Yeoh Siew Hoon believes loyalty has gone to the dogs these days and argues for the travel industry to be loyal to the true meaning of the word.

I've been thinking a lot about loyalty lately.

Firstly, I've been catching segments of "The Apprentice", the TV reality show hosted by Donald Trump in which young ambitious and avaricious (okay, downright nasty) executives slug it out to win a position to work with the man himself.

Now, I remember Trump many years ago, when he was down in the dumps, saying that loyalty was the one human quality he treasured most but when you watch this series, you will quickly find out that loyalty is the least existent quality among the candidates who would do anything, short of murder (and even that I am not sure), to win the prize.

Then I watched the Japanese movie "Quill", a simple but beautifully-told story of the life of a guide dog for the blind, and his unstinting loyalty to his handler.

As I watched the movie, I came to the conclusion (blindingly obvious, really) that when it comes to loyalty, we humans just aren't capable of nearly the same depth that our canine friends are.

In fact, you could argue that in today's world of fickle consumerism and endless choice, loyalty has gone to the dogs.
In fact, the word ‘loyalty' has been so abused by companies that it's almost, well, disloyal to its origins – "Middle English loyaltee, from Middle French loialté, from Old French leialté, from leial".

According to the dictionary, ‘loyalty' means to be ‘unswerving in allegiance'.

Consumers today are hardly ‘unswerving in allegiance', particularly when shopping for "commodities" which airline tickets and hotel rooms have become and where often, price is a key determining factor.

Take me as an example.
I think I am your fairly typical urban consumer that travel companies are going after. Like you, I hold several airline and hotel loyalty cards. I can also convert my credit card points to airline and hotel loyalty points – which means I can use my points to buy any product I wish.

In other words, I am loyal to all, yet disloyal to none.

Last week, I decided to go online to buy a ticket to go to Bangkok for the weekend. I thought I'd try Air Asia given their aggressive promotions recently.

I couldn't get past the home page. So I tried Valuair, the new Singapore-based airline that stresses it is not low cost like Air Asia but low fare. Their return fares were above S$200, not that attractive that I'd book instantly.

I then decided to try Zuji.com and the best fare I pulled out was on, lo and behold, Singapore Airlines, the airline that supposedly "owns" my loyalty.

It was S$157 return – flight choice was restricted but only on the outbound leg and that I can live with. I mean on that fare, why not? Plus I arrive in Bangkok past midnight when traffic will be easier. And oh yes, I have to travel with someone – but that's easy enough to fix.

So by hook but more by crook, I ended up booking with an airline with which I hold a loyalty card.

But loyalty did not drive me there, price did.

It also set me thinking about all the hotel loyalty programmes out there, especially those run by the major hotel chains, and wondering who really benefits? The guests, the hotel owners or the hotel operators?

It has long been a sore point with individual hotel owners who question why they have to pay a huge bill to support a chain's frequent guest programme when there has been no clear evidence that such programmes lead to direct, increased business for their hotel.

According to an industry source, the cost to hotel owners ranges from three to five percent of total guests' room folio total revenue – in some cases to the equivalent of more than three percent of room revenue. This means that for a 300-400 room hotel, the annual fee could run to six figures "and is often or usually higher than other management fees combined in some cases", said the source.

So you have folks who are paying for a programme which, while it is called loyalty, may not really be driven by loyalty – and anyway, loyalty to whom? The hotel brand or the individual hotel?

Yes, you could argue that's what individual owners pay for the power of a brand and its customer base. I guess the question is, what's the relative value individual owners get from frequent guest programmes in return for the fees they pay?

Me, since I am only a humble customer and not a rich owner, I think it's time another word was used to replace ‘loyalty' programmes in the travel industry – such a precious human quality like loyalty should not be treated like a commodity.

Consider what Samuel Butler wrote in 1663:
"Loyalty is still the same,
Whether it win or lose the game;
True as a dial to the sun,
Although it be not shined upon."

Let's be loyal, at least, to the word ‘loyal' and those who really live it – man's best friend.


The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460

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