travel industry card verloren

Sparpreis DB PEP // Super Sparpreis DB PEP // Super Sparpreis Europa DB PEP

Inhaber der Travel Industry Card profitieren bei der Deutschen Bahn von günstigen Konditionen mit dem Sparpreise und Super Sparpreis DB PEP auf nationalen und dem Sparpreis und Super Sparpreis Europa DB PEP auf internationalen Verbindungen.

Die DB bringt Sie schnell, entspannt und günstig an Ihr Ziel. Als Mitarbeiter eines Reisebüros, Reiseveranstalters oder einer Airline können Sie und bis zu vier Begleitpersonen nach Verfügbarkeit die Super Sparpreise DB PEP und Super Sparpreise Europa DB PEP nutzen. Die Buchungsstrecke zum Supersparpreis DB-Pep wurde optimiert. Ab jetzt finden Sie Supersparpreise mit direkter Kennzeichnung als solches innerhalb der Suchergebnisse durch den Hinweis, dass Sie zur Buchung dieses Tarifes einen DRV-Ausweis benötigen. Sollte kein Hinweis zu einer Auswahl erscheinen, sind die Kontingente für diese Fahrt erschöpft und es werden Ihnen die regulären Bahnpreise angezeigt. 

• Die Angebote sind kontingentiert und zuggebunden.
• Zur Legitimation ist bei der Fahrkartenkontrolle im Zug der vorläufige Ausweis nicht ausreichend; bitte beantragen Sie die Travel Industry Card rechtzeitig vor Ihrer Reise.
• Ticketbuchungen dürfen nur auf den Namen des TIC-Inhabers laufen.
• Die Legitimation erfolgt mit der TIC des Karteninhabers im Zug.
• Ticketbuchungen für andere Personen, gelten nur, wenn der TIC-Inhaber selbst bei der jeweiligen Zugfahrt dabei ist.
• Alle mitreisenden Personen müssen auf ein Ticket gebucht werden, demnach auf das Ticket des TIC-Inhabers.
• Die TIC ist nicht übertragbar auf andere Personen, wenn der TIC-Inhaber selbst nicht mitfährt Preis pro Person, einfache Fahrt innerhalb Deutschlands
• Buchbar für maximal 5 Personen
• Angebote verfügbar, solange der Vorrat reicht
• Bis zu 4 Kinder im Alter von 6 bis einschließlich 14 Jahren in Begleitung von Erwachsenen reisen immer kostenfrei, wenn sie auf dem Ticket eingetragen werden. Kinder unter 6 Jahren reisen kostenfrei und müssen nicht auf dem Ticket erfasst werden.

Super Sparpreis DB-PEP 2. Klasse: ab 16,90 Euro  1. Klasse: ab 25,90 Euro  Super Sparpreis Europa DB PEP 2. Klasse: ab 13,90 Euro 1. Klasse: ab 27,90 Euro  Hinweis zu den Super Sparpreisen: - Cityticket ist nicht inklusive - Kein Umtausch/keine Erstattung

Sparpreis DB-PEP  2. Klasse: ab 20,90 Euro  1. Klasse: ab 31,90 Euro 

Sparpreis Europa DB PEP 2. Klasse: ab 15,90 Euro  1. Klasse: ab 33,90 Euro Hinweis zu den Sparpreisen:  - Inkl. Cityticket - Ist vor dem 1. Geltungstag gegen Gutschein und Entgelt stornierbar.

Finden Sie über "Jetzt buchen" Ihre Wunschverbindung für die oben genannten Tarife.

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• Antragsformular für Studierende
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The Travel Industry Card: A Comprehensive Guide

In a world where excursions have become a vital part of our lives, savvy globetrotters are continuously searching for procedures to make their trips not only the most memorable but also the most price-pleasant. One such device that has gained recognition in contemporary years is the travel industry card . In this text, we can delve into the world of adventure company gambling playing cards, exploring what they are, how they work, and the way they can be your key to unlocking low-cost adventures.

What are Travel Industry Cards?

Travel organization playing cards, often called excursion good buy playing cards or adventure memberships, are specialized gambling playing cards designed to offer vacationers superb perks, discounts, and privileges. These cards are not the best reachable for common travelers, but additionally, they are searching to make the most of their vacations without breaking the bank.

How Travel Industry Cards Work:

Travel organization cards operate on the principle of partnerships and collaborations between some of the cardboard companies and numerous groups within the travel region. These collaborations can encompass airlines, resorts, automobile apartment offerings, eating locations, or even amusement venues. As a cardholder, you benefit from getting admission to a plethora of discounts and blessings while you book offerings from those partnered corporations.

Key Features and Benefits:

Discounted Rates: Enjoy reduced expenses on flights, hotel motels, and different travel-associated charges. Travel enterprise cards regularly offer unique offers that are not to be had by the general public.

Priority Access: Some gambling cards provide priority boarding, take-a-look-in, or protection to get the right of entry, making sure you spend much less time waiting and more time taking part in your holiday spot.

Loyalty Points and Rewards: Many adventure business enterprise playing cards encompass praise programs, allowing you to accumulate factors with every transaction. These elements can be redeemed for destiny journey fees, upgrades, or maybe freebies.

Global Acceptance: Whether you are touring domestically or across the world, those gambling-playing cards are broadly famous. Making them a flexible and valuable partner for any adventurer.

Travel Insurance: Some adventure organizations offering playing cards provide complimentary travel coverage. Providing peace of mind in case of sudden events.

Choosing the Right Travel Industry Card:

When choosing a tour employer card, consider your tour behavior, favored destinations, and the types of benefits that align collectively with your wishes. Some playing cards cater to common flyers at the same time as other’s popularity on inn stays or apartment cars. Take the time to look at annual costs, interest expenses, and the variety of partnerships every card offers.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, an Adventure Corporation card may be your passport to a world of much less pricey adventures . By leveraging distinct discounts, priority admission, and loyalty rewards. Those cards empower travelers to make the most of their journeys without compromising on terrific. Before embarking on your subsequent journey, find out the arena of adventure industry cards and unfasten up the door to a more enriching and variety-pleasant tour experience.

The Worldkitetour is a well-known travel blog where you can find all the tips and tricks related to travel and lifestyle. https://worldkitetour.com

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What every consumer should know about travel industry card mills

As a way to educate the public about the harm that travel industry card mills pose to the travel industry and consumers, the American Society of Travel Agents …

As a way to educate the public about the harm that travel industry card mills pose to the travel industry and consumers, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) released to Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) and consumer protection agencies across the country a white paper entitled What Consumers and Consumer Protection Agencies Should Know About Travel Industry Card Mills. The paper examines how holders of card mill IDs differ from legitimate travel agents and what credentials legitimate travel agents may have. It details the ways in which travel industry card mills harm consumers and the travel industry. Travel industry card mills are in the business of facilitating deception. They make money from identification, which is used by people looking to take advantage of travel industry suppliers such as hotels, airlines and cruise lines. Their deceptive practices harm consumers who are tricked into purchasing travel agent identification cards with no tangible economic benefit, except when a travel supplier unwittingly and erroneously grants a discount, said Kathryn W. Sudeikis , CTC, ASTA president and CEO. Buying the card won`t get you any better deals but it might pull the wool over suppliers` eyes. Being a travel agent is more than just being a buyer of travel. We know it takes training, attention to detail and expertise to keep clients happy and coming back. How is it that these firms promise that the purchaser can enjoy all the benefits and financial rewards of professional travel agents with no worry, no hassle and, above all, no work? Card mills damage the travel and travel agency industry and injure consumers who rely upon travel agencies and the travel agencies` availability to meet their travel arrangement needs, Sudeikis added. So how can consumers tell if they are dealing with a legitimate offer of travel agent training or a fraudulent card mill? According to Sudeikis , Number one, ask yourself if you are buying travel for yourself and your friends or if you are serious about becoming an agent. Below are some of the deceptive messages and representations that card mills commonly use:

• The card expressly represents the holder as a `travel agent` and implies that the holder is actively working for the agency selling travel to the general public.
• Ads promise glamour and the high life at a bargain, and the chance to make money with little or no effort.
• Card mill promotional literature is replete with references to cards or cardholder status as being `official,` `certified,` `accredited,` `endorsed` and/or `approved,` and falsely implies that people who purchase the cards automatically enjoy good standing with travel industry accrediting bodies or with suppliers generally.
• Card mills fail to disclose, or fail to disclose prominently, that suppliers such as airlines and some large hotel chains will not honor the card when used in conjunction with a request for agent discounts.
• Card mills may falsely promise to supply `training materials` and agent `support services` that will adequately equip the purchaser to function as a travel agent

The tips below offer guidelines to consumers genuinely interested in learning more about becoming a travel agent:

• Keep in mind the old adage, If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Consumers simply interested in obtaining the best travel bargain should be highly skeptical of offers that require them to purchase an identification card or that suggest they are joining the card issuer`s business.
• Consumers should ask themselves whether they are buying the card merely for the purpose of receiving deals on their own travel.
• Before buying a card, comparison shop for several trips you might like to take, inquiring from several professional sources such as traditional travel agencies and on-line travel agents.
• Ask whether the additional cost of the card will be offset by any savings on travel services of comparable value.
• Always obtain brochures and other written documentation specifically describing what is being promised.
• Check with the supplier whose services you are interested in as to whether it will recognize the card or other claimed affiliation as a basis for providing you with discounts or upgrades.
• People interested in pursuing a career in travel sales can go to www.astanet.com/education/edu_becoming.asp#schoolsearch and click on Show ALL Travel Schools to see the list of ASTA travel school members
• Check with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org and/or the Attorney General`s consumer protection office in your area to see if any complaints against the card issuer are on file

Theodore Koumelis

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

• Theodore Koumelis https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/theodore-koumelis/ Tourism leaders from around the world will explore how entrepreneurship and innovation are transforming the global travel sector at ATM 2024
• Theodore Koumelis https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/theodore-koumelis/ Sojern introduces new members to Destinations Advisory Board in New York City
• Theodore Koumelis https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/theodore-koumelis/ Precise Tale Poggio Alla Sala, the newest hospitality project from Precise Hotels in Tuscany
• Theodore Koumelis https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/theodore-koumelis/ Grupo Xcaret names Chef Carlos Hannon as new Culinary Director for Hoteles Xcaret

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Signing bonuses and even more free flights: How the travel industry is fighting to survive the labor crisis

The next time you feel like griping at a flight attendant for getting your drink order wrong or a hotel front desk assistant when your upgrade doesn't clear, consider that the travel industry is stretched thin for workers -- and people aren't lining up to take their jobs.

For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter .

Of the jobs that were lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, 65% were in the travel industry, according to data from the U.S. Travel Association released earlier this year. Before the pandemic, travel and tourism jobs accounted for 11% of the U.S. workforce, but the industry shrank from $2.6 trillion to $1.5 trillion in 2020.

The pandemic has been tough on travelers, certainly, but the people who have been most affected are likely to be employees who have risked their health and safety at the travel industry's front lines.

As travel rebounds, companies aren't just trying to attract travelers; they're also trying to fill empty roles lost during the pandemic. Some have drummed up creative ways to attract job candidates and keep the employees they have. But nearly two years into the pandemic, is it enough?

The travel industry dangles perks to retain employees

Signing bonuses. Flight coupons. Something called "swag" points.

These are some of the ways travel companies are luring prospective job candidates to apply amid staffing shortages throughout the industry.

Southwest Airlines made news in mid-August after announcing an employee referral program to get more people to apply at the airline. The airline hopes to convince employees to help fill jobs and is reportedly hoping to hire 4,500 workers.

Employees will receive a total of 20,000 "swag" points (not to be confused with Rapid Rewards points ). Employees will get 10,000 points when the person they referred reports for their first day, and an additional 10,000 after their referral stays with the airline for six months.

But some of the efforts seem to be a bit underwhelming for an industry that says it's hurting for workers and received significant government bailouts .

For instance, Southwest values the "swag points" -- an acronym for Southwest Airlines Gratitude points -- at 1.5 cents each, making the referral bonus worth about $300. While that isn't a terrible bonus, the points can't actually be used on Southwest flights. Instead, employees can redeem them for guest passes, gift cards or to purchase Rapid Rewards points.

At Denver International Airport (DEN), the company that runs the airport's Dunkin' Donuts offered $500 signing bonuses for cashiers, according to Travel Weekly . A company " urgently hiring " for a $16-an-hour cashier role at Buffalo Airport offers free parking and discounted meals.

Some companies, at a glance, appear to have done a better job.

Like Southwest, United Airlines is attempting to attract workers. The airline recently held a career fair where job hunters received a coupon code for 20% off a future United flight. Some roles are eligible for a $5,000 signing bonus , the airline said.

For the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reach its annual goal of hiring 6,000 new officers , it's luring applicants with sizable signing bonuses. The agency has frequently tweeted it was offering up to $1,000 in bonuses . But even with a signing bonus, pay for transportation security officers are notoriously low , and some salaries start at just $30,000, according to Indeed .

That's one reason the industry isn't just focused on luring new workers. It's also struggling to keep current employees happy as the U.S. experiences a labor shortage the Chamber of Commerce termed a "national economic emergency." In a study from Florida Atlantic University , more than one-third of employees in the travel industry said they would look for jobs elsewhere in the next year. The study's authors attributed that to low pay.

The industry is simultaneously trying to recover from a financially devastating 2020 and stave off a potential drop in travel due to the delta coronavirus variant. While the beginning of the summer seemed like the moment of travel's big rebound, air travel has already begun to take a significant hit. 1.4 million people were screened at U.S. airports on Aug. 24, the lowest number in three months, according to the TSA figures.

Southwest recently sounded the alarm that the rising number of COVID-19 cases linked to the delta variant was starting to hurt its business .

But 18 months into the pandemic, travel professionals say they're exhausted -- even with the bonuses, free food and "swag." And the industry is competing with not just higher-paying jobs and more regular hours but with employee burnout.

While travel professionals I spoke to were grateful to be back to work, they also say the stress of the job has hit them hard. David, a United flight attendant who requested TPG use only his first name to speak candidly, implored travelers to "pack their patience" when traveling right now.

"Staffing shortages do hurt, especially when it comes to re-crewing flights," said David. "As reserves, we end up getting used more often than we ever have before, and it's creating a sensation of burnout."

Flight attendants do more than just serve drinks and conduct the safety briefing before takeoff, of course. They're the most visible airline employees during flights and have faced verbal and physical abuse -- especially when enforcing the federal mask mandate.

More than 85% of flight attendants who responded to a recent survey say they have encountered unruly passengers over the first seven months of 2021. According to the survey results, nearly 20% of those who responded say they've experienced physical violence at work this year, which was run by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), a major flight attendants union.

Travel has never been more challenging than ever for travelers, but it's just as difficult for stressed employees, some of whom may be new to the job.

"[COVID-19] is a new world for all of us," David said. "We are trying our best not only to serve you safely but to also deal with the fatigue and staff shortages we're facing on our end."

Towards resilience and sustainability: Travel and tourism development recovery

The travel and tourism sector is slowly beginning to recover. Image:  Unsplash/Eva Darron

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.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} Travel and Tourism is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, davos agenda.

Listen to the article

• The World Economic Forum has published its inaugural Travel and Tourism Development Index .
• It focuses on the growing role of sustainability and resilience in travel and tourism growth.
• Recovery for the sector is uneven and tourist arrivals in January 2022 were still 67% below 2019 levels, according to the World Tourism Organization.
• Here are some key findings from the index on how the sector can build back better.

In 2018, international tourism grew for the ninth consecutive year. Tourist arrivals reached 1.4 billion and generated $1.7 trillion in export earnings, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Travel and tourism: post-pandemic

The picture looked very different two years later, as COVID-19 lockdowns hit the travel and tourism (T&T) sector hard. In 2020 alone, it faced losses of $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs , impacting the living standards and well-being of communities across the globe.

While the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and easing of restrictions means a recovery has now started, it’s proving gradual and uneven largely due to variations in vaccine distribution, and because of Omicron and its BA.2 subvariant. And customers are not only being more cautious when it comes to health, but also around the impact of travel on the environment and local communities.

International tourist arrivals rose by 18 million in January 2022 compared with a year earlier. This equals the increase for the whole of 2021 from 2020, but January’s numbers were still 67% below the same month in 2019, according to the UNWTO.

The war in Ukraine has added to instability and economic disruption for the sector. Against this backdrop, the World Economic Forum’s inaugural Travel and Tourism Development Index reflects the growing role of sustainability and resilience in T&T growth, as well as the sector’s role in economic and social development more broadly.

The TTDI benchmarks and measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the T&T sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country”. The TTDI is a direct evolution of the long-running Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), with the change reflecting the index’s increased coverage of T&T development concepts, including sustainability and resilience impact on T&T growth and is designed to highlight the sector’s role in broader economic and social development as well as the need for T&T stakeholder collaboration to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, bolster the recovery and deal with future challenges and risks. Some of the most notable framework and methodology differences between the TTCI and TTDI include the additions of new pillars, including Non-Leisure Resources, Socioeconomic Resilience and Conditions, and T&T Demand Pressure and Impact. Please see the Technical notes and methodology. section to learn more about the index and the differences between the TTCI and TTDI.

The Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021

The index covers 117 economies, which accounted for around 96% of the world’s direct T&T GDP in 2020. It measures the factors and policies that will enable sustainable and resilient development of the sector.

These include everything from business, safety and health conditions, to infrastructure and natural resources, environmental, socioeconomic and demand pressures.

“As the sector slowly recovers, it will be crucial that lessons are learned from recent and current crises and that steps are taken to embed long-term inclusivity, sustainability and resilience into the travel and tourism sector as it faces evolving challenges and risks,” says the publication, a collaboration between many of the sector’s stakeholders.

The index consists of five subindexes, 17 pillars and 112 individual indicators, distributed among the different pillars, as shown below.

On average, scores increased by just 0.1% between 2019 and 2021, reflecting the difficult situation facing the sector. Only 39 out of 117 economies covered by the index improved by more than 1.0%, while 27 declined by over 1.0%.

Nine of the top 10 scoring countries are high-income economies in Europe or Asia-Pacific. Japan tops the ranking, with the United States in second, followed by Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Italy completes the top 10, moving up from 12th in 2019.

Viet Nam experienced the greatest improvement in score, with a rise of 4.7% lifting it from 60th to 52nd on the overall index. Indonesia achieved the greatest improvement in rank, increasing its score by 3.4% to climb from 44th to 32nd, while Saudi Arabia achieved the second greatest improvement in rank, moving up to 33rd from 43rd as its score rose by 2.3%.

Rebuilding travel and tourism for a sustainable and resilient future

Here are some of the key findings from the publication:

1. The need for travel and tourism development has never been greater

The sector is a major driver of economic development, global connectivity and the livelihood of some of the populations and businesses most vulnerable to, and hard hit by, the pandemic. In 2019, T&T’s direct, indirect and induced GDP accounted for about 10% of global GDP . For many emerging economies, T&T is a major source of export revenue, foreign exchange earnings and investment. Research has shown that T&T growth can support social progress and create opportunities and well-being for communities, so supporting travel and tourism development and recovery will be critical.

2. Shifting demand dynamics have created opportunities and a need for adaptation

In the shorter term, challenges such as reduced capacity, geopolitical tensions and labour shortages are slowing recovery. However, opportunities have been created in markets such as domestic and nature-based tourism, the rise of digital nomads and “bleisure” travel – the addition of leisure activities to business travel. Many countries have provided incentives to boost domestic tourism. For example, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong SAR, China, have rolled out programmes that provide discounts, coupons and subsidies for domestic travel. The trends towards more rural and nature-based tourism offer an opportunity for less-developed economies to harness the benefits of travel and tourism given that the distribution and quality of natural assets are less tied to performance in economic development, with natural resources being one of the few pillars where non-high income economies typically outperform high-income countries. The travel and tourism sector stakeholders’ ability to adapt under these conditions highlights its capacity for adaptation and flexibility.

3. Development strategies can be employed to help the sector build back better

Amid the current challenges, shifting demand dynamics and future opportunities and risks, a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient travel and tourism sector can be – and needs to be – built, says the publication. But this calls for thoughtful and effective consideration. It also requires leveraging development drivers and strategies. This can be done by: restoring and accelerating international openness and consumer confidence through, for example, improved health and security; building favourable and inclusive labour, business and socioeconomic conditions; focusing more on environmental sustainability; strengthening the management of tourism demand and impact; and investing in digital technology.

A note on the methodology

Most of the dataset for the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) is statistical data from international organizations, with the remainder based on survey data from the World Economic Forum’s annual Executive Opinion Survey, which is used to measure concepts that are qualitative in nature or for which internationally comparable statistics are not available for enough countries. The index is an update of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), but due to the altered methodology, framework and other differences, the 2021 TTDI should not be compared to the 2019 TTCI. To help address this, the 2019 results were recalculated using the new framework, methodology and indicators of the TTDI. Therefore, all comparisons in score and rank throughout this report are between the 2019 results and the 2021 results of the TTDI. Data for the TTDI 2021 was collected before the war in Ukraine.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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6 ways to launch a successful loyalty program in the travel industry

7 minutes to read

Why should you consider implementing innovative loyalty campaigns in the travel industry?

1. use loyalty points to create memorable experiences with your brand, 2. reward all referral engagement with your brand, 3. offer discounts for other brands - partner up with hotels and restaurants, 4. launch customer loyalty programs for multiple buyer personas, 5. appeal to your customers' values and sense of worth, 6. reward loyal customers based on their spend, key takeaways for the travel industry, faqs on loyalty in the travel industry.

The tourism sector has become a fiercely competitive landscape, with a substantial increase in new customers in all its industries such as airline companies, hospitality businesses, and travel insurance companies.

The dynamic nature of this sector has led to increased flexibility in loyalty and reward program offerings that is influential in retaining customers.

However, the multifaceted nature of loyalty and reward programs can, sometimes, make it difficult to connect with your customers on an emotional level or increase customer retention in the long run.

As a result, attracting and retaining loyal customers in the travel sector has become a continuously developing process that goes beyond discounted and non-monetary rewards.

In a nutshell, innovative loyalty campaigns can:

Boost the revenue of your business

Increase customer retention

Encourage purchase frequency

Gain new customers

Boost customer satisfaction

Add higher lifetime value

84% of consumers are more drawn to a brand that offers a loyalty program and 66 % of customers mention the ability to gain rewards influences their spending behaviour. - Nielsen

Whether you are starting from scratch or updating your existing loyalty programs, we share 6 creative ways that can guide you through a successful and unique loyalty program.

Especially in the travel industry, you have to build an emotional connection between unconventional elements that satisfy and encourage your customers to choose and stay loyal to your brand.

Your target audience is very diverse, and your aim is to add customer value to each travel experience and to each target audience.

This is a perfect way to build your company as a true brand ambassador.

Example: When your customers book a flight, offer them loyalty points that can be redeemed over a specific period of time, and can ensure them a bigger discount on a trip to a different destination of their choice.

Sponsoring a trip to a different place can seem like a big investment at the beginning, but the loyalty of your customers will pay off in the long run.

Loyalty programs and friend referrals go hand in hand in the travel sector.

There must be a continuous innovation process for the creation and implementation of loyalty campaigns to break through the highly competitive landscape in the travel industry, and to attract and retain loyal customers.

Referral programs can be implemented in various creative ways.

Think of social media referrals, influencer referrals or mobile referral programs.

In this article , you can find some inspiring ideas to design your referral campaigns.

A great way to boost customer loyalty is to reward all engagement activities like social media shares.

Make joining your brand a breeze and think of using social media channels like Facebook and Instagram for the sign-in.

Reward each share of the referrers on social media channels with a 15% discount on the next purchase.

76% of travelers decide on their travel destination and the services they use based on their friends recommendations. - Hospitalitynet

Example: Let each customer invite 5-10 friends per year on social media channels and reward the referrer with 2,000 points.

You can also give 1,000 bonus points or a 25% discount if a customer stays at a hotel you partner with for two or three more days.

If you own a hotel, you can encourage repeat visits and gain new customers if the existing customers refer 5 friends the first 7 days.

Reward the referrers with 2,000 points for their next visit to your hotel.

Think creatively and implement loyalty campaigns with the most powerful API-based promotion platform .

Partnering with other brands in the travel sector means both parties are able to significantly increase the value customers get out of their loyalty program.

Customers can earn points and discounts for other frequently used services.

Example: You can partner up with hotels that offer a free night for the next holiday, if the customer has already collected 15,000 points.

Or offer a 25% discount for the whole hotel stay for 20,000 points accumulated.

Forget about one-size-fits-all loyalty marketing campaigns in the travel industry.

Build your customer loyalty programs in a strategic manner that targets multiple buyer personas.

That way, you can increase customer retention, and improve customer satisfaction which in the long run leads to increased business revenue.

Millennials tend to go on weekend trips more often during the year than other customer targets, who prefer planning full week holidays instead.

: Hospitalitynet

68% will remain loyal to a program that offers them the most rewards like cash/freebies, upgrades, discounts. - Hospitalitynet

Embrace spontaneity and implement flash sales on airline tickets, time-limited discounts and hotel deals for one-night-only, as well as last-minute ticket sales for different destinations.

An innovative and creative loyalty program takes the focus away from “pushing” the customers to spend more.

The re-centered goal is to create meaningful value for customers.

Be authentic when you create loyalty campaigns for your brand! When your customers purchase a flight ticket or book a room at your hotel, consider offering them the possibility to become a temporary or a lifetime member of a sports club or camp in the area they travel to.

Example: For a one-time price, they can participate in group hiking trips, biking tours, adventure classes, or can get expert advice on particular trails.

In the long run, your new customers can become repeat customers which will increase your business revenue.

In this way, your brand shows that you cultivate values beyond ordinary purchases that your customers actually resonate with.

Another great way to customize unique loyalty programs is to go beyond monetary incentives that can make a real difference on a global scale.

You can donate a percentage of the flight ticket your customer buys to international organizations that tackle various social inequalities or even give your customers the choice of charity on your platform.

With Talon.One , you can easily implement a loyalty campaign that also embraces social causes.

How do you reward different spending groups in the travel industry?

Rewarding your customers based on their spend will establish their loyalty to your travel brand in the long run.

A welcome voucher or a discount sets the tone for a new customer to join your airline company, for instance.

After this, rewards should keep flowing for the customer to become a repeat customer, and eventually a VIP customer.

Understanding your customer is table stakes.

Tip : Offer your VIP customers more loyalty points for each ticket purchase together with other exclusive perks like free gifts in partnership with other brands that can satisfy your customers needs.

Example: Think, for instance, of offering 3,000 points for a flight ticket purchase to your VIP customers and a free gift in partnership with a retail brand that sells sports apparel.

Members can get access to more rewards when they spend different amounts within specified levels.

This will encourage high-spenders to come back to your brand and purchase more which guarantees a sustainable brand loyalty program.

Curated experiences build a stronger bond between your customers and your brand.

In this white paper, you can read about the most common loyalty program types that can suit the needs of your business model.

Given the fiercely competitive landscape in the travel industry, you should provide that extra value to customers that motivates them to choose your brand over your competitors and plant innovative incentives throughout their journey that help you earn their loyalty in the long term. That way, you can turn the tables.

Check out our " Loyalty in the travel and hospitality industry " to delve into the significance of promotions and rewards in nurturing customer loyalty and boosting profits.

How do loyalty campaigns in the travel industry specifically address the challenge of connecting with customers on an emotional level?

Loyalty campaigns in the travel industry often focus on creating emotional connections with customers by offering experiential rewards that go beyond traditional discounts or points. These campaigns aim to appeal to travelers' desire for memorable experiences by providing access to unique activities, exclusive events, or personalized services that resonate with their interests and values.

What strategies can travel businesses implement to tailor loyalty programs to different buyer personas and demographics, considering the diverse needs and preferences of travelers?

Travel businesses can tailor loyalty programs to different buyer personas and demographics by segmenting their customer base and customizing rewards and incentives accordingly. This may involve offering specialized perks or discounts based on factors such as travel frequency, destination preferences, or travel style (e.g., leisure travelers vs. business travelers). By understanding the diverse needs and preferences of travelers, businesses can create targeted loyalty programs that cater to specific segments of their customer base, thereby enhancing engagement and satisfaction.

Can you provide insights into how loyalty programs in the travel industry leverage innovative approaches to stand out in the highly competitive landscape and foster long-term customer loyalty beyond conventional rewards?

Loyalty programs in the travel industry leverage innovative approaches to stand out in the competitive landscape and foster long-term customer loyalty by incorporating experiential rewards, strategic partnerships, and digital enhancements. For example, some programs offer access to unique travel experiences, partnerships with local businesses for exclusive discounts, or digital features such as mobile apps for seamless booking and rewards redemption. By continuously innovating and adapting to evolving customer expectations, these loyalty programs differentiate themselves from competitors and create lasting connections with travelers, ultimately driving repeat business and brand loyalty.

Loyalty in the travel and hospitality industry

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The 5 biggest payment challenges facing the travel industry in 2023

The travel sector was undoubtedly one of the hardest hit industries during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world effectively shut down, and travel was available only under the most stringent of conditions, accommodation providers, online travel agencies (OTAs) and airlines all suffered greatly.

The travel industry is now, at least, on the road to recovery. Skift Research’s Global Travel Index charts the relative health of the industry against 2019 levels. From a low of just 20% in April 2020, the industry as a whole is now at 85% — only 15 percentage points behind 2019. Some sectors — including vacation rentals — have capitalised on this generational shift in buyer behaviour and actually find themselves in an even stronger position than before.

But even with a steady and robust recovery, there are still challenges, largely because of changing traveller expectations. One area particularly impacted by customer demand is the payment experience, and 90% of customers now see payments as important to their overall travel experience.

For too long, both providers and customers have had to put up with payments that aren’t fit for purpose, and the pandemic simply highlighted these shortcomings. We’re at a crossroads of customer demand, industry imperative and technological capability. 2023 is the perfect time to stop seeing payments as a back-end function and start looking at them as a lever for growth.

In this article, we look at the five biggest payment challenges facing the travel industry, as well as the potential way forward for travel providers:

1. Balancing payment choice

It’s not exactly revolutionary to suggest consumers want choice. If anything, the idea of choice — which airline to fly with, what destination to visit, where to stay — is at the very heart of the travel industry.

When it comes to offering a choice of payment methods to your customers, there’s a fine balance to strike. One one hand, research shows that if the right payment options are available online, shoppers are more likely to buy from an online brand and less likely to abandon their basket . Almost half of online shoppers in the UK and Ireland (48%) say they’re more likely to buy from a business that provides multiple payment options.

But offering endless options can also be stifling. The paradox of choice, where one experiences the lack of ability to decide from an abundance of choices out of fear of making the wrong decision, can turn customers away. As Airbnb Product Manager Colleen Graneto recently described it , “The array of [payment method] choices can make it seem more complicated because there are sometimes too many options to choose from. It actually creates more friction.”

So how should a travel provider tackle this dilemma? The simplest way is to understand what your customers want from a payment method and match the payment methods to those expectations.

If your customers place security high on their list, for example, then instant bank transfers (powered by open banking ) should be part of your checkout, as baked-in strong customer authentication (SCA) will minimise payment fraud without sacrificing user experience. Alternatively, If your travellers want the most recognisable method, then card payments — which accounted for 41% of all European ecommerce payments in 2022 — are worth including.

2. Tackling the billion-pound failed payments problem

Failed payments are both a guaranteed way to erode customer trust and a financial drain on operators. This makes it all the more worrying that recent research suggested UK travel operators stand to lose £5.45 billion in 2022 because of failed payments alone, with an average of 13.4% of consumer payments failing.

Failed payments cause several problems. Customers become frustrated. They don’t like inconvenience and won’t necessarily attempt to make the payment again. Worse, they may head to a competitor’s site to get what they need. And the lost sale is not the only consequence. Identifying and retrying failed payments takes extra resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

The failed payments problem has only been exacerbated by inconsistent implementation of card-base SCA, which has been gradually rolling out across Europe since 2018. While multi-factor authentication is an effective way to reduce fraud, the drop in conversion — partially caused by false declines — can outweigh the positives.

For providers to effectively tackle payment failures, they need an end-to-end payment experience that increases the likelihood of a successful payment. While failed payments will happen no matter the payment methods, digitally native payment methods like instant bank transfers can reduce the likelihood of declines, by including a seamless SCA process that reduces the impact on conversion.

Combine this with a quick and effective process for identifying failed payments and communicating follow-up steps with frustrated customers.

3. Customers demand instant refunds

COVID-19 taught travellers and businesses alike to be more flexible. Travellers were accepting out-of-the-blue booking cancellations beyond the travel provider’s control. But at the same time, the increase in cancellations brought refunds into the spotlight, with 82% of travellers more likely to look closely at refund policies. We collectively realised just how manual and slow existing refund processes were.

To put it bluntly, long refund times will no longer cut it with passengers. A YouGov study found 81% of online shoppers expect refunds in a week or less. Going even further than that, instant refunds can be a differentiator for providers. That same YouGov survey found 85% of online merchants say that offering instant refunds would make their shoppers more likely to shop with them again.

But the problem for a lot of travel providers is that commonplace payment methods don’t have instant refund capability, or even an automated way to provide refunds when needed. Refunds on online card payments can take up to five days , and for digital wallets, often longer. Emerging payment methods, like open banking payments, may be an option, with instant refunds available through providers like TrueLayer.

4. Finding solutions to chargeback fraud

One challenge for OTAs and other providers that well predates COVID-19 is payments fraud. There are several types of payment fraud that providers need to be alert to, but there’s one in particular that needs addressing in the travel industry: chargeback fraud .

Chargebacks were introduced as a means of providing extra protection for debit and credit card users, allowing them to get their money back in case of an issue with the merchant or purchase. But chargebacks regularly get exploited. A customer might also make a false chargeback claim which is considered chargeback fraud. For instance, a clear case of chargeback fraud is a customer claiming not to recognise a payment on their credit card statement and pursuing a chargeback with their bank, despite in actuality knowing that they did indeed make that purchase. It’s estimated that up to 86% of total chargebacks could be cases of intentional or unintentional friendly fraud.

Travel agencies are a frequent target of chargeback fraud as they act as an intermediary between the customer and the airline, which creates ambiguity and confusion over who is responsible for the payment — confusion that a fraudster can take advantage of.

To tackle this, travel providers need both a payment option that eliminates the chargeback mechanism entirely, such as instant bank transfer, as well as a solid process for reversing illegitimate chargebacks when they do occur.

5. Operators with high average transaction values (ATV) are feeling the pain even more keenly

While operators across the travel industry will likely recognise most or all of the challenges listed above, those with high average transaction values (ATV) face the biggest challenges. With package deals and other common bundling tactics, payments in the travel industry regularly hit over £500, placing them in the high ATV category that causes so much pain.

Businesses with a high average transaction value were more likely to report that high fraud and high chargebacks are their top payment pains. A quarter of businesses with a high ATV said chargebacks and fraud were their top pain (26%) compared to 10% for merchants with low ATV. Those same businesses with a high ATV spend an average of £235,000 each year on managing chargebacks.

If you’re a travel operator with a high ATV, your tactics for dealing with the first four challenges are largely the same, but it does increase the imperative for you to tackle them as soon as possible. Any growth opportunities you find in the year ahead will only be slowed down — or worse, negated — by a poor online payment experience.

Can open banking payments offer a solution for the travel industry?

Throughout this article I’ve mentioned that we’re shifting away from payments being a box to tick, and moving towards a way to drive growth. To do that, you need payment methods built for online payments, where most travel operators will carry out a large share of their transactions.

Open banking payments — often called ‘instant bank transfers’ at checkout — offer the kind of payment experience your customers expect to see . Instant, automated refunds mean you can maintain customer trust if the need for cancellation arises. Plus, as strong customer authentication (SCA) is baked in, you can minimise payment fraud while still maintaining a seamless user experience. There’s also no chargeback mechanism, meaning no fraudulent chargebacks to deal with.

In October 2022, there were over 7 million payments made in the UK using open banking; it’s fast becoming a strong alternative to established payment methods. 77% of shoppers would feel comfortable buying flight tickets using open banking, while 66% would feel comfortable paying for their hotel room.

If you’re considering adding instant bank transfers to your payment experience, read our buyer’s guide to open banking payments . It breaks down every stage of the buyer journey, from integration options to global coverage.

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Will the travel industry heed the COVID-19 pandemic's 'wake-up call' as it recovers?

If there were ever a time to feel sorry for the travel industry, it's now. COVID-19 has wiped out enormous parts of the business . Airlines are bankrupt. Hotels are shuttered. Travel advisers are out of work.

Consider the situation just a year ago. It was a booming holiday travel season. And the industry's overall attitude was: If you don't like our prices and service, just stay home.

But now travel companies are practically begging us to return during one of the most dangerous times of the pandemic .

Travelers have mixed feelings. Darren Butts, a retired facilities director from Green Valley, Arizona, just returned from Honolulu. He found deserted streets and empty restaurants, which left him feeling sympathy for the tourism business. But he's also pleased with the changes. The take-it-or-leave-it attitude so common before the pandemic had disappeared was replaced with employees eager to serve.

"I think the industry needed a big wake-up call," he says. "COVID supplied it."

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Will the travel industry ever get over COVID-19?

The travel industry will bounce back. In fact, it already has started to, according to new research from Deloitte , which suggests consumer sentiment bottomed out in October, though with a new surge in COVID-19 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation not to travel for Thanksgiving , that could change.

"The travel industry will recover faster than people expect," predicts Max Leitschuh, a senior transportation analyst at WorldAware , a security consulting firm. 

For example, airline passenger counts in China are above where they were at this time in 2019, and China’s biggest airline turned a profit last quarter, he notes. VivaAerobus, a major Mexican airline, just announced that it restored all its pre-pandemic capacity , although COVID-19 is still a significant concern in Mexico . 

"If a vaccine takes hold in the first half of 2021, we can expect airline passenger numbers to be above 90% of their pre-pandemic numbers by the end of 2021," he says. "And we also expect similar trends in the rest of the travel industry."

So the answer to the question, "Will travel recover from COVID?" is yes – and maybe a lot faster than anyone thinks.

Now travel companies 'will make sure that the service is on point'

In the meantime, travelers aren't eager to offer a helping hand. 

"Personally, I am enjoying the comeuppance," says Andrew Chau, an aviation blogger . "This is because of the rude service and bad behavior some of the giant companies have exhibited."

Chau says the 2017 incident in which airport security dragged David Dao off a United Airlines regional jet in Chicago is emblematic of the travel industry's customer-hostile attitude. These companies have asked for government bailouts and implored their customers to return but offered nothing meaningful in return. 

Maybe hard times will change that.

"Now, with the companies struggling to survive, they will make sure that the service is on point and make our travel trips a much more enjoyable experience," he says.

Tommy Vekhayn, a health technician from St. Michael, Minnesota, says he doesn't feel sorry for hotels that have had to cut their rates during the pandemic. Before the outbreak, he remembers hotels "in the middle of nowhere" that routinely charged rates of more than $400 a night.

"And when I tried to ask why they were charging so much, I got the good old take-it-or-leave-it attitude," he says, noting the exorbitant rates were "unfair to the customer."

Now he says those same hotels have lowered their rates to less than $100 a night, and their service levels are outstanding. 

Travel industry vital part of global economy

Many in the travel industry say they understand the fury that travelers feel toward the travel industry. They haven't always treated their customers well.

But Kathleen Panek, owner of the Gillum House Bed & Breakfast in Shinnston, West Virginia, said if travelers don't support those businesses, and they perish, things could get much worse.

"If the big airlines get their comeuppance, and the smaller airlines go out of business, there will be no options," she says. The strongest travel companies will turn into monopolies, able to set prices and reset service levels back to the Soviet era.

"The travel industry deserves our sympathy and support now more than ever," says Limor Decter, a travel adviser with Ovation Travel Group .

That's because the travel and tourism industry is a vital part of the global economy, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people. Its downfall would have a ripple effect, hurting economies, businesses – and ultimately, you.

The travel business will recover from COVID-19. But will it come back as an industry that has learned a lesson about not taking its customers for granted?

What travelers do now matters. By supporting the businesses that get it, they can determine who survives the pandemic. Yes, you should care about that outcome.

Which travel businesses need your support most?

The travel industry is no monolith. For every giant airline receiving government bailout money, there are thousands of smaller operators whose struggles get almost no attention. They need your business.

Travel advisers. There are so many stories of travel agencies struggling to make it through the pandemic. It's heartbreaking. "If consumers feel they’d like to support a travel agent, I can assure them that it has never before been so welcome," says Shylar Bredewold, owner of Odyssean Travel . "You may find those businesses actually have more time and attention to share with you in exploring your travel dreams as part of the purchase process."

Small businesses. The major airlines and hotel chains may have deep pockets. "But most of the industry are small businesses who for no fault of their own have no route out of this mess until the pandemic is contained," says Mark Whitman, founder of Mountain IQ , a travel company. "These are small locally run travel companies, local hotels and activity-based operators. They have seen their businesses destroyed and, in most cases, don't have access to support."

Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate. Contact him at  [email protected]  or visit  elliott.org .

That’s settled! Virtual cards are changing the travel industry

Ninety percent of travel planners surveyed said they expect virtual cards to become the dominant approach to booking corporate travel

What’s on corporate travel planners’ minds this year? Virtual payment cards. Ninety percent of travel planners surveyed by Mastercard in April said they expect virtual cards to become the dominant approach to booking corporate travel within the next five years.

This year’s Global Business Travel Association Convention (GBTA) validated that line of thinking. Event attendees were keen to hear more about payment and virtual card solutions. Luckily, there were several educational events about virtual payment to choose from, and they focused on companies’ transition to virtual cards and the impressive results they’ve seen.

So, what is behind all the excitement about virtual corporate cards? It all comes down to what travel managers and finance teams experience in travel and expense every day. Unfortunately, their experience includes many manual processes and sticking points like:

Time-consuming expense reports and reconciliation

Compliance and control concerns

Corporate payment fraud

A lack of data insights

Manual reimbursements

And the manual work keeps piling up. Business travel grew another 30% between Q2 2022 and 2023 . As business travel continues its rebound and organizations want to dive deeper and identify travel expenditure patterns, travel managers continually hunt for more information about monthly expense report entries.

Why is reconciliation still so difficult in 2023? Personal card usage is partially to blame. According to research from Mastercard , one-third of travel decision-makers say their employees are still using personal credit cards to book travel! Meanwhile, traditional corporate cards don’t provide enough visibility for controllers to identify out-of-policy spending quickly or provide enough insights to help finance leaders optimize their travel and expense strategy.

Introducing virtual corporate cards

Virtual corporate cards work exactly like any other pre-paid corporate or bank-issued corporate credit card. They are as easy to use as Apple Pay or Google Pay and are accepted on-site and online. However, there’s one big difference: they automate time-consuming expense tracking . Companies can create virtual corporate cards in just a few clicks, making funds instantly available to employees who need them for travel.

Virtual payment cards give organizations real-time visibility into spending. Plus, spending data can be integrated with accounting systems, making settlement faster and easier and removing human error.

Virtual corporate cards are as easy to use as Apple Pay or Google Pay and are widely accepted online and on-location.

How are companies using virtual cards today?

Virtual corporate cards provide multiple benefits:

• Improve the employee experience while traveling
• To cover emergency cases and one-off purchases or events
• Improving the Finance team’s experience, post-travel
• Achieving corporate goals, such as getting more precise data insights

Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail.

Improving the employee (and non-employee) travel experience

GBTA Convention attendees were passionate about improving the employee experience. One way to do that is to streamline policy compliance before travel begins. With virtual card spending limits, travelers don’t have to read extensive travel policy documents, and accounting teams don’t have to worry about non-compliant spending.

Making employees and contractors use personal payment cards for work-related travel expenses is a big ask. The cost of living has increased, and leaving employees to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursements can create a lot of financial and emotional strain. Not only are virtual corporate cards easy to issue - they eliminate the need for employees to rely on their bank accounts to get work done.

On a business trip? Stuff happens!

Another pain point arises when employees are away on trips. If an unexpected cost occurs and an employee’s payment method isn’t approved automatically, it causes frustration. When employees are stuck waiting at the front desk or making phone calls to resolve payment problems, they have less time to focus on the higher-value work that they came to do.

Or, an employee may leave their physical corporate card at home. Creating and assigning a virtual corporate card is a nearly instant solution to problems like this.

Let’s face it: travel disruptions, incidentals, cancellations, and rebooking are all a part of travel. Requiring traditional credit card authorizations upfront isn’t a solution for modern travel. Virtual cards are a better solution, helping you maintain productivity, control spending, and reduce fraud.

Streamlining your Finance team’s work

Finance teams are tasked with a lot of manual work, including filling in forms for receipt collection and reimbursement, extensive reconciliation processes with a lot of back-and-forth communication, and manual reimbursement. Virtual cards alleviate these by providing better data and automating reconciliation .

View team cards and spending trends on a simple dashboard. The “reconciliation hunt” is over.

One speaker at the GBTA Convention explained how virtual pay transformed their finance department. It took them from having a monthly “hole” of spending, which was next to impossible to reconcile, to possessing end-to-end data points on each passenger’s record. Another speaker said virtual corporate cards gave their teams 25 minutes of productivity per booking. They no longer needed to call hotels to confirm the receipt and filing of credit card authorization forms — and those tasks added up fast. 

Virtual cards capture expense details at the point of transaction, giving your team immediate, automatic reconciliation. Your team gets the needed data while eliminating the need for paper receipts and spreadsheets, which frees them up for more strategic work.

Achieving organizational goals with virtual corporate cards

Compliance and control are top of mind, and business leaders want to identify opportunities for travel spend optimization. However, disparate payment systems and personal cards make data very difficult — if not impossible — to structure and use. Traditional corporate cards don’t provide much information about individual purchases in monthly statements, leaving you wondering what was purchased and why.

With the additional data points that virtual cards automatically provide, Finance leaders gain new visibility. They can identify unnecessary spending, optimize their travel policies, and identify new opportunities for savings.

In addition, virtual cards provide much-needed insight for companies that are working hard to crack down on fraud and out-of-policy spending. Proactive budget controls and clear, itemized spending data make it simple to see who made purchases and what for. No more unpleasant surprises after purchases are complete. This level of visibility simply isn’t possible with shared corporate cards. Plus, by assigning virtual corporate cards to individuals, you’ll always know who uses each card.

What’s next? The future of virtual cards

We’re on track to see virtual corporate cards become more and more commonplace. Mastercard’s Navigating Global Business Travel research found that 92% of corporate travel planners are interested in providing virtual cards to their employees to pay for trip expenses. In comparison, 88% are interested in providing them to non-employees.

Virtual cards are just one piece of the puzzle for simplifying travel expenses and creating more convenient mobile experiences for employees on the road.

Ready to learn how Emburse is helping companies streamline expense management with virtual corporate cards? Read our guide to virtual corporate cards and discover how they help teams save loads of time on reconciliation at month’s end.

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Department of Defense Travel Card Benefits

Progress informed from the past, and inspired by the future, cardholder guide.

Official travel for the Department of Defense just became easier with the Citi Department of Defense Travel Card. When you are preparing to use your new card, please read What To Do When I First Receive My New Card . For more information regarding your new card, please read the Department of Defense Cardholder Guide .

Department of Defense Travel Insurance

As a cardholder, you will receive global travel accident and lost luggage insurance so you feel safe and secure wherever you travel with a Citi ® Commercial Card.

• Travel Accident Insurance Guide
• Lost Luggage Insurance Guide

MasterCard Guide to Benefits

Visa Guide to Benefits

In addition to the card benefits provided by Citi, Visa provides card benefits such as Car Rental Insurance and Travel and Emergency Assistance. For full details, please read the Visa Guide to Benefits .

Travel Tips

For more information on your Citi Department of Defense Travel Card, please read What to do Before, During and After travel .

Online Tools

Citi's global online tool, CitiManager ® , enables you to manage business expenses from anywhere around the globe from your computer or mobile device; you can view statements online, confirm account balances, sign up for email and SMS alerts, and much more. If you have not already signed up for the CitiManager ® tool, please log on to www.citimanager.com/login and click on the 'Self registration for Cardholders' link. From there, follow the prompts to establish your account.

For more information on the CitiManager ® tool, view our CitiManager ® Cardholder Quick Reference Guide .

• Stand Up for Free Enterprise

The State of the Travel Industry in 2023: Current Trends and Future Outlook

Kentucky chamber ceo: we must protect the free enterprise system, how franchising can help fuel the american dream, microsoft president: responsible ai development can drive innovation, suzanne clark's 2024 state of american business remarks, rhythms of success: the free enterprise tune of a small business.

January 12, 2023

Featured Guest

Tony Capuano CEO, Marriott International, Inc.

Chip Rogers President & CEO, American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)

As COVID-19 restrictions have continued to ease, the travel and hospitality industries have seen a resurgence in customers. Companies like Marriott have seen percentage increases in revenue and rate, even topping pre-pandemic levels.

During the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 State of American Business event, Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association , and Tony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International, Inc. , sat down for a fireside chat. Read on for their insights on the post-COVID state of the travel industry, a shifting customer base, and the outlook for 2023 and beyond.

2022 Demonstrated the Power and Resilience of Travel

After declines amid the pandemic, 2022 brought about a positive recovery for the travel industry.

“[2022] reminded us of the power and resilience of travel,” said Capuano. “If you look at the forward bookings through the holiday season, [you’ll see] really strong and compelling numbers … so we’re really encouraged.”

“The only caveat I would give you about that optimism is, as you know, the booking windows are much shorter than we’ve seen them in a pre-pandemic world,” he added. “So those trends can change more quickly than we’re accustomed to."

The ‘Regular’ Customer Segments Are Shifting

At the start of pandemic recovery, industry leaders believed leisure travel would lead travel recovery, with business travel closely behind and group travel at a distant third, according to Capuano. While some of those predictions have held, others have shifted.

“Leisure [travel] continues to be exceedingly strong, and group [travel] has surprised to the upside,” he explained. “Business travel is perhaps the tortoise in this ‘Tortoise and the Hare,’ slow-and-steady recovery.”

However, Capuano noted customer segments are becoming less and less strictly defined.

“[There’s] this trend we've seen emerge over the pandemic of blended trip purpose … [where] more and more folks are combining leisure and business travel,” he said. “If this has staying power, I think it’s absolutely a game changer, as we get back to normal business travel and hopefully maintain that leisure travel.”

To accommodate this shifting demand, Marriott has focused on expanding offerings to accommodate both the business and leisure sides of travelers’ trips.

“[We’ve had] a very big focus on [expanding bandwidth], so that if [we’ve] got 300 rooms full of guests on Zoom calls simultaneously, we’ve got the bandwidth to cover it,” Capuano added. “[We’re also] being more thoughtful about fitness, leisure, and food and beverage offerings — and having the flexibility to pivot those offerings as somebody sheds their business suit on Thursday and changes into shorts and flip flops for the weekend.”

2023 Offers Hope for Continued Growth in the Travel and Hospitality Sectors

As the travel and hospitality sectors continue to grow and shift in the post-pandemic era, Capuano shared reasons for optimism in 2023.

“Number one, it's our people,” he emphasized. “When you see their passion, their enthusiasm, their resilience, their creativity, and just how joyful they are to have their hotels full again … it's hard not to be filled with optimism.”

“If you look at how far the industry has come over the last few years,” Capuano continued, “any lingering doubts folks may have had about the resilience of travel — and about the passion that the general public has to explore cities and countries — it's hard not to be excited about the future of our industry.”

• Post-Pandemic Work

From the Series

State of American Business

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American drones are glitching and getting lost in Ukraine, giving way to a flood of Chinese drones

• American drones aren't performing as well as those from other countries, like China's, in Ukraine.
• The drones are glitchy, expensive, and get lost during flight, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
• Those problems are opening the door for Ukraine to buy drones from other manufacturers. 

The drone war in Ukraine is constantly evolving and forcing both sides to innovate quickly. But for Ukraine, a key partner is having trouble keeping up and letting rivals fill the void.

American-made drones haven't excelled on the battlefield, prompting Ukraine to turn to buying Chinese-made drones.

The problems with many US-made drones, particularly some of the smaller ones, are that they often don't function as advertised or planned and easily glitch when targeted by Russian jamming, sources told The Wall Street Journal .

They are fragile and vulnerable to electronic warfare. For some of the systems that were sent to Ukraine, issues included not taking off, getting lost and not returning home, or simply failing to meet mission expectations.

Part of the problem is that US technology isn't evolving fast enough, in part due to restrictions on sourcing. Georgii Dubynskyi, Ukraine's deputy minister of digital transformation, told The Journal that "what is flying today won't be able to fly tomorrow," adding that the innovation window in this conflict is small.

Related stories

"The general reputation for every class of US drone in Ukraine is that they don't work as well as other systems," Adam Bry, the chief executive of American drone company Skydio, told WSJ, acknowledging that his own drone is "not a very successful platform on the front lines."

US drones are also typically far more expensive than comparable models. And at the rate Ukraine is burning through them , it wouldn't be feasible. Instead, Ukraine is turning to systems made by Chinese companies for cheaper and often more reliable alternatives.

Chinese DJI drones have long played a role in the war, with Ukraine buying many of the retail models. Ukrainian forces sometimes strap bombs directly on them for a makeshift one-way attack drone or use them to drop grenades.

Ukraine has often manufactured its own drones through crowdfunding. While that's been successful, the sheer volume of drones being used in the war means both sides need to rely on several outlets to get what they need. There is also state-level support.

Russia has also relied on government support and private outfits, but it also gets unmanned systems from partners, such as the Iranian-made Shaheds . Russia has even developed its own domestic version of this system. But Russia has also bought Chinese-made drone technology.

The reported problems in America's domestic drone industry is concerning given the Department of Defense's prioritization on the development and fielding of uncrewed systems. Replicator, originally unveiled last August, is an initiative to put thousands of uncrewed systems into service by August 2025.

Pentagon "officials state that the Replicator initiative draws from lessons learned in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, in which Ukraine has leveraged large numbers" of cheap attributable systems "to counter the Russian military's advantage in force strength," according to a Replicator document for Congress from this March.

A few months after Replicator was first announced, multiple US defense industry executives and other companies told Defense News there was confusion around plans to build these drones. Many said that details on the program were unclear, especially with Chinese dominance in the small drone industry.

Watch: DIY exploding drones are changing the game in Ukraine war

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