It’s hard to find a travel company that doesn’t claim to offer the most productive visitor service, but for those of us who travel, visitor service is lacking and finding a company that treats you with respect can be challenging.
This year’s Elliott Advocacy Readers’ Choice Awards, which have just been released, are a roadmap for travelers who want an upgraded travel experience. Now in their 19th year, the awards poll readers of my nonprofit consumer advocacy site on the top airline, car rental company, hotel and travel insurance company.
For 2024, a few surprises are planned in most of those categories. Here are the companies in terms of visitor service, according to readers:
Delta stunned the airline industry last year by beating Southwest Airlines, which had been hit by a series of holiday cancellations. But no one saw a practice session coming. Delta held on by the narrowest margin to win gold for a second year.
How did Delta do it? Its operational power has made it the most punctual primary airline in the United States. It also added new onboard connectivity features for passengers in 2023.
Of course, Delta made some missteps along the way, adding the botched launch of a SkyMiles common flyer program (the airline temporarily backtracked). But even those disorders were not enough to remove him from the most sensible place.
Korean Air dethroned British Airways, which had won 4 years in a row, doubling its visitor service projects in 2023.
Korean Air consumers say they are inspired by the refreshed cabin interiors and improved service, especially on some of the newer planes. The airline also made some changes to its loyalty program last year that pleased consumers.
Korean Air’s commitment to improvement goes beyond rhetoric. I visited the airline’s headquarters in Seoul last fall. I spoke with leaders who reiterated their deep commitment to better service. And I discovered an airline that, in a state of almost constant improvement, right?to a total renovation of its headquarters.
This year Enterprise took the top position in the car rental sector.
Enterprise raced ahead of Hertz to win in its category. It did so by opening new franchise locations and adding new multi-modal travel options, both of which customers wanted. It has also avoided the missteps of its competitors with a cautious approach to electrification. Enterprise offers EV options, but it does not impose high recharging fees and is taking more of a wait-and-see approach to electric vehicles.
Viking is the cruise line in terms of visitor service in 2024.
Viking won in this category for the second year in a row. Last year was a blast, some say it was a fluke, but this year the complaint has been silenced. Viking has a favorite among cruise ship passengers, who appreciate its reliable and quality service. He also brought new itineraries and ships that were praised by critics.
Marriott is the best hotel for customer service this year.
Once again, Marriott claimed the top spot in the Readers’ Choice survey — although second-place Hilton is steadily gaining on its rival. Customers say they’ve appreciated the flexibility of Marriott’s loyalty program and a wide range of new hotel options where they can redeem their points. But mostly, there haven’t been any complaints about Marriott. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to be number one: No one is complaining about your service.
Expedia’s new Seattle campus.
Expedia took the lead from Booking. com to 2024. La biggest update for Expedia for 2023 is the reinvention of its loyalty program. In mid-2023, Hotels. com, Expedia, and Vrbo added their systems to One Key. According to Expedia, existing stamps and award nights changed to OneKeyCash, which consumers can use across all three brands. Despite the complaints of some readers, it is not a crisis. (And what’s more, you can have a loyalty program crisis and still be number one — see Delta for more details. )
Allianz introduced the most productive visitor service in the insurance category for 2024.
Allianz has won again in this category by relentlessly improving its product and making sure that all its consumers are taken care of. For instance, in 2023, it added 12 new covered occasions of cancellation and interruption. It also added new possible options for consumers, adding an option to cancel at any time. Allianz is also one of the most technologically complex companies, having followed complex device learning as early as 2019 to speed up its claims process.
Airbnb remains the dominant vacation rental platform and a reader favorite because it’s easy to use and provides quick support to visitors. It also advanced its product when other platforms lagged behind. Some of the most prominent innovations come with a new guest-favorite option. for other people for vacation rentals and new generation of booking filtering that avoids noisy parties.
Want more customers to buy food by 2024? Here is a full list of Readers’ Choice winners.