How to Engage “Stranded” Travel Loyalty Members with Consumer Data Protection

As the pandemic rages on, the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry are struggling to survive. For the most part, families are choosing to stay close to home, working and learning remotely. But those who do choose to travel worry about their health and safety, entrusting airlines, hotels, and other hospitality-based companies to protect them.

Since travel is limited, many businesses are rethinking their loyalty programs to create experiences that are important to their members' mental well-being, in these current stressful times. For example, World of Hyatt members can ease stress and sleep better with a free one-month subscription to Headspace, the popular meditation app. Hilton Honors members can “Shop with Points” on Amazon, and most hotels and airlines let loyalty program members donate miles and points to a good cause.

With so many loyal travelers grounded and working from home, digital media consumption has risen 25% to 16 hours a day since the start of the pandemic. Americans are worried more now than ever about protecting their personal information and online privacy. Offering your members protection against digital identity and privacy risks is a powerful way to add value to your loyalty program — even with travel plans on hold.

Why Data Protection Matters to Your Members

For months, cyber-criminals have exploited the current crisis with threats ranging from fake healthcare services to so-called Zoombombing attacks. The sudden surge in a remote workforce means even greater risks to both personal and business data. For example, a social- engineering attack may trick an at-home employee into visiting a malicious website that their office network would block.

It’s not surprising, then, that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received nearly 224,000 COVID-19-related fraud complaints and reported a total fraud loss of nearly $161M since the start of the year. The FBI has “urged” consumers to be vigilant in this dangerous time, noting that “there are threats you should be aware of so you can take steps to protect yourself.”

But consumers don’t always know how to safeguard themselves and their families against identity and privacy threats. Given this, IDX recently launched our new IDX Privacy product. IDX Privacy is an all-in-one easy to use product that will help your members securely access the internet via our SafeWiFi VPN, remove unwanted sites from tracking their every move and monitor the dark web for potential data breach exposures of their PII.

Offering identity and privacy protection gives your members the tools they need to help keep their digital data secure. It also strengthens loyalty by showing you care about their safety at all times — whether on the road or at home. According to Salesforce research, 84 percent of customers are more loyal to companies with strong security controls. Even better, you’re offering a long-lasting benefit that will endure, even as travel restrictions ease.

Whether at home or away from it, the digital world can be a dangerous place. IDX reassures your members that their wellbeing is your top priority in good times and in bad.