Partners hope loyalty program will fly

Two Canadian travel firms have banded together to launch a loyalty program for independent hotels and car rental companies that features the semi-defunct Canadian Airlines International as a core partner.

On March 1, Vancouver-based Executive Inn Group, which operates 17 hotels in Western Canada and Washington, announced that it, together with VIP International, a Calgary-based firm that operates a worldwide travel reservation system representing more than 3,400 independent hotel and car rental properties, had formalized a marketing agreement with Canadian Airlines and its U.S. counterpart, American Airlines. The deal sets the foundation for a new loyalty program that the partners say will allow the independent hotels and car rental companies served by the VIP reservation system to compete against well-known multinational chains. But first, Executive Inn has to sell them on the idea.

‘All these VIP hotels and car rentals are independent, so they’re all in need of a loyalty program to compete with major chains like Avis or Hilton,’ says Salim Sayani, president of Executive Inn. ‘I think they’ll be very keen to utilize a loyalty program that’s fully automated, has reward partners and is all set up.’

The new loyalty program, called Executive Rewards Club, operates with an Interac-style swipe card that allows members to make purchases in a matter of seconds using accumulated points. Rewards earned at participating properties are redeemable for free car rentals or hotel stays, or can be converted to frequent flyer points under programs maintained by the two airlines.

Because it’s connected to a central databank, the Executive Rewards program also facilitates extensive data mining. Sayani says he expects to have at least half the VIP properties signed up within the next two or three years, creating a potential customer base that numbers in the millions.

Participants are provided with six monthly reports: Program summary, Top 100 customers, monetary value, recency, customer frequency, and demographics. Program summary detail and transaction summary reports are available on request.

Four weeks of beta testing at Executive Inn’s 17 hotels had about 150 customers signing up per day (about 4,500 altogether), and an online registration system is accelerating the pace.

‘This is typically our slower season,’ says Sayani. ‘Come summer we think we’ll be doing a few more than that.’

Despite the uncertain future of Canadian Airlines, Sayani says he isn’t concerned about the integrity of the program’s points. He says he has been assured by Canadian Airlines that Air Canada would honour the points. He admits, however, that he has no written commitment from Air Canada to that effect.

Sayani says Canadian Airlines was selected for the program because it uses Executive Inn’s hotels for its flight staff, and so was a natural choice. At the time the program was being developed, American Airlines owned 25% of Canadian, and the latter encouraged Executive Inns to negotiate a deal with its international partner.

Cannes Lions 2025: More Lions go to Rethink and Weber Shandwick

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Thursday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury Lions, Brand Experience & Activation, Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions categories. Canadians were recognized with three Lions today: a Silver in Brand Experience & Activation, a Bronze in Creative Commerce and a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness. Rethink was awarded twice on Day 4, while Weber Shandwick rounded out the Canadian agency wins with one Lion. Below is a look at the work. Catch the Gold winners later this afternoon when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.

Creative Commerce (1 Silver)

1 SILVER: “U Up?” by Rethink for IKEA

IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign has legs, it turns out. The campaign is getting major love at Cannes. The IKEA work, created in collaboration with Rethink Toronto, added to its Cannes Lions tally with a Silver medal in Creative Commerce. That now makes five total Lions for the work, including two Golds on Wednesday night, for Direct and Socal & Creator. The campaign has been lauded by jurors for its dexterity, contextual timing and humour.

Creative Effectiveness (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch” by Rethink for Kraft Heinz 

Both Rethink and Kraft Heinz picked up another Lion, this one a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for their collaboration on “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch.” Not only did the work capture a culture moment spurred by Taylor Swift, but it also created a new product, “in under 24 hours,” to match. The latest two Lions makes 10 total wins for Rethink. Kraft Heinz and Rethink also picked up a rare Gold Lion for Media a day earlier.

Brand Experience & Activation (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick for Airbnb

The Weber Shandwick work, “Airbnb Icons,” won Bronze on Thursday in Brand Experience & Activation after claiming a Bronze in Media Wednesday. Airbnb turned media brands into a destination, partnering with the likes of Marvel and Disney to offer travellers experiences like drifting off in the Up house or crashing at an X-Men mansion. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, and most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold by the end of the season.