For me, one of the biggest drawbacks of the hotel loyalty program is that they ignore many unique independent hotels. Actually, my most spectacular stay does not offer a way to reward guests. Enter: Journey, a new travel app that hopes to change this with a loyalty program dedicated to boutique hotels.
This is what we know so far about the recently launched apps and travel platforms.
Journey provides
Journey works with a curated network of approximately 1,500 independent hotels and private rental properties, and over 1,500 will be available in the next few weeks. These include some amazing features, from boutique hotels and ski cabins to tree houses resorts and floating houses.
Target? Let members earn and redeem points on “stay connected to the soul” rather than the cookie businesses that make up most of the other mainstream hotel loyalty programs. Journey’s current products include Treetop Villas in Onera Wimberley near Austin, Nihi Hotels in Indonesia and Black 4ty Glamping in Meaford, Ontario.
Although the Journey app appears to be targeted at luxury travelers, its attributes are scoped in terms of price points. You will find options that cost $300 per night, and options that cost $3,000 per night.
“The loyalty of travel is too long, which means choosing between points and personality – between earning rewards and staying in a place that really inspires you,” said John Sutton, founder and CEO of Journey. “We built a journey to close this gap. We curated the first platform for truly independent hotels and private rentals, allowing travelers to earn meaningful returns without sacrificing their roles, leveraging their perspectives (even unanswered points) in real time for memorable experiences.”
According to the website, most of the current properties of the Journey appear to be concentrated in North America, but the network will probably grow over time.
We noticed that there may be some overlap with other loyalty programs. For example, one of the Journey Alliance properties, Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado, is Mr & Mrs Smith Property, which is available for booking through World of Hyatt.
In addition to providing memorable accommodation, the journey hopes to enhance the guest experience with personalized suggestions. According to the website, Journey AI analyzes the behavior of guests to create profiles and refine them at each stay to “predict what guests need before asking.” So, in theory, the hotel can know that you prefer martini over champagne as a welcome drink before you arrive.
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The idea is that the longer you are a member of the journey, the better the app and its partner attributes will understand your personal travel style.
How Journey Loyalty Program Works
The process of joining the journey seems a bit daunting, as the site encourages guests to “apply” and “request invitations.” But all I have to do is enter some basic details like my name, birthday and phone number. I then have the option to fill out my Instagram handle (possibly get special offers and rewards) and mention my favorite hotel (to consider adding to their journey to the league). After completing these steps, voila! I am a member.
The app also requires me to provide additional phone numbers and email addresses so that I can search the past with Alliance attributes. I don’t, but according to the journey representative: “The journey is possible Give you the past time depending on what activities our partners may have and how they stay recently.
Once logged into my account, I can explore attributes by type (from castle to yurt) and see special bonus point quotes.
You can join the tour for free here.
Although the journey is fully up and running, details on how loyalty programs work are a bit thin. Here is what we know so far:
- Basic members earn 5 points per dollar on the Journey Alliance property directly booked.
- Members can pool points or transfer to others, with no fees, minimum or maximum values.
- To prevent depreciation, the journey guarantees “the value of the redemption point will never be below $0.01.”
Another interesting feature is the ability to use pending points during your stay.
“Depending on the status level of the journey, you can use 50-100% of the unpending points for spot purchases,” the journey says.
For example, suppose you booked $1,000 for accommodation, which will get 5,000 points after you check out. As a basic member, you can redeemed up to 50% of your food, drinks or other on-site purchases during your stay, before landing in your account.
You can unlock four elite levels by winning a certain number of points:
- Nomads: 18,000 points
- Navigator: 50,000 points
- Ambassador: 125,000 points
- Legend: 250,000 points
- Icon: Invitation only
Privileges for income status include free use, exemption of pet fees, suite upgrades, and flexible check-in and checkout times.
Bottom line
In recent years, the gap between key points and personality has narrowed, with the main points program integrating more original attractions such as glitter and such as one-click to offer a wider range of independent hotels. However, the journey is the first plan to include only boutiques.
The latest loyalty program on the hotel site is still under dominance, but seems to be a promising addition to the world of points and miles, especially for luxury travelers looking for unforgettable accommodation.
