EDITOR'S COMMENT
• It has long been discussed how the short-term rental sector supposedly lacks the level of brand loyalty and awareness established in the hotel space [note the likes of Marriott, Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham etc]. Therefore, the timing of Expedia Group's long-awaited One Key loyalty program launch is intriguing as it makes a play to become the most widely-recognised program of its type in travel and bridge the guest retention gap between short-term rentals and other hospitality verticals.
Launching initially in the United States ahead of an anticipated global rollout later this year, One Key unifies the group’s three travel brands – Vrbo, Expedia, and Hotels.com – into one flexible loyalty program. Like some of its travel counterparts, Expedia Group is bringing in an incremental membership tier and a single rewards currency to attract and retain new members when making future bookings.
Despite speculation about Airbnb introducing a similar scheme of its own, there is currently no standout digital platform leader when it comes to retaining guests and driving repeat bookings through rewards in the STR segment. For Expedia Group to overturn that narrative, it will have to take a nuanced approach with One Key, consider all aspects in the end-to-end experience [from pre-stay, to the stay itself and post-stay as major hotel brands do], delve into the psyche of traveller demographics who book short-term rentals to understand their behaviour, and perhaps even introduce loyalty incentives for individual properties.
After last week's news surrounding the termination of a vacation rental / hotel supply partnership with Canadian rival Hopper, Expedia is leading a huge promotional push for One Key, both online and at the Nasdaq Opening Bell in New York, to bring wider attention to the program and position itself ahead of its competitors. The announcement brought about Expedia's highest share price since February [$121.12], but the real success of One Key rests on providing exceptional service and converting hotel users into regular rental bookers.
• Senior representatives from Expedia Group and Hopper will be speaking at the inaugural STRz Summit in London on Wednesday 18 October, when one of the sessions will be delving into 'Driving attention, loyalty and retention'. See the full event agenda here and book your tickets now at this link.
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