Now at Aloft Hotels: Voice-Activated Rooms

United has decided to delay implementation of its low-frills economy product, according to Skift.

It’s a fact of loyalty-program life: Airline and hotel programs periodically adjust their award prices. Of course, those adjustments amount to price hikes more often than not. And, all things being equal, higher award prices amount to an overall devaluation of the program.

Starwood’s systemwide “Triple Up” bonus-points offer ends on July 31, and to date there’s been no word of a successor campaign for late summer and early fall stays.

Today, two storied travel brands that are destined for the scrap heap announced a marketing partnership that only serves to make their imminent demise that much sadder.

Could Spirit, the airline everybody loves to hate, become a bit less hateful? If the company’s new CEO has his way, it will do just that.

For U.S. News & World Report, the road from weekly news magazine to publisher of company rankings has been a long and winding one. The key, though, to its shift toward data-driven ratings of companies and institutions was its 1983 publication of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Wi-Fi access isn’t free on Alaska Airlines flights. But at least for the next year, the airline’s passengers can use inflight Wi-Fi to send and receive unlimited texts for free.

Lagging the likes of Hilton, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Starwood, Omni, Drury, and Nordic Choice hotels, InterContinental will become the latest and one of the last major hotel groups to eliminate adult content from its in-room on-demand TV offerings.

Marriott has just published its list of award-price changes for 2016. As Marriott Rewards members have come to expect from these annual pronouncements, the news amounts to yet another decrease in the value of their points.

There’s nothing new about discounted hotel rates available only to members of the hotel’s loyalty program who book direct. Of the major chains, Starwood was the first to offer member-only rates, beginning last year. And Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and InterContinental have since followed suit.

Uber is known, and mostly loved, for its on-demand ridesharing service. Need a lift? Launch the Uber app on your smartphone, and within minutes a car and driver will be idling at the curb, at your service.

Update from IHG, including effect date for new prices: “All reservations booked beginning Jan. 16, 2018, will use the new Reward Nights point prices. This is part of an annual review into the number of points needed for a Reward Night, and we’ll communicate to members through our regular channels, including email and our website.”