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#494: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Industry Voices | Collinson International Creates Enhanced Customer Lounge Experiences for Today’s Travelers

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Collinson International, a privately-owned provider of global travel and customer loyalty programs, doesn’t offer your run-of-the-mill airport experience. Instead of being squeezed in plastic seating, knee to knee with fellow travelers in the main concourse, the company provides a premium airport lounge experience with a range of amenities.  

Loyalty360 spoke with Jeremy Dalkoff VP of Partnerships and Travel Experiences at Collinson International, the operator of the popular Priority Pass, on how the company delivers a high-end, seamless, stress-free experience for travelers at more than 1,800 airport lounges worldwide. 

SPEAKER_01:

Hi everyone, this is AJ Schneider from Loyalty360, welcoming you to another edition of Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Industry Voices. In these episodes, we talk to the leading agencies, technology partners, and consultants in customer, channel, and brand loyalty about the technology, trends, and best practices that drive customer loyalty. Today we're speaking with Jeremy Dalkoff, Vice President of Partnerships and Travel Experiences at Collinson International, which is the operator of Priority Pass, which I think probably a lot of our viewers are familiar with. Welcome, Jeremy, and thanks for coming on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for having me. Looking forward to the conversation.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome. So for those who aren't familiar with Collinson, tell us a little bit about the company and its brands, including Priority Pass.

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. So Collinson is a global leader of travel experiences and loyalty solutions. We work with over 1,400 banks, 90 airlines, and 600 clients around the world. Our flagship brand is Priority Pass, as many people are aware of. We also have other brands associated with Lounge Access. But what it is, it's a global lounge access program. Today it offers more than 1,800 lounges and other travel experiences, restaurants, spas, gaming, a bunch of other things in the airport space that we offer for our customers. And we offer uh lots of different experiences as such. We also work uh on the Airport Dimensions brand, which is our own company that owns and operates lounges, a subset of that 1800 around the world.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. And and how about you, just to kind of get everyone familiar with with you too? How long have you been uh with the company? And have you always been in the loyalty and customer experience arena?

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. I've I've been with Collinson uh for over three years now, going on four years. I've over close to 20 years in the travel and loyalty space. I started uh many many years ago. I was at American Express, built the responsible for the centurion lounges and and uh get that program up and going. Then I worked for other lounge companies. So I've been on the credit card side, operation side, and and sort of the partnership and loyalty side. Uh throughout, it's really about creating meaningful experiences for customers that drive loyalty and that's sort of the the feather around my uh my experience.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. And actually that's a that's a great uh intro into the into the next question I was gonna ask. From your perspective, having you know been at the forefront of of a lot of the programs that people are familiar with out there, what do you see as the key to building a successful loyalty program?

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. I mean, I mean it's really understanding what your customers want to an experience and figuring out how you can deliver that and creating some stickiness in in that experience. So for Priority Pass, we're you know, we we're this middleman between banks and credit cards and and lots of things and airports in in many ways. And and we're we're sort of the glue that that brings this together around that that experience. And so it's it's finding things that meet that are meaningful to customers, figuring out how you can bring it to market, how you can how you can you know commercialize it and how you can add value for everybody in the overall ecosystem. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And and and with that, you you guys are kind of like you mentioned you're kind of the middleman in in a lot of these cases. How do you guys at Collinson actually define customer loyalty and and how do you measure it? And and and is that a separate measurement from your clients doing their programs versus Collinson itself?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. What we don't see uh on the Collinson and Priority Pass side is the value of the of the customers that that use our benefit. Uh on the bank side, they they do a lot of measuring around the the value of customers. And I remember that from my American Express days around how you acquire, how you retain, and how you engage with customers and measuring how people perform that do that versus that don't do that. Well, we know in our business at Parity Pass is, you know, we're there to deliver that experience and make it meaningful for them. So, you know, what can we track? We look at usage, we look at trends, we look at, you know, where people are going and where people are using the benefit. And we look at the variety of things that we offer is what are people engaging with and how long are they engaging with it? Are they going every time they travel, which is great? Are they going half the time they travel? Are they seeking multiple things in their departure and destination and all those things? And for us, it's really getting people to use the benefit and value the benefit and working with you know that entire ecosystem to make it as valuable as possible for the customers.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. So let's let's drill down on memory paths a little bit. As you've mentioned, it's the the flagship of Collinson's airport and travel enhancement portfolio. Talk a little bit about the demand for airport lounges um and and the other experiences that make traveling more palatable, which it's an interesting time to be asking that question, I think, because of everything going on right now. Um, you know, with the airports being so stressed and so on. So um if you can, um maybe weave some of that into your answer as well. You know, when when things, you know, I'll call them sort of crisis type situations happen. How does that play a factor in that demand as well?

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. I I I so we can all sort of remember back in uh 2021 or late 2020 when you took your first flight back after like the COVID shutdown. For me, it was as a heavy business traveler, it was almost, I think it was 51 weeks where I was grounded, if you will. And then being back on the airplane sometime, I think it was late February, early March 2021. And it's like, wow, there's nobody there. There's so much room wherever you go. You had an empty seat next to you in the air in the airplane, and and uh, you know, walking in the terminal and half the things are closed. And then fast forward to here we where we are now, and lines and congestion and and airplanes are being full. Uh and and just in lounges, there's more and more customers seeking that. And there's cues, right? And it's that's the experience we are today. And there's just a huge boom of of travel in in the US and many, many places around the world with, you know, and the interconnect kind of activity of people traveling everywhere. And it's uh we've seen a huge increase in in lounge visits, uh, I think over 30% in the in the last 12 months is what we've seen. And we continue to see that go up and up and up. And as much as customers are visiting more, airports are seeing the ability to add more lounge space. They're just not growing fast enough. And we're not able to add things uh fast enough to our program to meet all the demand. And you know, you know, how do we navigate that? We navigate as best as possible to to bring in lots of technology that we can talk about uh in a bit around how you can improve that that travel experience. But that you know, that that's the state of the business today. And even the most recent, you know, few weeks or so with uh with you know the reduction of flights and how that's playing out. And and uh, you know, what we've seen in from our customers is you have some different different things going on. You have customers that are spending more time at the checkpoint and more, you know, it takes longer to get through. So they're spending less time in the lounge. So dual times are shorter a bit for a bunch of our customers. And then you have customers that are coming to the airport four hours, five hours before, or or or they're they're having massive delays. So instead of spending an hour in a lounge, they're spending three hours. So it's this mixed bag of uh of travelers out there. I think there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty right now that people are dealing with, and but hopefully that'll be sorted soon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So I I have to ask, when I know we're gonna talk a little bit about the the circle that you guys recently did, which which is largely focused on technology. So I want to go back to that, but but but surely, as you guys have done previous studies and so on and asked consumers what is the driving force behind their desire to go to a lounge versus hang out in in the regular part of the terminal. What do you what is the primary answer? What is the what is the impetus for people wanting to be in the lounge?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I I use the term that we see a lot in uh in South and Latin America, which is sala vip, right? VIP lounge, VIP club. And that's the feeling that people want is, you know, I don't want to sit out there with everybody. I want to go to this elevated experience and feel special. And there's this sense of feeling special and feeling uh, you know, premium along the way. And people seek that out. They're going there, you know, lounges usually used to have to be on Main Street. You need to put a lounge right by the checkpoint or right where people are going, otherwise, people won't go. You can put it in the basement in the mezzanine, you can put it tucked away in a corner. People will seek it out and people will want to go there and enjoy it. And people want the food and beverage, they they want sort of a quiet seat, the the Wi-Fi, the work, and there's a mixed bag of what the customers, you know, what they want in the lounge, but it's this notion of being different and it's it's a haven from the hustle and bustle of the terminal. Even if it's busy and allowed, it feels a little different, and and that's what people really are seeking out.

SPEAKER_01:

I've I've heard stories of uh executives who will get on a flight to go somewhere specifically because they like the lounge in that particular airport. They'll work all day and then end up flying back, you know, uh in the evening, um, but that's where they do their business.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. People people seek them out. And there's there's all these travel blogs and and you know, lots of ways to find out, you know, different nooks and crannies. And even we've added our uh ratings in the Priority Pass app to see how customers are ready in the different lounges that we have as a way for people to learn sort of the, you know, the the the more preferred ones or the less preferred ones and the different amenities that that they offer.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. And and so let's go back to that survey that you guys recently did, which which again, I think, was largely focused on how technology fits into people's perception of of travel in general, but also got into the specifics of of how it relates to the lounges as well. Um, so let me just ask that question. How does technology uh here in 2025 sort of play into that airport travel experience and then specifically in the lounges?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I think the the notion of like going blind into that experience is is removed in in many ways with with the growth of technology, right? You you you order a car service, you know it'll arrive in two minutes or four minutes, right? It's not just it's not there's there's not there's not uncertainty any anymore of uh there's variability, but there's there's less uncertainty into you know when it'll come to you. You can book your spot in in the TSA line or your clear you know travel line and sort of reserve your spot, whether it's fast track or whether it's uh you know regular security, but you can sort of you know figure out when you're going into the line, and there's even more information on on what cues are today. So it's it's really the the notion of like getting people more information uh to remove the uncertainty. In in the lounges, we added pre-booking. So you want to reserve a spot in the lounge, you can pre-book it. And and the way I talk about it is uh you want to go to a nice restaurant tonight for dinner, you're not just showing up there at 6 p.m. and and sort of hoping for the best, you know, cross your fingers, hope for the best. No, you're reserving a table at that restaurant. It's the same thing with the lounges, is you want to have guarantee yourself access, you you know, you you you reserve it, you pre-book it, and you sort of guarantee your access that way. And you know, adding more of those those tools, those those uh things to help people on their travel journey is is what you see us rolling out these days.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And and what I found fascinating was, and maybe this isn't related specifically to the land, it's that the survey covered the collection of data from consumers uh to help the travel experience be a smoother one. And and some of that data that was talked about in the survey had to do with biometrics, which which is a pretty, I mean, that's pretty personal information. And what the survey showed was that people, if it if it enhanced their travel experience, if it if it made their trip smoother, they were more than willing by significant percentage on the survey to provide that data, which is fascinating because it it's almost counterintuitive to the discussions that we're having as a society today about sharing personal information in in almost any other context, you know, whether it's you know, um uh, you know, filling out something uh online, you know, signing up for a subscription, whatever the case is. Like a lot of times people don't want to share that data. Why is it so different when it comes to a travel experience that people are just willing to say yes to scan me, whatever the case is?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I think if people realize they can get value from that and a benefit to that, they're they're willing to do it. And you go to a foreign country, right? It it's not a it's not uncertain, it's not a forum for them to like take your fingerprints. And and they've been doing that for years. And and now it's the eyes, they're right, the iris scan and different different ways of that. So and I and I think uh as travelers are more younger people show up and and and travel, right? There people are younger generation, I think, is more willing to share things than than an older generation. And you know, to me, it's yes, I'll board that, I'll go through security with my face because it's faster, it's easier, right? And I don't have to take out my phone and get the QR code and make sure, you know, wait for them to wait 10 seconds to confirm in their system, boom, it goes through much faster. And and that's that's the value that that you see is is, you know, but when when customers I think see the value in it, they're more willing to share it and and go along that journey on on what it takes. Trust is a key thing, right? If if there's if people abuse that, that information or or that data, the whole thing falls apart. But that's uh let's keep it that way that everyone, everything is safe and secure.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, and and you you touched on another aspect, which is the the generational aspect. And I and I want to sprinkle in some some some socioeconomic discussion as well. But I mean it's it sounds a little cliche at this point. You know, we're constantly saying, you know, uh uh millennials and and Gen Z are are uh uh much quicker to adopt technology and so on, and and that seems to be the case here. Is that um correlative with with what you're seeing? I think you mentioned that, but also I think what's interesting is you know, there there is a cost to um entry um based on how you're getting into a lounge, you know, whether it's the credit card, the annual credit card fee, if that's how your, you know, you if that's how your access is based or whatever the case might be. Um so again, you you've got you've got a a younger generation who's saying, yes, use technology, yes, I want that experience, but they also don't have as much money as as the the older generation um, you know, that that may be used to that. What can can you kind of walk through that uh that that dichotomy there?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's uh you know, the who travels more, it's more affluent people, right? More affluent tend to be a little older that are more established, right? The higher net worth people. And and that's that's the that's the generalization. But you see lots and lots of pockets and people aspiring, and they they they um they they sort of save money for for the one big trip a year, and that that's what they love. And so it's this mix of sort of infrequent users with the more heavy users, and and that that's what that we try to do is is create the experiences that that tailor for for both. The premium credit cards are expensive, right? They're they're now six, seven, eight hundred, even nine hundred dollars a year, but it's uh it's you know, you're paying those annual fees in the US, but you're getting a whole host of benefits, right? Travel benefits, leisure benefits, a lot of those different things. And uh it's sort of an investment in sort of this lifestyle that that you know that that's created, which is which is great to see.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, and that's probably a good segue because I wanted to ask you um about Chase, which I think is is one of your clients. Um and you you guys recently released some information about their new program, um and uh and and which which gives their customers access to to um uh priority pass lounges. And the implication was that that Chase um either didn't have or wasn't happy with the the current program that they had and they wanted to redo it. What was the um uh uh what did they feel like they were missing, you know, and and and was that the driver for wanting to redo the program?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mean, I think so. I think Chase launched the premium credit cards a handful of years ago and and added a priority pass. And you know, what what does priority pass offer in many ways is is scale, right? 1800 things and in in 650 or so airports, 150 or so countries uh around the world. So massive, massive uh large-scale experiences. But what it doesn't offer uh it in many ways is really, really bespoke branded opportunities for a subset of customers. And what Chase has done with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounges is is uh taking a really, really premium experience as part of the overall lounge uh experience. So we're working with Chase at Oakdoor Airport Dimensions team on building out and and operating and growing that Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge uh program, right, which has the priority pass component, but also these really premium lounges in LaGuardia and a bunch of airports around the US. And you see that growing really, really strongly for them and for us. And it's been really great partnership with them on that.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. We're were are there any specific things that maybe you can talk about, maybe you can't, um, that kind of sets their program you know apart from some of their competitors, which I'm gonna do a double question here for you, which is also uh puts, I think, Collinson and Priority Pass in an interesting situation because the the priority pass piece of it and the access to the priority pass lounges is the is the common denominator that uh a lot of different companies like Chase and whoever are are using. So it kind of puts some pressure uh to for them to differentiate their version it of it from you know this other company over here. And so how how do you navigate yeah?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, the first thing is we have different teams working on the different uh relationships to help help push uh you know to keep keep those those sort of trade secrets uh separate, uh uh, which is a key thing for us and and for them. But it's true, priority pass with with the hundreds of banks that we work with, we work with this bank and that bank who are competitors of each other, and we offer you know this program. So there's lots of ways to tailor it, and there's lots of ways, some some uh more transparent than others, some behind the scenes, some some not, which is what we continuously work on. And and there are things within the Priority Pass app that depending on which which membership you log in, you'll see this thing or you'll see that thing. And there's different variations of that. And and as we roll out different things and grow the customer offerings, you'll see more variation of those things uh coming out there. So, you know, in different categories, this customer may work with something and this customer may not offer this to their customers. So, how do we uh how do we work closely with them? Um, you know, for for Chase, it's really around like, yes, offering this global program and this global uh experience, but offering, you know, consistent. Consistency in some ways. So for them, you know, there's a great tie-in with it with a Chase app where you get a lot of the lounge listings built in there. You get the you know Chase branded QR code or priority pass access, which you you can use in their lounges, in our lounges, and and in different places around the world, which not everyone has today. So, you know, that that's a unique thing that you know that we work with them on, for example.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. Well, and again, that's probably another good transition into some some discussion about personalization, which really um we, if you pull back to 100,000 feet, like every company that has a loyalty program right now is is thinking about personalization. How can I make this experience that I'm providing uh for my customers, you know, sort of as unique to them as possible so that they feel like they're being listened to and their concerns and and and desires are being addressed and so on. Um obviously, you know, as you just mentioned, you know, Chase can kind of you know create a unique experience for its its customers and its new lounges. Um you guys are are part of that to some degree, uh, and certainly your other clients. But from Collinson's perspective, how does personalization come into play uh as you're working with you know with banks and other clients?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mean, I I think personalization is no longer optional. It's sort of required and expected, but it's a journey, you know, as you tie in different ecosystems and different technology. And I remember uh a um I had a meet and assist uh book for me in in one of the airports, I think I was in in Europe. And literally I I told them my flight information and and it was confirmed. And I pulled up uh on the curb and they were there and they're like, Mr. Dawk, we've been waiting for you. And like, wow, like that that's a unique special experience. And that's more difficult to to to play out and and to scale, but but that's that's our our our Gorge star, if you will, of uh, you know, when the customer walks in and you know, using facial recognition, using biometrics, using whatever it is, knowing who they are, knowing where they like to sit. So again, most lounges, you you sit, you you choose where you sit today. But there are some where you get you get escorted to a certain table, sort of like a like a um hostess, you know, you know, if you will. And so how do you how do you you know know what the customer wants and likes and and tying in beverages and and all those things into the experience? So that's where we want to get to. It's uh it's difficult with with uh such a large ecosystem, um, but there are you know small things that we do along the way to test and and learn as we develop it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I as you were talking, I'm sitting there thinking, I am clearly going to the wrong lounges. Uh because that sounds fantastic. Amazing, yes, yes. Um, and and so maybe we can kind of kind of wrap up in in talking about um you know that that personal experience and and how that gets delivered. We we talked about technology earlier, um, which you know things like facial recognition can can make things you know more efficient, quicker, um you know, less hassled, you know, you don't have to to grab your ID and so on, it's you know it's all taken care of for you, et cetera, et cetera. Um but the other piece of this is the human element. And as we all know, and again, today is probably a great example of of when the human element of Tito comes to play. Um people when they don't get the answer that they want, or when the experience isn't exactly what they want it to be. Um anecdotally speaking, they're not turning to the technology saying, hey, I need you to fix this for me. They're generally looking for a person to to do that. How are you guys blending that, you know, sort of technology-based experience with the human element and making sure that that part's not lost?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, definitely human interaction is key. And just being able to look at someone and to smile and to all those things, like technology can't replicate those things. And so even some some the notion of like, you know, there's a couple lounges that are doing sort of robotic bars or baristas or that kind of thing. And they're small tests, but being able to walk up to a bar and order a drink with someone and have a little dialogue, it's like it's it's it's special, right? And people want that. And it's uh it's it's how do you scale and grow and and reduce cost, right, where necessary, but create this this wonderful experience. And again, as I said, why do people come to the lounge? They want to feel special. And you can't just make it a stale environment that that is all uh sort of electronic, right? You need you need that staff, you need the the people to care to check in. And there are problems in the in the travel experience where people need to check in on this or check in on that and sort of deal with issues, and having someone at that concierge desk, if you will, to help them is tremendous. Even though you could just put a phone, as we call it the bat phone, you call the phone and you reach a magic line. Having someone in person to sort of help through that is is really, really special and unique and something we look for.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, Jeremy, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today on our Leaders in Customer Loyalty podcast. It was great getting your perspective on customer loyalty, and we look forward to learning more from you and the team at Collinson.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I want to thank everyone for tuning in to our Leaders in Customer Loyalty podcast series. If you haven't already, please subscribe and follow Loyalty360 on YouTube and LinkedIn. The links are provided below. And please join us every Tuesday for another edition of our Industry Voices podcast. See you next time.