The Pandemic Is Ongoing, but Brands Are Encouraging Travel Again

How many Americans would travel to Las Vegas in the middle of a pandemic if their flight was paid for? Evidently, at least 2,000. With social distancing still the recommended course of action in the U.S., travel remains at a low. While some airlines have noted a small uptick in travel, Memorial Day traffic was down 88%, falling from 9.5 million travelers in 2019 to 1.2 million across the weekend, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Despite this, airlines and hospitality brands are still beginning to prepare for the summer travel season. It's perhaps more important to the industry's bottom line than ever: The travel sector as a whole is still struggling in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Airlines are expected to lay off workers come Oct. 1, when their agreement not to fire workers in order to be eligible for bailout money from the federal government expires. To stem their losses during the busy season, the travel industry is attempting to lure back customers with sales and incentives to get people moving again—and to remain top of mind when travel does in fact return. Las Vegas gets ready to reopen—mostly [article_summary section="1"]On Thursday, Derek Stevens, owner of The D Las Vegas and Golden Gate, announced that his company would purchase 1,000 one-way tickets for travelers who can spring for a trip to Sin City the day its casinos are officially able to open on June 4. Within two hours, all the flights had been claimed—so Stevens added an additional 1,000 tickets. The idea had been in the works for a couple of weeks, Stevens told Adweek, and he was able to negotiate a group rate with Southwest, Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit and Sun Country airlines (he declined to specify how much the stunt cost). The flights leave most cities between June 3-11. Participants taking the free flight will still have to pay for their hotel once they land in Vegas and their flight home. [kickout id="1"] "I just felt like there was a huge amount of pent-up demand," Stevens said. "We knew there would be an opening day, we just wanted to jump-start it." Those travelers will see a different sort of Las Vegas when they arrive. Stevens' casinos are implementing social distancing measures, such as limiting three people to a blackjack table or a dice game. Half of the casinos' chairs will be removed. There's also anticipation that leisure travel will be first to return, and property owners are act accordingly. "We focus more on the independent traveler; the convention business is a little more difficult," said Stevens, as most corporate travel and live events remain on hold. Stevens feels his promotion follows the directives set out by Las Vegas health officials. "We have actively followed all CDC guidelines and all state guidelines; we're going to meet or exceed all of these," Stevens said. "Everyone has a different situation: Some people want to go out, some people [will] not for a long time, and that's OK. We need to be able to be sure we can provide a safe, clean and fun environment for those that do want to come back." In late May, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the city's destination marketing organization, ran a spot called "Imagine Vegas, Just for You" on television, encouraging travelers to picture Las Vegas as their own private playground. [kickout id="3"] "We're working to make it more intimate, with more space, and the excitement you've come to expect," a voiceover says during the ad. "If you've ever imagined a Vegas that was just for you, it's only here. And when it's ready, you'll be the first to know." Returning to the skies Airlines have also been promoting summer travel, particularly with fare sales. Budget airline Frontier offered a 90% discount on certain routes for flights booked before June 25. Alaska Airlines took a regional marketing approach. Using its own social channels, Alaska offered a 20% discount targeted at graduating seniors across the country (though anyone could take advantage of the promotion) with the help of celebrities from the Pacific Northwest, including Russell Wilson, Ciara, Macklemore, and basketball players Damian Lillard and Sue Bird. [kickout id="2"] The campaign was also given to superintendents in the state of Washington's public school system. (Alaska does not yet have the technology to gauge whether customers are, in fact, students or recent graduates.) Unlike Frontier's promotion, Alaska gave travelers the opportunity to book their travel through Sept. 30. Changes and refunds are still applicable, and the airline is waiving cancelation fees until the end of the year. "We're trying to find the right balance of reassuring people that it's safe to fly, and that we're doing everything we can to keep it clean and safe," said Natalie Bowman, director of marketing at Alaska Airlines. "At the same time, we're tapping into maybe some cabin fever that people might be experiencing." [article_summary section="2"]While no marketer wants to operate without a budget, the pandemic has pushed the limits of what airlines can do with their own media channels. "We're now in a situation where we're able to see what kind of demand we can drive without paid media and see how far we can push that. Paid media is usually the first crutch when demand is down," Bowman said. "Even if I was given a huge budget for Q4, I may have learned enough through this situation that I won't have to spend it in the same way." Of course, whether consumers should travel is a thornier question than if they simply can travel. But ultimately, legislators and people's own interests will supersede public health officials' concerns. "It's complicated," said Judith Stark, a professor who studies ethics at Seton Hall University. "To what extent is this travel really necessary? To what extend is it essential? Is it for entertainment, or is it to visit your sick mother? It relies upon the moral imagination of people to think through the kinds of choices we make." Marketers are accounting for that reluctance: For Alaska's loyalty members not yet ready to travel, the airline is teaming up with the fitness app Strava to give travelers a chance to continue to earn miles with sweat and determination. Members who log at least 360 minutes of physical activity either jogging, hiking or working out in their home will be entered into a sweepstakes to win between 10,000 and 100,000 miles. "We don't want people to be reckless, we don't want to be perceived as trying to encourage travel too soon," Bowman said. "But when people are comfortable and the states lift their bans, we obviously want to be the first airline they think of."