Wyndham Hotels Named Best Loyalty Program By USA Today
USA Today has honored Wyndham Rewards® with the title of being the best hotel loyalty program for the sixth year in a row. Loyalty members have enjoyed another year of savings and prime benefits for their stays at the 50,000 hotel and premium vacation rental locations that Wyndham Hotels has to offer.
"No other hotel rewards program is as simple, generous and offers more redemption options than Wyndham Rewards," said Dana Rosenberg, SVP of marketing, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. "Year after year, our program gets stronger and stronger – driven directly by the loyalty of our more than 100 million enrolled members, dedicated franchisees and strategic partners, who helped make this win possible."
With over 103 million enrolled members, loyalty guests are choosing Wyndham over competitors year after year. Nearly one in every two check-ins at Wyndham hotels in the U.S. are Wyndham Rewards members. Wyndham Rewards is the only hotel loyalty program where members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay and can redeem points towards free nights at tens of thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals around the world or a host of other rewards like tours, activities, gift cards, shopping and more. Free nights start at just 7,500 points per room per night, while discounted nights start at just 1,500 points per room per night.
To learn more about Wyndham Rewards, or to join for free, visit www.wyndhamrewards.com.
For more information about the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, visit www.10best.com.
Lyft Invests More Resources Into In-App Advertising
Lyft is experimenting with new revenue streams by introducing in-app advertising. The new ads will introduce Lyft riders to new brands and personalize the next round of ads to fit their personal preferences. The ads will be present throughout the app experience while riders wait for their rides, matching with a driver to pick them up, and while the passenger is traveling.
Lyft intends to serve display ads at first, and then plans to introduce video ads by the end of 2023. Lyft will use its vast amount of user data, which includes payment methods, ride histories, and lifestyle segments. This targeting will be based on anonymized and aggregated data to ensure user privacy.
While users can opt out of data sharing, there's no avoiding the ads themselves. This initiative follows in the footsteps of its competitor, Uber, which announced its own in-app advertising earlier this year.
The ride-sharing service has around 6,500 in-car tablets and 800 car-top displays, offering multiple advertising touchpoints. Its presence in major cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco also promises substantial visibility for ads.
Nearly 9 in 10 Marketers Have Used AI in their Work, Use Regularly
Marketing professionals are rapidly embracing artificial intelligence to experiment with new ideas and ways to communicate in their work. A new survey by The Conference Board, in collaboration with Ragan Communications, has found a rapid increase in AI usage by marketing professionals and marketing divisions, raising eyebrows about the potential for AI in the workplace.
According to AI in Marketing & Communications: Boosting Productivity—and Creativity, Too?, 87% of marketers and 85% of communicators have used AI or experimented with AI tools for at least one application. A majority have incorporated AI into their regular workflow: The survey of 287 respondents found that 68% in marketing and 60% in communications are now using AI at least "sometimes" in their daily work.
"There is no doubt that new AI applications will transform the workflow in all areas of the marketing and corporate communications disciplines," said Ivan Pollard, Leader of the Marketing & Communications Center at The Conference Board. "We should embrace it, look for the upsides and focus on those places where our human genius is augmented by the power of machines. We work in an industry renowned for its innovation and we will keep driving forward powered by insights and adventure."
For marketers and communicators, AI currently serves as a productivity tool, freeing up time for strategy and creative work. Respondents are nearly unanimous in believing these benefits will continue:
82% expect productivity will improve with the further adoption of AI—compared to just 4% expecting productivity to deteriorate. Most marketers and communicators also expect AI to enhance learning and development, as well as financial results
For marketers, the top applications of AI include: summarizing content (44%), doing the legwork/inspiring thinking (41%), personalizing customer/user content (33%), conducting research (30%), producing content faster (30%), and improving customer service (17%).
Likewise, communicators are currently using AI for: summarizing content (41%), doing the legwork/inspiring thinking (35%), producing content faster (28%), conducting research (26%), writing press releases (17%), and writing speeches (14%).
"For marketers and communicators, a critical question has been AI's impact on creativity and quality of work," said Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher, Consumer Research at The Conference Board and author of the report. "Our research suggests that there's reason for optimism. If AI is used to inspire and augment—not replace—human ideas, the effect might well be synergistic and help elevate overall creativity."
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