Phygital Travel Loyalty: Accor & Cathay Pacific in APAC

Across Asia's travel landscape, brands are facing a clear imperative: deliver digital ease without sacrificing the human warmth of hospitality. As expectations evolve, travel leaders are leaning into “phygital” strategies; blending physical and digital touchpoints to craft connected, personalised, and frictionless journeys.

Two brands making significant headway in this space are Accor and Cathay Pacific. From digital loyalty reinvention to hybrid booking models, they’re showing that the future of customer engagement isn’t about choosing between online or offline, it’s about making both work better, together.

Enhancing the Guest Journey Through Digital-Physical Integration

At Accor, Grace Ang, Loyalty Manager for Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, highlights a deceptively simple but high-impact initiative: digitising the welcome drink experience. “We eliminated paper vouchers and created a seamless digital experience. Upon booking, Silver and above members will be able to view a key members benefit that they have Welcome drink vouchers automatically on the ALL app. From the 1st day of their stay, members will be able to redeem the voucher on the app in order to receive their drink from the hotel staff at the bar or restaurants. The result? A sustainable perk that improves operational efficiency and increases awareness of this benefit and member satisfaction by five points.

“What made it work,” Grace notes, “was smart personalisation using guest data, staff training for smooth redemption, and continuous feedback to eliminate friction points. We didn’t just digitise a process, we reimagined the guest journey.”

Accor’s digital welcome drink experience, as seen in the ALL app. The seamless, paperless process enhances guest satisfaction and reduces waste.

On the airline side, Cathay Pacific’s Andre Sin, Head of Digital Sales, points to the transformation of their premium Vantage Pass product. Traditionally available only via agents or call centres, the offering was redesigned for digital-first access - a complex task given the product’s structure. Vantage Pass involved intricate multi-destination, multi-passenger, and class-specific routing requirements that most standard booking engines couldn't handle without compromising the premium experience.

Cathay Pacific's Vantage Pass. Traditionally an offline product, Vantage Pass was reimagined for a seamless digital-first experience

“In 2024, we brought Vantage Pass to life on our website through a fully integrated experience,” Andre says. The result? A 25% boost in sales volume, with most purchases shifting online.

But this wasn’t merely a technical triumph; it was a profound enhancement of the customer experience, empowering them with confidence and control from the very first click. One standout innovation was a custom-built seat availability widget. “This unique widget gave customers unprecedented confidence, allowing them to visualise and plan their premium journeys with clarity before committing,” Andre explains.

Combined with robust after-sales support like rebooking and refund options, Cathay reimagined a legacy product for the modern traveller — delivering digital empowerment without losing its premium edge.

Loyalty That Lives Beyond Points

For both brands, loyalty has become more than just a programme, it’s a personalised ecosystem rooted in everyday behaviour and emotional connection.

At Cathay, loyalty is defined as a journey of relevance and recognition, not just a points programme. “Through initiatives like Asia Miles gamification and lifestyle integrations, we’ve built a loyalty ecosystem that feels intuitive, rewarding, and emotionally connected,” says Andre. “Our members don’t just earn, they feel seen.”

He offers a glimpse into a typical member’s day. It begins with a wellness goal like staying hydrated, which earns Asia Miles. At lunch, the members select from curated menus at partner restaurants that offer bonus miles. After work, they clock 10,000 steps or visit the gym to unlock additional rewards. The day closes with a drink at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a laundry drop-off at Vogue Laundry — both Cathay-affiliated and both offering more opportunities to earn.

While this may generalise routines, the intent is clear: Cathay builds tailored ecosystems around real behaviours. Frequent diners receive culinary-focused content. Wellness-minded travellers see spa experiences and fitness perks. These touchpoints are powered by a Customer 360 model that learns from individual behaviour — not demographics — and respects privacy, consent, and digital safety at every turn.

“Every recommendation is opt-in. Every perk is contextual. Every interaction is designed to feel like a thoughtful gesture, not a marketing push,” Andre adds. “This is how we make loyalty feel earned, personal, and seamless — across both screens and spaces.”

“We use a Customer 360 model to understand behaviour — not demographics — and we ensure every touchpoint is opt-in, privacy-respecting, and designed to feel like a thoughtful gesture.”

At Accor, loyalty isn't a static program; it's a dynamic, living relationship built on genuine commitment, seamlessly connecting our digital tools with the warmth of our physical spaces.

We believe loyalty must be truly earned. That's why we transparently celebrate each member's unique journey, meticulously tracking nights stayed and clearly showing their progress toward the next tier milestone. Our 'Year in Review' eCard isn't just data; it transforms their personal travel story into a shareable badge of honor, showcasing countries conquered and brands experienced. This commitment to integrity means we never devalue earned status with shortcuts like status matches — because true loyalty deserves exclusive, hard-won recognition.

Behind the scenes, a powerful internal tool, the Accor Customer Digital Card (ACDC), equips over 4,000 staff members (Heartists) to anticipate preferences, remember past conversations, and create those invaluable 'home away from home' moments, ensuring a returning guest is never treated as a stranger.

The seamless experience ensures planning flows effortlessly across devices. Our member cards, for instance, function offline internationally, eliminating connectivity worries. Add to that point-earning local experiences and personalised offers based on travel patterns and you get more than a programme. You're architecting loyalty for the phygital future.

Where Brands Get It Wrong and How to Get It Right

As the industry races to digitise, both Grace and Andre warn against mistaking automation for innovation. “Many companies are literally digitizing themselves out of the human connections that define great hospitality,” Grace cautions. Guests find themselves trapped in frustrating digital loops — navigating convoluted menus, struggling with non-responsive chatbots, or receiving generic messages that completely miss the nuances of their needs.

Here's our breakthrough insight, the cornerstone of Accor's entire digitization strategy: The most successful digital transformations don't eliminate human connection; they magnify it, making it more efficient and deeply personal.

At one of our hotels, Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore, our check-in kiosks perfectly embody this. While providing lightning-fast self-service for guests prioritising speed, our dedicated Heartists remain on-site, ready to assist, recognise members, and deliver the personal attention that elevates a transaction into true hospitality. The outcome: a 60% reduction in wait times and a 4-point lift in check-in satisfaction.

Automated check-in counters at Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore. These kiosks blend digital efficiency with human oversight, ensuring a fast yet personal welcome.

Andre echoes the importance of building for experience, not just function. With Vantage Pass, success came from designing around real customer expectations, not forcing them into templated journeys. From planning to post-booking, every step was considered.

What the Phygital Leaders Are Doing Right

Phygital success isn’t about layering tech on top of old systems but about rethinking the customer experience from the ground up. For Accor and Cathay Pacific, this means using technology not to replace human interaction, but to amplify it.

By blending emotional loyalty, operational simplicity, and contextual personalisation, they’re proving that seamless doesn’t have to mean soulless. And as the travel sector navigates recovery, differentiation will belong to the brands that connect more meaningfully — not just more efficiently.

Our contributors:

Grace Ang, Loyalty Manager, Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific, Accor

Andre Sin, Head of Digital Sales, Cathay Pacific