NEW YORK, NY—Journey, a new loyalty platform designed specifically for independent hospitality operators, officially launched. The platform is tailored for boutique hotels, luxury resorts, and short-term rentals.
The platform uses AI to help properties personalize guest experiences, improve operational efficiency, and encourage direct bookings, reducing reliance on third-party channels and commissions. Journey addresses the lack of access to loyalty infrastructure independent operators have faced, as over 1,300 properties are already on the platform, including Nihi Sumba in Indonesia, Onera in Texas, and Dunton in Colorado.
“For independent operators, loyalty has historically meant handing over guests and revenue to third-party platforms,” said John Sutton, founder and chief executive officer of Journey. “Journey is for Independents struggling to compete with major chains on tech and data, and for guests growing tired of generic loyalty programs.”
Journey combines operational intelligence with guest-facing flexibility:
- For operators: Journey offers AI-powered guest insights, dynamic pricing, and an automated loyalty engine, giving independents the ability to personalize at scale and increase revenue.
- For guests: Journey delivers rewards at standout properties, with a flexible, tiered program that prioritizes behavior and discovery over spend. Members can pool or transfer points across the network and use “pending points” from a current stay for on-site perks.
Journey’s proprietary Hospitality Experience Platform (HXP) integrates with a property’s existing system to enable real-time personalization and data-driven decision-making. As more properties join, the system continuously improves, leveraging shared data to enhance recommendations and increase the value of its network-wide loyalty currency.
