Deloitte Survey On Loyalty Hard To Believe

Some surveys are downright hard to believe. Deloitte recently conducted a survey asking people if they were loyal to a specific airline or hotel. The results are so surprising to me they are not believable.

Only 14 percent of respondents say they are loyal to a specific airline. Only 8 percent say they are loyal to a specific hotel chain. If indeed this is true, the airlines and hotels can look at the results two ways. One way would be their loyalty programs have not been at all successful. The glass half full approach would say they have plenty room for improvement in the area of creating loyalty.

Here are some additional findings of the study: "When picking airlines, most travelers say they look first at safety, value and whether flights are on time. When choosing hotels, they look at price, whether there's free parking, comfort and location. Loyalty programs rank near the bottom of influencing factors."

The results are so surprising to me because I know many travelers who would sell their oldest child for a few more miles.

What do you think? Are you loyal to a brand or do you shop around when you travel?

Robert Polk is CEO of Polk Corporate Travel Management in Colorado. These insights are excerpted with permission from Robert's newsletter, From the Desk of Robert A. Polk.