Hotel groups and airlines are closely nurturing the relationships between their loyalty programmes. At the same time as Hyatt was announcing a change of partner across the Atlantic, switching from American Airlines to Delta, IHG and Air India on the one hand, and Radisson and Finnair on the other, were presenting their partnership.
Is it a reminder of its Nordic origins? The Radisson group, which emerged as the hotel arm of the SAS airline in the 1960s, has turned to another Northern European carrier, Finnair, to give more clout to its Radisson Rewards programme.« Strengthening the links between travel partners and loyalty ecosystems is at the heart of Radisson Rewards' development strategy », said Elina Zois, Vice President of Loyalty, CRM and Customer Service at Radisson Hotel Group.
Within this framework, Radisson Rewards members will be able to convert their points into Avios, and Finnair Plus members can convert those Avios into Radisson Rewards points. Among other benefits, Finnair Plus members can now request a status match to Radisson Rewards, with Finnair Plus Silver and Gold statuses being mapped to the Radisson Rewards Premium tier, and Platinum and Platinum Lumo statuses to the VIP tier. At the same time, a select number of Radisson Rewards Premium and VIP members will be given access, by invitation, to Finnair Plus Silver, Gold and Platinum statuses.
For Gerben Sikkema, Vice President of Loyalty at Finnair, this partnership illustrates the desire to create value for frequent flyers« throughout their travel journey » : « our members can now collect Avios when staying at Radisson hotels and benefit from status recognition »Note that while Avios are Finnair's loyalty currency, they are also used by all oneworld alliance airlines, allowing for a broader accumulation of points that can be converted across the 1,600 hotels in over 100 countries of the Radisson group.
Radisson flies to Scandinavia, IHG to India
For its part, IHG is organising a points exchange with the airline Air India, with Maharaja Club members able to earn points across the British group's 7,100 hotels and those of IHG One Rewards now having the option to exchange their points for Maharaja Points. At the same time, the Indian airline's loyal customers also have the option of converting their IHG One Rewards points into Maharaja Points, with the conversion rate being 1,000 IHG points for 200 Maharaja Points. «The Maharaja Club is evolving in parallel with Air India's transformation, with a strong commitment to creating richer experiences for our members beyond simply flying,», said Sunil Suresh, Chief Marketing, Loyalty and E-Commerce Officer at Air India.
Regarding IHG, this partnership is part of an expansion strategy in a market where the British hotel group does not lack ambition, with 110 properties to open over the next 3 to 5 years, compared to around fifty currently.« India remains one of the most important growth markets for IHG, and we are committed to strengthening our presence whilst building a deeper and more meaningful engagement with our customers., commented Sudeep Jain, Managing Director for South-West Asia at IHG Hotels & Resorts,
While IHG intends thus to entice travellers loyal to Air India to consolidate its position within the subcontinent, one of its competitors, the Accor group, is also leveraging its ties with the Indian aviation world by being close to IndiGo, the country's largest carrier. This is whether through a loyalty partnership between the ALL Accor and IndiGo BluChip programmes, focused on reciprocal point-swapping, or through its association with the InterGlobe conglomerate, IndiGo's parent company, to accelerate its development in India.
