Join us at ‘Loyalty Summit’ in London on Thursday 21st September

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• Mikeact says:

  11 Sep11 September 09:03

  The only thing I would want to know, from the so called experts, is, what is ‘Loyalty’ ?

  • Rob says:

    11 Sep11 September 09:53

    Well indeed. In the era of ‘Clubcard Prices’ etc it’s not really about loyalty at all.

  • Gordon says:

    11 Sep11 September 10:57

    Personally, I don’t think loyalty counts for much now!

    Prime Example, you get a renewal quotation from your car insurance company, more expensive than the previous year, you look at other options to find some that are more cost competitive.

    You call your existing insurance company who you may have been with for years and ask why your policy is dearer that a competitors quote!

    They say let’s look at the policy, and then they come up with a load of BS and say we’ve managed to get it down to match or beat the alternative quotation.This is after you have done the legwork to get to this stage.

    Then I say, why did it take a telephone call and a waste of my time just to get the quotation I was entitled to in the first place.

    Then I decline the quotation saying they should have given that to me on the first place, say goodbye, end the call and take out the alternative policy.

    • Alex Sm says:

      11 Sep11 September 11:16

      Same re providers like Nutmeg – they give out Avios to new customers instead of rewarding the loyal ones. But in fairness, many employers are the same: they pay more to recently headhunted employees than to those who loyally grow through the ranks

• Barry says:

  11 Sep11 September 09:16

  Frank de Boer’s had a varied career

  • Chabuddy Geezy says:

    11 Sep11 September 11:11

    He has defo bounced back from that Crystal Palace debacle.

  • David says:

    11 Sep11 September 12:18

    His twin, Ronald would be proud.

  • Peter K says:

    11 Sep11 September 12:20

    😂

  • Doommonger says:

    11 Sep11 September 14:01

    Do I not like that ( for those with long memories …1994)

• JDB says:

  11 Sep11 September 12:22

  It’s odd that there are no hotel loyalty speakers in the lineup listed above, but then hotel schemes aren’t exactly ‘loyalty’ schemes as a stranger booking through certain agency channels (or preferably directly) can often get better much rewards than a scheme member and that’s publicly advertised! It’s less about ‘loyalty’ than chaining you to their treadmill.

  Airlines have much more structured programmes – you know more clearly what you are going to get and within each alliance, the benefits are by and large respected. Also, virtually every airline has some sort of loyalty scheme, whereas there are lots of independent hotels as well as all the better chains that offer nothing; LHW has had to concede offering its points on spend even if you don’t book through them to try and keep hotels in their universe which is a struggle for them, as it is for Relais & Châteaux.

  I assume that the issue of loyalty in the context of American Express won’t be on the agenda given that they so richly reward disloyalty, a policy that somehow works as long as they can keep the plates spinning.

  Hotel schemes offer too many nebulous benefits such as upgrades subject to availability, maybe late checkout, maybe lounge breakfast but not restaurant etc. Some owners play the game and do their best to provide advertised benefits but many don’t and they cheat the upgrades with extra category stratification and putting real suites out of reach etc. For non-members of hotel schemes, we can take advantage of the fact that all owners are desperate for direct bookings and will go out of their way with keen prices and guaranteed benefits to avoid paying extra fees, points and commissions.

  • Rob says:

    11 Sep11 September 13:20

    The truth is more humdrum. The organisers are US / Scandi-based and draw on their contact base which is airline driven.

    In the past we have got London-HQ’d hotel speakers for them but this year they felt they had enough without our help. The bulk of the speakers are actually suppliers to the industry, hence the dirt cheap cost to attend (contrast to World Aviation Festival which is €2,000 for a similar loyalty agenda, but with fewer industry suppliers being allowed to speak).

    As Sinead likes to point out, there are more bald white men than any-colour any-age balding-or-not women speaking which would not be the case if we controlled the agenda. Ruth Finnis is in the photo above who was running Accor Live Limitless for Europe at the time.

    • Bagoly says:

      11 Sep11 September 15:39

      Rhys presumably knows the technical term for putting the “speaking” in front of the “than”.

• Mutley says:

  11 Sep11 September 14:08

  If the majority of those in that industry happen to be bald white men, the what’s the problem? If we are socially engineering panels/ speakers, then we need to have (according to 2021 census) 51% women or girls, and representatives from 19 ethnic groups including gypsy/ travellers speaking, whether they follicly challenged or not!

  • Rob says:

    11 Sep11 September 14:15

    The majority of people who work in the loyalty industry are women.

    The current head of Flying Club is a woman, but instead the organisers have asked someone who left in 2016.

    When I moderated a panel back in 2018 I refused to do it unless everyone on the panel was under 30 and at least half were female. I got my way, although I had to put forward names myself because the organisers didn’t actually know anyone who qualified ….

    We had this discussion last year, when a white 50+ male (not necessarily balding) got very upset in the comments when I suggested that people of his generation should clear off and give others a chance. His view was that he couldn’t give a toss and was going to cling on by his fingernails if necessary to ensure that he kept getting what he thought he deserved as a white ageing male.

    • No Longer Entitled says:

      11 Sep11 September 16:03

      I applaud your stance on the 2018 panel, but are you not also a white ageing male speaking at the conference or do you remain just the right side of 50 and as such not yet ready to “clear off”?

      • Rob says:

        11 Sep11 September 16:34

        I am, but a) my name sells tickets, b) we’re sponsoring it so it’s expected and c) I only did it when they agreed to let Sinead speak too.

        White balding 50+ male who currently runs a loyalty scheme – not a problem. If you got Gavin Halliday from Qatar Privilege Club it would be a stonker.

        Inviting a white balding 50+ male who ran a loyalty programme back in 2016 when they could invite the 40-ish woman who currently runs it – not exactly ideal.

    • Mutley says:

      11 Sep11 September 16:43

      Sense of humour failure Rob, surely the gypsy/ traveller inclusion was a giveaway. However I applaud your response, and commitment to inclusion, which has been edited at least twice in the last three hours, so bravo you. I still think you are balding a bit though.

    • Mike says:

      11 Sep11 September 18:38

      Rob, what’s the demographics of the heavy users of airline loyalty schemes? Do you have any decent stats you could share?

      • His Holyness says:

        11 Sep11 September 22:29

        LH recently revealed that 90% of their HON are men. I’d bet most are 50+ and white.
        I’m sure HfP is immensely popular with the U30’s female BAME community 🤡.

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      11 Sep11 September 20:38

      Reading all the inclusivity discussion on here has reminded me that Eurostar is advertising a “Customer accessibility manager” role at a grade D, all other manager roles are grade E

      What a lovely message to send out into the world…

      I think you standing up for what you believe in is great and a fantastic opportunity for Sinead

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        11 Sep11 September 20:40

        Context, many other more junior Eurostar roles are band D. It’s sarcasm to prove a point that some people just don’t care and it’s wrong.

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