American Airlines and eighth straight for Marriott.
The coveted "Program of the Year in the Americas" awards show the popularity of the above companies, but they also indicated the negative brand presence for companies that have tried to cut corners on their deliverables.
A perfect example is the numerous changes Delta and United have been making on their loyalty programs, which have been called drastic by even industry personnel. In order to close the profit margin and realize better turnovers, the two airlines have focused on their high-spending travelers more than just the frequent fliers.
On the other hand, American Airlines kept their changes to a minimum even with the new US Airways merger in place. Fliers from both programs have been able to realize maximum returns this year, making the AA loyalty strong indeed.
So what makes these brands such sure winners? As far as AA is concerned, good upgrades and valuable miles for all are evenly balanced with strong benefits for elite members, keeping everyone happy. The AAdvantage program has not just won over American consumers, but has also been well received globally.
Consumers are engaging deeply with the programs to derive more value, which is reflected in the additional awards like the "Best Elite Program" that AA received along with the Program of the Year honor. The closest contender was Southwest's Rapid Rewards program, which received three Freddie awards.
As Randy Petersen, founder of the Freddie Awards, puts it, these awards bring out real winners. Real people, who spend a great deal of time traveling, have voted for best experience they have had.
The scoring system is weighted to balance the number of votes against the high-scoring ones. This ensures that loyalty programs and credit cards of smaller chains also receive fair advantage and a chance to win when pitted against the big players.
In the hospitality section, the popularity of Marriott Rewards is still going strong. But it did not really sweep the stakes as AA did. Compared to airlines, the hotel industry saw more competition as each category was won by a different brand.
But the strong points-redemption options and the large volume of Marriott properties around the world leave a lot of room for user benefits. This is a clear indication that numbers are speaking for the 20 million consumers who visited the Freddie Awards voting page this year.
