Mike McGearty explains why loyalty keeps paying off, why airlines are getting nervous about who they partner with, and what has him stumped heading into 2027.
Mike McGearty is back in the WiT Studio a year after his last visit, and the CEO and co-founder of Meili says his take on loyalty has only gotten stronger. His reasoning is simple – “when loyalty is involved, it enhances conversion, reduces cancelation, no shows, etc.” He says promotions tied to a customer’s loyalty profile beat ones that aren’t “by a significant margin.” He also shares a result from one airline customer that’s hard to ignore. So, what did they change to see it, and how big was the jump?
Then there’s the OTA question. Big online travel agencies keep pushing hard into B2B, and McGearty says airlines and hotel groups are starting to wonder if that’s good for them. One question keeps coming up is “how is my data being used?” He also lays out why he sees this tension as a big opportunity for Meili over the next five years.
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Meili recently took over an airline’s operation in Latin America, and McGearty says the biggest adjustment was the content. The previous setup had way more options on the shelf, but it didn’t convert. McGearty wasn’t surprised, and he explains why, pointing to how broker businesses make decisions. “A lot of your decisions are made on the margin of the product.” His fix was about getting the right brands in front of the right customers. “It’s not over stacking the shelf.” So how many brands is the right number, and who ended up on the shelf?
On AI, McGearty says Meili’s use has sped up across the whole company, not just the tech team. That’s changing who they hire. He names two types of roles he wouldn’t have expected to prioritize a year ago, and he hints at why they matter now. He also talks about where airlines might still be leaving money on the table with ancillaries. His answer might surprise you, since he starts by saying “I think airlines have optimized their own ancillaries really well at this stage.” So where’s the last bit of upside, and what does a free-text search have to do with it?
While people are using AI to search for trips, McGearty says only a small percentage feel comfortable booking that way. “Technology is going at such a pace, but what pace is the customer going to go at?” He says the answer will decide what Meili builds for its partners next. Will customers get there in 2027, or is the wait longer than the hype suggests?
