Allegiant Travel Company, known for its domestic leisure travel services, recently opened the doors of the Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor, its much-awaited hotel-resort, on the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida. This opening signifies a significant shift in Allegiant’s business strategy, positioning it as an integrated travel company.
The Sunseeker Resort, sprawling across 22 waterfront acres, offers 785 premier guestrooms. This development is seen as a key event in Allegiant’s journey, expanding the range of services it offers to customers and potentially reshaping the future landscape of leisure travel.
Allegiant’s move into the resort business is part of its broader strategy to diversify its portfolio, which already includes ancillary products like rental cars and professional sports packages. For over 18 years, the airline has been brokering hotel rooms for third parties, but the Sunseeker Resort marks its first direct venture into the hospitality sector.
ALLWAYS Rewards: Integrating Air and Resort Services for Enhanced Customer Loyalty
Integral to this expansion is Allegiant’s loyalty program, ALLWAYS Rewards. The program enables members to earn points through various activities, including flying with Allegiant, staying at Sunseeker Resort, or renting a car via Allegiant.com. These points can then be redeemed for various services and amenities offered by Allegiant Travel Company.
The decision to establish the resort in Charlotte County, Florida, was announced in 2017. This location was chosen due to Allegiant’s successful air travel operations in the region. As of September, the airline has transported approximately 1.8 million passengers to and from Punta Gorda Airport, which serves as a key operational base for Allegiant and is conveniently located near the Sunseeker Resort.
Understanding Allegiant's Customer Base: The Profile of 'Avid Travelers
Allegiant’s customer base includes a significant portion of what the company refers to as “Avid Travelers.” These customers, making up about a third of Allegiant’s total clientele, are frequent flyers, often traveling nearly ten times a year on Allegiant and other airlines, drawn by Allegiant’s nonstop, point-to-point flights.
“This is a transformational project for Allegiant,” said Maurice J. Gallagher, CEO and founder of Allegiant. “It’s a catalyst for our continued growth as an integrated travel company and an example of how the industry can adapt to continue providing customers with the products and services they want.”
“We have helped pioneer selling ancillary products both inside and outside of an airplane, in turn, diversifying our revenue streams,” said Gregory Anderson, Allegiant president. “Over the past five years, we have sold on average about 300,000 ‘third-party’ hotel room nights per year to our customers. The opening of Sunseeker Resort is a key milestone in providing more customer offerings through our ‘first-party’ integrated resort.”