Norwegian has announced plans to replace its loyalty programme with a new platform and currency in partnership with Strawberry.
If like myself you are asking who or what is ‘Strawberry’, it’s because up until May of this year the company was known as Nordic Choice Hotels, before undergoing a rebrand.
The thinking behind the new name is that the group is “no longer just a hotel company”, with a portfolio of 120 restaurants, 20 spas, gyms, meeting places and arenas alongside its 225-odd hotels.
Anyway, back to the news. Norwegian says it will establish a joint company with Strawberry “that will provide a wider selection of services to the members of the companies’ respective loyalty programmes”.
There will be a common currency, and a new platform “where members can earn and use loyalty points across different programmes”.
The ultimate goal is to expand the platform beyond Norwegian and Strawberry, “to include new partners from the Nordics to give members even more opportunities to earn and spend loyalty points”.
The two company’s current loyalty programmes have a total of around 7.5 million members in the Nordic countries – a significant figure when you consider that the total population of the region is around 26 million.
More details about what shape the new platform and currency will take will be announced when the new company is launched later this year.
The news comes only months after the Norwegian Rewards programme had been revamped to include new benefits including free tea and coffee inflight for the most frequent flyers.
Commenting on the news Petter A. Stordalen, owner and founder of Strawberry, said:
“We currently offer a universe of exciting experiences and an attractive loyalty programme with fantastic partners. Strawberry’s ambition it to be relevant to more people more often.
“Uniting two companies with Nordic roots and histories to create a common loyalty currency is part of reaching this ambition.
“This will be a game changer for members and guests, providing people in the Nordic countries better and more frequent opportunities to earn and use their loyalty points. We look forward to embarking on this journey together with Norwegian.”
