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GLO Weekly: Global Loyalty News Week 1 – January 9, 2023

Key global loyalty news in GLO weekly newsletter.

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GLO News:

GLO & Global Loyalty News launched January 2, 2023 @ https://globalloyalty.org/news

Jeffrey Goh, ex-CEO Star Alliance, and current CEO Gulf Air Group Holdings, joins as Chairman. Jeffrey brings 15 years of experience as CEO & General Council. Jeffrey said: “I look forward to taking an active part in discussions on future of global loyalty & support the GLO with my perspectives”. 

Kristi Gole, Global Hotel Alliance, joins Advisory Board. Kristi, who oversees GHA Discovery Loyalty program, said “Loyalty is our business. It’s exciting to have a new organisation dedicated to loyalty on a global scale. We’re looking forward to help shape the discussion.”

Ben Lipsey, SVP FlyingBlue @Air France- KLM joins GLO as Director on GLO’s Advisory Board. Ben commented: “I’m excited to join GLO because I think it’s great to have a meeting of the minds and the place where we can really develop kinds of best practices of loyalty industry in many, many different many different verticals. Really looking forward to participating in GLO”. 

Tony Piedade joins Board as Deputy Chair & brings 15 years of experience in loyalty, previously at Etihad, etc. Tony said “I am excited that we will bring together players in loyalty & give access to the very best that the industry has to offer”.

GLO Advisory Board Introduction: Video 

Global Loyalty News – Campaigns, Partnerships, Features:

Starbucks (Global) rewards announcing rewards rules changes with selective devaluation between 25-100%. Starbucks Rewards is implementing changes coming into effect on Starting February 13, 2023. The most popular drinks and majority of items are increasing between 25-100%, while packaged coffee became more affordable with 300 stars vs. 400 stars previously.

BA Holidays (UK) extended its “Earn Double Tier Points” campaign till December 31, 2023  Executive Club Members can now earn double the Tier Points on flights taken as part of a package holiday with British Airways Holidays for travel to 31 December 2023.

Urban Plates (USA) Debuts Upgraded Plate Pass Subscription Program for Inflationary Times Guests start saving 20% off their entire check as soon as they sign up for the program.

Southwest Airlines (USA) extend Companion Pass by 1 month and offers other perks to rectify Christmas delays Southwest Airlines is taking clear efforts to rectify the PR damage from the Christmas crisis and launched several customer-friendly initiatives as crisis management.

Planet Fitness (USA) pumps up the savings with new membership perks and Shell Fuel Rewards® Program in USA Popular Fuel Rewards® Program at Shell is increasing cash back for PF Black Card® members once a week through March 15

Home Depot (USA) Adds New Enhancements to Pro Xtra Loyalty Program The Home Depot has expanded its Pro Xtra loyalty program, unveiling new membership tiers and new benefits for professional contractors and builders. With three new tiers, Member, Elite, and VIP, Pros will enjoy more benefits than ever that keep building as they spend.

Air Canada Aeroplan (Canada) January sale campaign offering 100 to 200% Aeroplan miles boost Bookings before 10 January 2023 are eligible to 100-200% Aeroplan miles accruals.

Air Canada (Canada) renews its strategic partnership with Cirque du Soleil Air Canada and Cirque du Soleil^® announced the renewal of their exclusive partnership that will see Air Canada continue as the official airline for Big Top and Arena shows in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia through December 2024.

Aegean Airlines (Greece) launches “genAIRation” program for 18-25 year old travellers. genAIRation is a youth loyalty program and extension of Μiles+Βonus program, AEGEAN and Olympic Air’s loyalty program where you earn and redeem miles and also enjoy benefits at every stage of your journey. Aegean Airlines, national carrier of Greece, launched genAiration campaign to boost 18–25-year-old traveller members.

Emirates Skywards (UAE) devaluation by 20%+ for premium awards From 22. December 2022, Emirates instituted 20% increase in premium award cost bookings. According to the airline, it will take up to 31 January 2023 to roll out changes to the rewards plans.

Air China (China) announces new member policies for 2023 “Phoenix Familiar” Platinum, Gold, and Silver status for members that expire in 2023 will be retained.

Cleartrip (India) and Adani One announce partnership to offer air travel services. In a press release on January 3, Cleartrip, which is owned by Flipkart, announced a partnership with Adani One to expand its business and open up air travel to a wider range of people. Through the partnership, Cleartrip will be using its expertise in domestic and international flight tickets to support Adani One’s efforts to enter the integrated digital platform sector. 

Cashfree Payments (India) now offers India’s widest ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ suite Online businesses can offer customers over 30 flexible financing options during checkout with Cashfree Payments’ BNPL suite. Cashfree Payments enables more than 1,50,000 businesses with payment collections, vendor payouts, wage payouts, bulk refunds, expense reimbursements, loyalty and rewards. Apart from India, Cashfree Payments products are used in eight other countries including the USA, Canada, and UAE.

Loyalty & CX technology and solutions:

Starbucks (USA) launches Web3 Odyssey experience On Dec. 8 the Starbucks® Odyssey Beta experience, Web3 technology, launched to a small group of waitlist customers and Starbucks partners (employees) in the U.S, who will be able to engage in Starbucks Odyssey ‘Journeys’ which are a series of entertaining, interactive activities to earn collectible ‘Journey Stamps’ (NFTs) and Odyssey Points that will unlock access to exciting new benefits and experiences. Starbucks will collaborate with partners to co-create the future of the experience.

H&M (Global) launches immersive online fashion gaming experience ‘Loooptopia’ on Roblox H&M has launched a new immersive experience on Roblox in partnership with metaverse studio Dubit, that enables players to experiment with materials and patterns to create a virtual garment and wardrobe for their avatar. H&M Loooptopia puts circular actions at the heart of the fun. The 3D experience features social interaction, engaging environments, mini-games, styling sessions, alternate worlds, events and more. 

RECUR (USA) introduces RECUR Builder, all-in-one software platform helping enterprises manage all aspects of web3 for loyalty ECUR Builder bridges the gap between web2 and web3. With this SaaS tool, marketers and product leaders can enter web3 and focus on what they do best. Now, a marketer focused on loyalty doesn’t have to be a web3 expert too. Instead, they can leverage RECUR Builder to integrate web3 seamlessly and enhance their existing loyalty program.

CHEQ (USA) world’s first social payment platform for consumer gifting debuts in Florida, USA The first mobile payment platform for the restaurant and hospitality industry to enable social purchasing and gifting continues to expand in top restaurants, bars, hotels and stadiums.

WeBranding (USA) Debuts AI-Powered Digital Marketing Platform for Global Brands at CES 2023 Las Vegas WeBranding Global announced today the company’s newest version of Adtarg, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered marketing platform will debut at the CES 2023. Customer Insight System (CIS) now includes Market Listening System (MLS) and Voice of the Customer (VoC), designed to improve customer experiences and enhance e-commerce marketing strategies for global brands.

Mapbox (USA) for EV Enables Automakers to Offer a Consumer-Ready Electric Vehicle Solution including loyalty integration New end-to-end solution streamlines EV ownership by enabling drivers to accurately predict range, find charging stations, pay and loyalty all in one place. For charge point operators, the solution provides a way to integrate loyalty program sign ups and memberships. Currently, Blink, ChargePoint, SemaConnect, Circuit Electrique, and Switch integrate seamless payments with Mapbox for EV.

Virtualness (USA) wins multi-year Web3 Deal for end-to-end rights to Philippine Basketball Association’s NFT Digital Collectibles Virtualness platform will enable Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to design, mint, showcase and sell branded digital collectibles; and to use nextgeneration technology to connect with Filipino basketball fans across the world in new ways. 

Hudini (USA) smart hospitality solutions provider, saw unprecedented growth in 2022 With over 60% of hotel executives looking to introduce a fully contactless experience by 2025, Hudini witnesses unprecedented demand for its solutions, designed to transform the hotel guest experience. Hudini enables hotels to provide a connected guest journey from pre-arrival to post departure, ensuring a faster, contactless, and hyper-personalized service delivery. The company’s hospitality middleware platform connects over 100 hospitality applications in one single guest interface.

Reports & Rankings:

ICF Next Research: 8 expert customer loyalty trend predictions for 2023 8 Trends to dominate 2023: Rise of partnerships, tiers overhaul, recession, emotional loyalty, flexibility, analytics, blockchain. 

Hyatt Global Survey findings: There’s no place like hotels this festive season A global survey was commissioned by Hyatt and conducted by OnePoll, who conducted an online survey of 8,500 adults across 14 countries. View the article to see the top travel trends for Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME).

Hilton 2023 Trends report: experiences, wellness, easy-tech & loyalty perks On loyalty: 42% of survey respondents indicate that loyalty perks – such as earning/redeeming points and loyalty benefits – will matter to them in 2023. … Increased engagement is expected with member-only opportunities like quarterly promotions, co-branded American Express credit card offers and more. 

Report by Valyates: Travel Retail Market Size to Grow USD 145 Billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 14.9% The Asia Pacific region would have the highest CAGR of 17.2% between 2021 and 2028. The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to lead the global market during the course of the analysis since China, India, Thailand, and other nations have a large number of retail enterprises. The market in Asia-Pacific is also predicted to grow at the highest rate due to an increase in the population of high-net-worth individuals and the expansion of the tourism industry.

Smart Hospitality Market Report 2022: Sector to Reach $110.08 Billion by 2030 with a 29.8% CAGR Report highlights solutions & technologies which allow offering a more personalized travel experience, through which hoteliers can forge a lasting customer loyalty. Creating a distinctive visitor experience increases revenue while enhancing brand reputation and customer loyalty. Through new smart hospitality solutions, hotels have access to data-driven insights and customer behavior. Major global solution providers mentioned: Cisco, Honeywell, IBM, Johnson Controls, NEC, Oracle, etc.

10 best hotel loyalty programs of 2022 by USA Today Readers’ Choice / 10Best Based on combined expert & readers voting top 10 hotel loyalty programs voted:

2022 Delphi Report™: The Future of Crypto Rewards Key takeaways from 2022 Delphi Report™: The Future of Crypto Rewards, by Wise Marketer, Bakkt and The Loyalty Academy

Report: Culinary tourism market size to grow by $126 billion from 2022 to 2027, by Technavio The global culinary tourism market size is estimated to increase by USD 126.28 billion from 2022 to 2027. The market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 17.45%.

Opinion:

Opinion: Charles Ehredt, Currency Alliance on “Loyalty Trends 2023: A Year Of Cost-Driven Innovation” According to Charles Ehredt, CEO of Currency Alliance, the key trends of 2023 will be related to three main pillars: 1/ cost control; 2/ embedding loyalty mechanics across the business; 3/ delivering more personalized value to a wider based of members. AI will be a feature of many of these trends, and at the end, we’ll also touch on B2B loyalty programs, SMEs, and NFT/cryptocurrency-based loyalty – which are all responding to the driving trends described above.

People: 

Star Alliance appoints SAS’s Charlotta Weiland as Interim CEO of the Alliance Star Alliance’s CEO Jeffrey Goh, has left the alliance on 31 December 2022. While the global search for a new CEO is ongoing, SAS’ Charlotta Wieland will assume the role as Interim CEO

Marriott International president Stephanie Linnartz to step down to join Under Armour as President and CEO Under Armour, Inc. announced that Stephanie Linnartz will join the company as President, CEO, and member of its Board of Directors, effective February 27, 2023. Linnartz currently serves as the president of Marriott International, Inc., the world’s largest hospitality company, with a portfolio of nearly 8,200 properties across 138 countries and territories and 30 brands as well as the industry’s most extensive customer-loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy®, which has 173 million members.

Podcasts: 

The Loyalty Podcast 46: Predictions for 2023 In this episode Iain Pringle makes predictions for the loyalty industry in 2023 with special guests Phil Gunter, Adam Posner, Stuart Melim and Simon Morgan.

Weekend Read / Film: 

Netflix / Documentaries: Pepsi, Where is My Jet?  Brilliant documentary about loyalty points program that went wrong. Pepsi Points campaign in 1995 states 7’000’000 points required to win a Harriet fighter jet with expectation that noone will take it seriously. But 20-year-old John Leonard sees the ad in 1995 — and finds a loophole.