Hotels and resorts can now become wellness certified, thanks to the industry’s first program focusing on ways that accommodations amplify and offer ways for their guests to be well, launched by Wellness in Travel & Tourism (WITT).
15.10.2024 - 22:25 / travelpulse.com / Rich Thomaselli
Ancillary fees were once a nice little add-on for airlines. Now they are becoming more and more of a revenue driver.
What used to be a small charge to bring an extra bag or to change your seat suddenly became a huge factor in why airlines made more than $900 billion in revenue last year, according to Phocuswire.
Now passengers are willing to pay more for things like extra leg room.
According to a CarTrawler report, 57 airlines combined for a $7.4 billion rise in ancillary revenue in 2023. That was more than 25 percent greater than it was in 2022 and almost 50 percent higher than in 2021.
Expect more airlines to offer more bundles in ticket packaging, including things like car reservations and hotels. Call it one-stop shopping, and away for airlines to bring more customers to their doors.
“The dream of the airline is the marketplace - the travel marketplace,” said Eric Leopold, founder and managing director of aviation consultancy Threedot.
Since many travelers book their plain first, airlines are in a unique position to be privy to the likes and tendencies of customers.
“They know what you eat, because they serve the meal [on the plane],” he said. “So if you can pick your preference in the meal, they say, ‘oh, we noticed you like Italian food, by the way, when you arrive at your destination, here's the top five Italian restaurants when you arrive, and here's the 10 percent voucher discount if you come on our behalf.’ ”
Could a sea change be coming?
Pardon the pun, but it would be a sea change in how airlines go to market.
“The ancillary world, once you start to dig into it, is quite a complex world,” said Sinead Finn, founder of Affinnity airline consulting agency.
Said Damian Hickey, global head of travel partners at Travelport: "Global distribution systems, online travel agencies, travel management companies, online booking tools, agencies’ custom user interfaces, back office and mid-office applications, etc. all need to speak the same language for the shopping, booking and servicing to flow smoothly."
One potential problem is that legacy carriers differ from low-cost carriers. The capability to offer more services might not technologically be there for everyone.
There’s no doubt, however, that airlines have long been looking for other ways to drive growth.
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Hotels and resorts can now become wellness certified, thanks to the industry’s first program focusing on ways that accommodations amplify and offer ways for their guests to be well, launched by Wellness in Travel & Tourism (WITT).
My family of six recently visited both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.
It's 12 p.m. on Thursday and I am running through the streets of Brooklyn. I have to be out of New York City and on the highway north to reach Storm King Art Center by 3 p.m., when Charli XCX will be bumping her new album at a surprise listening party. Streaming in from directions unknown, hundreds of other fans have likewise shirked their responsibilities for the day—skipping work and school, canceling plans, ditching kids with partners—and booked it to this 500-acre sculpture park in New Windsor, New York, on the vague premise of exclusively hearing Charli XCX's latest music the day before the album's release. Some have taken four-hour trains; others, carpooled with strangers; the most die-hard brats are seeing her for the fourth or fifth time, after having followed her to California, Spain, and beyond. For her part, I know Charli herself will be on a plane the minute the show ends, given she's in the middle of her North America tour.
Unite Here, a national hospitality labor group with members currently on strike across several U.S. cities, is calling on state attorneys general to investigate hotel loyalty programs for what the labor group says are deceptive practices and devalued awards.
The Airbus A380 continues to find a new lease on life with Etihad Airways planning to bring back two more of the superjumbo jets as part of its strong post-coronavirus recovery.
Airlines said they have capped airfares as they face accusations of price gouging before Hurricane Milton hits the Gulf Coast south of Tampa.
Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is tempting travelers to take a big European vacation for winter with 20 percent off flights.
Large swaths of Florida were recovering on Friday after Hurricane Milton swept through as a major storm with airports and theme parks starting to reopen.
Daniela Jacobs, the founder and designer of Arc, a line of minimalist jewelry and home goods, is perhaps best known for her porcelain creations in shades of ecru and eggshell. But in 2018, a translucent organza garment that Jacobs created for a photo shoot led to such an unexpected swell of purchase inquiries that she decided to create a handful of one-of-a-kind garments to sell, titling it her Invisibles collection. Now, after 10 years in business, Jacobs is releasing a new batch of designs that explore the concept of invisibility with Arc Glass, a limited-edition capsule of rings, bangles, candle holders and plates made of borosilicate glass. In addition to pieces that are completely see-through, a handful of the designs are rendered in black, as well as a smoky hue that changes in different lights. “It almost has a turquoise tint to it, which feels right to me because of the Mediterranean vibe,” says Jacobs, who splits her time between New York and Majorca. As with her porcelain pieces, Jacobs’s glass creations require a bit of mindfulness when worn, but she insists that they’re made for everyday use. “I wear them on the subway. I wear them biking. I wear them when I’m in Spain. When I go to the sea, I take them off and put them on a rock; I come back, they’re fine,” she says.
A bitter war of words has erupted between Boeing and a major labor union. Late on Tuesday, the planemaker withdrew a pay offer to 33,000 striking workers. The development increases the likelihood of the dispute dragging on, placing further aircraft deliveries to airlines in jeopardy.
Update: October 8, 2024, at 1:40 p.m. ET
It's been one month since the U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory for Mexico, one of the few countries broken down by states rather than an all-encompassing advisory.