This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.
At a Skift Global Forum 2026 executive roundtable presented by Bloomreach, Graham Smith, Bloomreach’s strategic account executive for enterprise, joined travel industry executives to discuss how brands can turn browsers into bookers during long consideration cycles. The group explored how timely, relevant engagement can strengthen loyalty, convert preference data into visible value, and connect the promise of personalization with the experience travelers receive.
Loyalty Beats Blanket Discounts
The roundtable opened with the pressure that airlines, hotels, tour operators, and destination management companies face as competition and disruption intensify. When geopolitical tensions, climate events, or other unforeseen developments disrupt demand, broad discounts may retain customers, but participants warned against relying on them alone.
Personalization offers another route: understand what matters to each traveler, identify where that person drops out of the journey, and give that traveler a relevant reason to stay. “I think it starts by proving to them that you know their preferences and understand how they engage,” Smith said. Participants pointed to European travel groups investing more heavily in loyalty to shed a mass-market, discount-led model.
Long Booking Cycles Demand Relevance Before the Sale
Brands need useful engagement long before the transaction. “Someone could browse on your site, but may not plan to stay for another six months or eight months,” Smith said. A returning guest shouldn’t receive messages that ignore previous stays, known destinations, or demonstrated interests.
Smith pointed to Haven and On the Beach, a UK-based retailer of short- and medium-haul package holidays to Europe, as European businesses building more connected digital journeys. Many North American travel and hospitality brands are only beginning to catch up, he said. The goal is to stay relevant until the traveler is ready to act.
The Best Personalization Depends on the Business Model
Each part of the value chain has a different use case. Airlines often personalize pricing, baggage allowances, seats, and priority benefits, yet may still miss details that matter to passengers. Hotels have more room to personalize on property through service, messaging, dining, and activities. Resorts can use apps or WhatsApp to steer guests toward relevant reservations and excursions during their stay. Tour operators and large travel groups focus more on the booking journey.
Across all of them, the front-end promise must match the operational product. A sophisticated campaign can’t rescue an inconsistent or disappointing stay.
Preference Data Earns Trust Only When Brands Act on It
Participants asked how to collect traveler preferences without making guests feel interrogated. Their answer: ask gradually, make participation optional, and show value quickly. Travelers share more when the next email, text message, or WhatsApp message reflects what they have already said.
The risk of collecting without acting was a recurring concern. “Companies collecting data should make sure they’re putting it to use,” Smith said. “If they’re just sitting on that data, that could be more irritating than never asking for it in the first place.”
The same logic applies after the stay. Reviews can identify promoters and detractors, guide the tone of follow-up, and support repeat-booking offers.
Direct relationships call for the same light touch. A simple, nonaggressive prompt, such as a QR code displayed at the property, can encourage a guest who booked through an online travel agency to opt in to a direct relationship — though one participant said operators walk a fine line with platforms like Airbnb. Once guests opt in, the guest profile pays off only if the operator uses what it learns to improve the next interaction.
This content was created collaboratively by Bloomreach and Skift’s branded content studio, Skift Studio.