Traveling Blog: Lyft Launches Loyalty + TripAdvisor's New Look + Eventbrite's First Dance

November 13, 2018

Editor's Note

Providing few details, Lyft on Monday announced it was taking the plunge into the loyalty game, offering all of its passengers incentives for their repeat business. This follows on the heels of a loyalty program that rolled out last winter designed specifically for business travelers. That Lyft beat Uber to the punch with a loyalty offering, as scant as information is about the program, was not lost on us.

The race appears to be on, as both Lyft and Uber pretty themselves up for what will most likely be two of travel's most anticipated initial public offerings in 2019. Lyft has already hired bankers, and Uber is entertaining proposals from Wall Street. The timing of the IPOs will be significant. Who has more to lose by going public after the other? Clearly, Lyft has more momentum at this point, but as the much smaller company, it has much more to prove, too. Gauging riders' loyalty will just be part of it.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

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San Antonio's Cross-Sector Collaboration Is Key to Attracting Important Meetings and Events

Details are still sketchy but as of December, Lyft has officially committed to launching a broad consumer loyalty program.

TripAdvisor Launches Redesign to Hook the Non-Bookers

If travelers aren't ready to book, feed them some inspiration and hope they'll hang around until they are. That is essentially what TripAdvisor's new travel feed is all about. Will the grand experiment work? We'll have to wait and see how the feature evolves.

Eventbrite Sees Revenue Soar in Earnings Debut

Eventbrite is still losing money as it grows, but now has plenty of cash to spend while getting back on track. The state of the booming global events business is a big help.

Frontier's Pilots Reach Tentative Deal on New Contract Making a Strike Unlikely

No one wanted to see another airline strike. Good for Frontier and the pilots union for reaching an agreement. Passengers should hope it sticks.

Carpooling Startup BlaBlaCar Looks to Take Over Long-Distance Bus Service Ouibus

Rail operator SNCF also announced that it is has led a $113 million investment in BlaBlaCar as a new investor. Perhaps carpooling could prove to be a path to building a major travel brand.

Iberostar Ups Stake in Almundo for Online Travel Agency Push in Latin America

The conventional wisdom has been that the online travel market in Latin America will narrow down to a fight between Expedia-supported Despegar and global brands like Booking.com. But Almundo, thanks to backing from Iberostar, might put up a meaningful fight.

American Follows United in Making Top Elite Status Harder to Earn

For many, it may no longer be worth it to earn top-tier elite status on American, United, or Delta next year. Between recent changes to credit card earning structures and airlines constantly moving the goalposts for status qualification, it's just too hard for many to keep up.

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Money is flowing into the hostels market and established hotel companies want a piece. Will this new corporatization cost hostels the soul of their original mission?

Airlines Find Another Way to Wring Out Extra Revenue: Auctioning Unsold Premium Seats

Remember when airlines used to give away their best seats for free? Ha! The economy is strong, and airlines are offering fewer upgrades. Passengers who want to sit up front need to pay for it. But don't worry. Another recession will come, and the good days (for upgraders, at least) should return.

WebBeds on Shopping Spree for Bedbanks: Should Hotelbeds Be Worried?

The acquisition of Destinations of the World seals WebBeds as the second largest B2B bedbank player, but incumbent Hotelbeds need not worry – for a very long time.

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