PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial
planning season is here and with it, a new national study from
leading hotel loyalty program Wyndham Rewards® revealing
that while the majority of Americans (77%) see significant savings
potential in loyalty programs, nearly a third (32%) don't feel
skilled enough to actually take advantage of them. What's more, 64%
say they would go to extremes—take the middle seat on a plane every
trip extreme—if it meant someone would professionally manage their
memberships for them.
What does it all mean? While travel remains high on the priority
list in 2016—more than half of Americans plan to travel more this
year—many of the countless rewards programs designed to help them
stretch their travel dollars are proving too unwieldy for them to
reap the benefits.
"Loyalty programs should be seen as financial tools that we can
all leverage to maximize the return on our travels," said
Noah Brodsky, senior vice president
of worldwide loyalty and engagement at Wyndham Hotel Group.
"Unfortunately, over complication and constant devaluation among
many programs are leaving a number of travelers confused and
disappointed. A good loyalty program does the opposite, which is
why we created the new Wyndham Rewards. We make it simple and easy
for members to earn what they want most: a free night."
Other key findings from the study:
Travelers are Optimistic, yet Cost-Conscious… Especially
Women
Although consumer sentiment towards the U.S. economy
continues to improve, the vast majority of Americans (71%) consider
themselves "cost-conscious."
- Women in particular showed a focus on savings, as 35% plan to
spend less in 2016 than in 2015 while only 19% of men feel the
same.
- Women also more frequently identified as "very cost-conscious"
(40% of women vs. 24% of men).
Travel – A Big Part of the 2016 Budget
Lower gas
prices across the country and a decrease in fuel surcharges may
help make it easier to travel for less in 2016. That's welcome
news, as the study shows not only do most consumers plan to travel
more in 2016 (53%), but their travel aspirations include road
trips, exploring the country and visiting loved ones.
- Travel will play a prominent role in annual budgeting as 83%
say travel will comprise at least a quarter of discretionary
spending, while 40% say at least half of discretionary spending
will go towards travel.
- More than half (54%) put exploring new locations within the US
on their 2016 travel wish list and more than a third (39%) are
planning more frequent visits to out of state family and friends.
With gas prices at their lowest levels in more than six years, 26%
plan to take a cross-country road trip this year.
Over the Top Sacrifices for Simplicity and
Savings
Reinforcing the challenges of keeping up with and
managing the growing number of loyalty programs in which the
average American is enrolled, the majority (64%) are willing to go
to extreme lengths to have their memberships professionally managed
for a year. Of those that would:
- 31% are willing to manually do their own taxes for a year.
- 26% are willing to sit in middle seat on every flight for a
year.
- 21% are willing to give up social media for 6 months.
- 12% are willing to downgrade to a flip phone for 6 months.
- 10% are willing to have in-laws live with them for a year.
Wyndham Rewards makes earning and redeeming generous rewards for
travel both simple and attainable. The program eliminates confusing
reward categories and instead offers a flat, free night redemption
rate - the first of its kind for a major loyalty program. Members
earn a minimum of 1,000 points for every qualified stay and for
just 15,000 points, can redeem a free night at any of more than
7,500 Wyndham Rewards hotels across the globe with no blackout
dates. For more information on Wyndham Rewards or to enroll, visit
www.wyndhamrewards.com.
About Wyndham Hotel Group
Wyndham Hotel Group is the
world's largest hotel company based on number of hotels and is one
of three hospitality business units of Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:
WYN). As both a leading hotel brand franchisor and hotel management
services provider, the company's global portfolio consists of
approximately 7,760 properties and 672,000 rooms in 71 countries
under the following brands: Dolce Hotels and Resorts®, Wyndham
Grand® Hotels and Resorts, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Wyndham
Garden® Hotels, TRYP by Wyndham®, Wingate by Wyndham®, Hawthorn
Suites by Wyndham®, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham®, Ramada®,
Baymont Inn & Suites®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Howard Johnson®,
Travelodge® and Knights Inn®. Wyndham Rewards, the company's guest
loyalty program, offers more than 40 million members the
opportunity to earn and redeem points at thousands of hotels across
the world. For more information, visit
www.wyndhamworldwide.com.
Survey Methodology
The Wyndham Rewards loyalty survey
was conducted among the general population of the United States with 2,000 respondents aged
between 18 and 65. Interviews were conducted online by Morar
(previously Redshift Research) in January
2016 using an email invitation and an online survey via
their Crowdology panel and partner panels.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The
magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the
number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing
the results. In this particular study, the chances are 1 in 20 (95%
confidence level) that a survey result does not vary, plus or
minus, by more than 2.19% from the result that would be obtained if
interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe
represented by the sample.
The sample was selected from the Crowdology & Crowdology
partner panels. Crowdology™ is an online panel owned and operated
by Morar. The Crowdology™ panel is balanced across regional, age
and gender demographic factors, and is nationally representative of
the US population. Each respondent completes 120 profiling
questions before being accepted to join our panel. Panel Quality
Management is carried out frequently to ensure reliable surveys and
respondents are paid for their time at a rate that equates to the
national minimum wage.
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SOURCE Wyndham Hotel Group