Orbitz Introduces Loyalty Program That Allows Customers to Accrue Travel Currency (VIDEO)
Orbitz, the popular online booking site, is launching a rewards program to encourage travelers to browse the site for hotel rooms with the same frequency they currently do to find flights, according to USA Today. The new program is called Orbitz Rewards.
The new program, which officially launches Monday, allows members to earn loyalty currency, which they are calling "orbucks," when they book travel arrangements such as flights, hotels or travel packages that can be redeemed to lower the cost of hotel stays.
A difference between this loyalty program and other loyalty programs is that they will allow the redemptions to be used immediately when booking a flight. For example, a traveler booking a flight can use their loyalty currency on a hotel they are booking for the same trip.
"I think historically people thought Orbitz is where I book my air," Chris Orton, the president of Orbitz.com, said. With the new program, travelers can see that "the same place I book my air is a great place to book my hotel.... The program is designed to give them an incentive."
The orbucks that travelers earn when booking a hotel room will be the equivalent of three percent of the cost, and when booking a flight or travel package will be equivalent to one percent of the price of the booking. There are also bonuses available, such as a bonus when booking a room through Orbitz mobile app, which then allows travelers to earn loyalty currency equivalent to five percent of the price of the booking.
According to Maggie Rauch, a travel analyst with PhoCusWright, Orbitz has previously lagged behind online booking sites in hotel booking.
"It's easy for a consumer to say I can go to the sites of these three airlines and do my travel research that way," Rauch said. "But with a hotel there are so many options, people are more likely to go through an intermediary.... There's a better opportunity in hotels right now."
Video from Orbitz explaining how the rewards system works.