Do Loyalty Program in the Airline and Hotel Industries Affect Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty?

Abstract

This paper offers a framework for studying the frequent loyalty programs' role in flyers'/guests' satisfaction and loyalty throughout a hospitality and airlines industries. The purpose of the study aims to examine the effect of loyalty programs on enhancing flyers'/guests' satisfaction and loyalty and the mediation role of satisfaction between the relationship between frequent loyalty program and loyalty in the context of airlines and hospitality industry. The survey used a three-section format, first section asking the respondents about the frequent loyalty program in hotel, second section asking them about frequent loyalty programs in airlines, and finally, ask about respondents' profile. 276 questionnaires were collected from twice tourist's frequent membership in loyalty programs (airlines/hotels). This study obtained secondary data from Alexandria hotels and performed the Correlation and regression and mediation models to test the study hypotheses. The results analyzed to draw general conclusions regarding the effect of the frequent loyalty programs on flyers'/guests' satisfaction and loyalty. Results of this study supported the research hypotheses and indicated firstly, that loyalty programs do have positive significant effects on flyers'/guests' satisfaction and loyalty. Secondly, the airlines' frequent loyalty programs have effects more than hotel frequent loyalty programs. Thirdly, the satisfaction significant mediates the relationship between the frequent loyalty program and loyalty. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for hotel marketers to understand the gap in frequent hotel loyalty programs and develop marketing tactics, improve hotels' frequent loyalty programs to maintain loyal guests and maximize profitability as well. Introduction In the hyperactive, highly, and saturated competitive industries, such as hospitality, tourism, and airlines. They are constantly working not only to win customers, but work enthusiastically to find new methods of establishing and maintaining customer loyalty in order to achieve revenue, finally to succeed which is a clear challenge. Thus, the loyal customers are extremely valuable, because they are considered as a marketing tool that may attract some new potential customers within the positive word-of-mouth without any efforts or costs spent by the businesses, they tend to spend more money than non-loyal customers and have emotional connections, and are less likely to purchase the rival bu…