For me, one of many greatest drawbacks of resort loyalty applications is that they pass over many distinctive impartial lodges. In truth, a few of my most spectacular stays did not provide a method to reward visitors. Enter: Journey, a brand new journey app that hopes to vary this with a loyalty program completely for boutique lodges.
This is what we all know to this point concerning the not too long ago launched app and journey platform known as Journey.
What Journey gives
Journey companions with a curated community of roughly 1,500 impartial lodges and personal rental properties, with greater than 1,500 within the technique of being added within the coming weeks. These embody some beautiful properties, from boutique lodges and ski chalets to treehouse resorts and floating properties.
The aim? To let members earn and redeem factors on “stays with soul,” relatively than the cookie-cutter properties that make up the majority of different, extra mainstream resort loyalty applications. Journey’s present choices embody Onera Wimberley’s treetop villas close to Austin, Nihi lodges in Indonesia and Black Forty Glamping in Meaford, Ontario.
Though the Journey app appears to be geared toward luxurious vacationers, its properties run the gamut by way of worth level. You will discover choices that value $300 an evening, in addition to these priced at $3,000 an evening.
“For too lengthy, loyalty in journey has meant selecting between factors and persona — between incomes rewards and staying someplace that really evokes you,” stated John Sutton, founder and CEO of Journey. “We constructed Journey to shut that hole. We have curated the primary platform of really impartial lodges and personal leases, enabling vacationers to earn significant rewards with out sacrificing character, to make use of their factors (and even their pending factors) in actual time for unforgettable experiences.”
Primarily based on the web site, most of Journey’s present properties appear to be concentrated in North America, however this community will presumably develop with time.
We observed that there could also be some overlap with different loyalty applications. For instance, one in all Journey’s alliance properties, Dunton Scorching Springs in Colorado, is a Mr & Mrs Smith property bookable by means of World of Hyatt.
Past offering unforgettable stays, Journey hopes to raise visitors’ experiences with personalised suggestions. In line with the location, Journey AI analyzes visitor conduct to create a profile — and refine it with every keep — to “predict what a visitor wants earlier than they ask.” So, in principle, a resort may know earlier than you arrive that you just favor a martini as an alternative of Champagne as a welcome drink, for instance.
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The thought is that the longer you are a Journey member, the higher the app and its accomplice properties will get to know your particular person journey fashion.
How the Journey loyalty program works
The method of becoming a member of Journey appears a bit daunting, as the web site encourages visitors to “apply” and “request an invite.” However all I needed to do was enter just a few primary particulars like my title, birthdate and telephone quantity. Then, I had the choice to fill in my Instagram deal with (to doubtlessly get particular gives and rewards) and point out my favourite lodges (for Journey to contemplate including to its alliance). As soon as I accomplished these steps, voila! I used to be a member.
The app additionally requested for my different telephone numbers and e mail addresses so it may seek for previous stays with alliance properties. I did not have any, however based on a Journey consultant, “Journey could grant you factors for that previous keep relying on what campaigns our companions could have in place and the way latest the keep was.” So, retroactive factors are by no means assured, however nonetheless, this can be a good characteristic that the majority loyalty applications do not provide.
As soon as logged into my account, I may discover properties by sort — from castles to yurts — and see particular bonus level gives.
You’ll be able to be part of Journey totally free right here.
Though Journey is totally up and operating, particulars on how the loyalty program works are a bit skinny. This is what we all know to this point:
- Primary members earn 5 factors per greenback spent on stays booked straight with Journey alliance properties.
- Members can pool factors or switch factors to others with no charges, minimums or maximums.
- To protect towards devaluations, Journey ensures “the worth of factors at redemption won’t ever be under $0.01 USD.”
One other attention-grabbing characteristic is the flexibility to make use of pending factors throughout a keep.
“Relying in your standing degree with Journey, you need to use 50-100% of your pending factors for on-stay purchases,” Journey claims.
For instance, as an instance you booked a $1,000 keep, which might earn you 5,000 factors after you checked out. As a primary member, you would redeem as much as 50% of these factors (or 2,500 factors) for meals, drinks or different on-site purchases throughout your keep, earlier than the factors even land in your account.
There are 4 elite tiers you’ll be able to unlock by incomes a set variety of factors:
- Nomad: 18,000 factors
- Navigator: 50,000 factors
- Ambassador: 125,000 factors
- Legend: 250,000 factors
- Icon: invite-only
Perks for incomes standing embody waived resort charges, waived pet charges, suite upgrades and versatile check-in and checkout occasions.
Backside line
The hole between factors and persona has narrowed lately, with main factors applications incorporating extra unique stays like glamping and applications like One Key providing a wider vary of impartial lodges. Nonetheless, Journey is the primary program to incorporate solely boutique properties.
The latest loyalty program on the resort scene remains to be getting its legs beneath it, but it surely looks as if a promising addition to the world of factors and miles, particularly for luxurious vacationers looking for unforgettable stays.
