Loyalty Program Membership Reaches an All-time High for Travelers

iPerceptions Inc. (TSX-V: IPE), a leading provider of web-focused Voice of Customer analytics based on actual visitors, today announced the release of its Hospitality and Tourism Industry Report for Q4 2010. As the hospitality industry continues to recover, the report shows that the share of loyalty program members is still rising online and that it reached an all-time high in Q4, for both leisure and business travelers.

The recent economic downturn saw many travel providers leveraging their loyalty programs in an effort to stimulate bookings and brand loyalty. However the share of loyalty program members online has consistently increased, from 62% in Q1, to 64% in Q2, to 66% in Q3, to an impressive 71% in Q4 2010. While membership was more prevalent among business travelers, uptake was significantly stronger among leisure travelers in Q4. With leisure travelers typically more impacted by budget restrictions, it stands to reason that they would join loyalty programs in order to capitalize on promotions and maximize value.

“What’s interesting is that while we see more and more loyalty program members online, they are just as motivated as ever to find the best value for their travel dollars, often visiting multiple websites before securing the best deal,” said Claude Guay, President and CEO of iPerceptions. “With membership so strong among business travelers, who spend significantly more than leisure travelers, hospitality brands would do well to provide them with the specific information they are looking for, in order to encourage loyalty.”

The report analyzed immediate post-experience feedback from more than 100,000 people visiting over 100 hospitality and tourism sites to identify the most important online issues and trends facing this unique industry.

Other important findings from the report include: 

•     The share of visitors who came to make a reservation decreased from 31% in Q3 to 28% in Q4, while the share of visitors who came for an ‘other’ reason increased, perhaps as a result of more loyalty program members looking to complete membership-type tasks such as joining, checking their balance, etc.


•     Business travelers had difficulties finding answers to specific questions regarding shuttle service, parking, conference rooms and distance to their meetings


•     The share of visitors staying at mid-scale hotels increased from 39% in Q3 to 43% in Q4, taking away from the share of visitors staying at economy hotels


•     Price concerns increased significantly from 14% in Q3 to 21% in Q4, however many of the technical problems that prevailed in Q3 appear to have been resolved in Q4