Loyalty Is Being Rewritten
From rewards to relationship.
Welcome to Issue No. 004 of Sojourn. An independent publication packed with short, opinionated interpretation for those shaping the future of travel & hospitality.
Loyalty is emotional.
Interpretation: The old loyalty model was built on repetition. Stay more, get more. Points, tiers, upgrades. But people don’t stay loyal to brands the way they used to. They stay loyal to places that feel like theirs. Frequency is no longer the bond. Identification is.
From points to belonging: The most resilient brands aren’t optimizing for return visits. They’re building emotional gravity. People don’t ask, “Where should I go back to?” They ask, “Where do I belong?” Loyalty is moving from incentives to alignment.
Cultural signal: You can see this in places like Soho House, where access, community, and shared codes matter more than discounts or perks. Membership isn’t a deal. It’s an identity marker. People don’t stay because it’s cheaper. They stay because leaving feels like stepping out of something they’re part of.
Looking ahead: The strongest loyalty programs won’t look like programs. They’ll look like worlds.
Bottom line: The next era of loyalty won’t be earned. It will be felt.
The more I look at it, the more it feels like loyalty today is about identity, not incentives or amenities. Agree, disagree? Tell me your thoughts here in the comment.