Is there untapped potential in hospitality subscriptions?
At first glance, a travel subscription seems like a consumer dream - unlimited travel, discounted travel or travel perks? Where’s the sign-up sheet?
Obviously, leveraging appeal for travel subscriptions is more nuanced than that - especially with an abundance of free-to-join loyalty programs available at nearly every turn for leisure travelers and road warriors.
But the lesser-used model is starting to garner interest across the industry - including in the hospitality sector with programs launching in recent years such as Ennismore’s Dis-loyalty late last year, Citizen M’s mycitizenM+ in 2022 and Inspirato Pass in 2019.
“The surface of paid loyalty for travel has only just been scratched, as it accounts for less than 1% of global sales,” said Mike Putman, CEO of Custom Travel Solutions, a platform focused on loyalty. “The future looks positive, driven by an increased demand for personalized travel experiences and the convenience of having access to recurring benefits.”
But subscriptions have been slow to catch on, according to David Feldman, founder and managing partner of Catchit Loyalty, a strategic solutions firm.
