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How have you validated that the travelers care about loyalty programs? The big corp programs cater mostly to business travel, which is going to repeat, so the l

How have you validated that the travelers care about loyalty programs? The big corp programs cater mostly to business travel, which is going to repeat, so the loyalty programs become a basic cost saving measure. People who travel frequently may also like them because they come to rely on a couple solid brands when choosing where to stay. But for one-off experiences, you don't have the business travel. You don't have the brand reliability. The entire reason for going is the one-off experience. So the lack of a loyalty program is not even a consideration for most travelers. I see why the hotels would want loyalty. I see why the people who runs points programs want this. I just don't see why a traveler would want to sign up, as the lack of a loyalty program is in no way a blocker to their travel.

zbusekrus 6mo ago
Great question — and honestly, a fair challenge (you sound like those investors who didn't participate in our seed:)). You're right that most loyalty programs exist for business travelers. They're retention tools for captive audiences, not real value propositions. We've all seen that. But here's what the data across Mckinsey/Amex/Chase is actually showing: the travelers who want boutique and independent stays — the ones booking for the experience, not the brand — are still abandoning those properties to stay at a Marriott. Not because they love Marriott per se, but because they can't get the suite upgrade, the member rate, the late checkout, and the "we know who you are" moment anywhere else. McKinsey found 60%+ of leisure travelers would pay a premium to stay independent if they could trust the quality and find the properties easily. Chase and Amex are watching their fastest-growing redemption categories shift toward boutique stays. The demand is real. The infrastructure doesn't exist yet.That's exactly the gap Journey is closing. The traveler booking a safari tent for their dad's 70th birthday isn't thinking about a loyalty program until they realize they could have had a bottle of wine waiting, a room upgrade, points, and a member rate, without giving up a single thing that made that property special. Big brand programs don't hold people because of the points. They hold people because the points are the only way to get the perks. AtJourney we're working to remove that tradeoff.

zbusekrus 6mo ago

Great question — and honestly, a fair challenge (you sound like those investors who didn't participate in our seed:)). You're right that most loyalty programs exist for business travelers. They're retention tools for captive audiences, not real value propositions. We've all seen that. But here's what the data across Mckinsey/Amex/Chase is actually showing: the travelers who want boutique and independent stays — the ones booking for the experience, not the brand — are still abandoning those properties to stay at a Marriott. Not because they love Marriott per se, but because they can't get the suite upgrade, the member rate, the late checkout, and the "we know who you are" moment anywhere else. McKinsey found 60%+ of leisure travelers would pay a premium to stay independent if they could trust the quality and find the properties easily. Chase and Amex are watching their fastest-growing redemption categories shift toward boutique stays. The demand is real. The infrastructure doesn't exist yet.That's exactly the gap Journey is closing. The traveler booking a safari tent for their dad's 70th birthday isn't thinking about a loyalty program until they realize they could have had a bottle of wine waiting, a room upgrade, points, and a member rate, without giving up a single thing that made that property special. Big brand programs don't hold people because of the points. They hold people because the points are the only way to get the perks. AtJourney we're working to remove that tradeoff.