Loyalty has long helped brands drive engagement but not everything is plain sailing in the travel loyalty world.

The landscape is shifting with younger generations demanding something different from programs and companies reassessing what's working. At the end of last year, for example, Morning Consult reported that travelers aren’t totally satisfied with programs as they exist. And in 2023, McKinsey reported that an airline’s loyalty program's capability to convince travelers to choose their airline over another, was declining.

So, where are travel brands going wrong when it comes to loyalty? Mark Ross-Smith, CEO of Loyalty Status Co., and Robert Wesley, CEO of MeProtocol, weighed in on how brands can improve loyalty strategies during a studio interview at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona.

During the wide-ranging discussion, Wesley and Ross-Smith also touched on the use of blockchain in loyalty, how artificial intelligence plays into loyalty’s evolution, the importance of personalization and more.