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Home  Agenda   High Emotion, High Stakes: Building Loyalty When Frequency Isn't Guaranteed

Agenda & Speakers

High Emotion, High Stakes: Building Loyalty When Frequency Isn't Guaranteed

Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 1:20 PM - 1:55 PM
The rules of the travel and entertainment loyalty game are being rewritten, and not slowly. AI-powered search and booking agents are inserting themselves between brands and their guests. Member expectations around personalization and recognition have never been higher. And a new generation of guests is redefining what loyalty even means to them.

This panel brings together three practitioners navigating these challenges from genuinely different vantage points – Broadway’s official loyalty program, one of hospitality’s most recognized global hotel brands, and a premium nightlife and hospitality group operating at the intersection of high-emotion experiences and data-driven CRM. Together, they represent the full spectrum of what modern loyalty looks like when frequency, emotion, and lifetime value don’t all point in the same direction.

You’ll hear candid perspectives on the very real risk of AI pushing brands out of their own guest relationships, and where AI is deepening them instead. You’ll learn what “loyalty” means when you can’t rely on repeat visits to do the work for you, and how programs are using predictive tools to engage guests before the moment passes. This is where loyalty strategy meets real-world execution, told by the people responsible for both.

If building strong customer relationships in a world of rising expectations and increasing disruption keeps you up at night, this is your session.

Speakers

Katie Dalton, President, Audience Rewards

Katie Dalton is President of Audience Rewards, Broadway’s official loyalty program serving over 3 million members and driving more than $1 billion in ticket sales. 

Over the past 15 years, she has led the company’s evolution from a startup into a leading loyalty and engagement platform operating across a multi-stakeholder industry, building partnerships with brands including American Express, Ticketmaster, and United Airlines. Most recently, Katie led a full brand and technology transformation to position the company for its next phase of growth. 

She co-founded The Broadway Women’s Alliance and serves as Co-Chair of the Partnerships & Sponsorships Committee for The Broadway League, as well as a board member of the Movemeant Foundation. 

Jack Hodges, Senior Manager - Loyalty Performance & Commercial Strategy, Choice Hotels

Jack Hodges is Senior Manager, Loyalty Performance & Commercial Strategy at Choice Hotels International, where he leads work across loyalty strategy, program design, and currency management for Choice Privileges, a global program with over 70 million members across 7,000+ hotels worldwide. His focus includes shaping program design and benefits, informing rewards pricing and currency economics, and partnering across Choice to drive measurable outcomes for members, owners, and the enterprise. With a background in hotel operations, he brings a practical perspective and aims to connect enterprise strategy with on-property execution.

Mostafa Boutajrit, Vice President of Loyalty and CRM, Tao Group

Mostafa Boutajrit is the Vice President of Loyalty and CRM at Tao Group Hospitality, where he leads customer engagement, lifecycle marketing, and loyalty strategy across a global portfolio of premium hospitality and nightlife brands. He focuses on driving guest retention, increasing lifetime value, and building data-driven, personalized experiences that elevate the end-to-end customer journey, including leveraging propensity-based predictive AI to better anticipate customer behavior and optimize engagement.

With over 15 years of experience in loyalty and CRM, Mostafa has a strong track record of scaling high-impact programs and delivering measurable business results. Prior to Tao Group, he spent more than a decade at Caesars Entertainment, most recently as Vice President of Customer Loyalty, where he helped evolve one of the most recognized loyalty programs in the industry.

At Loyalty 360, Mostafa is focused on sharing perspectives on modern loyalty design, digital transformation, and how brands can create meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers.

Moderator: Denise Holt, SVP of Strategy Experience & Research, Phaedon

With over 25 years of marketing experience in loyalty, brand strategy, and consumer insights, Denise leads Phaedon's strategy, experience, and research team. She has spearheaded industry-leading research initiatives, including "Humanizing Loyalty" and "Sparking Consumer Participation Through Shared Values and Beliefs." Her strategic guidance serves clients across travel, hospitality, retail, restaurant, health, and wellness industries. A recognized voice in the loyalty industry, Denise is a regular presence on conference stages and as a featured webinar guest, and leads a team known for pushing the boundaries of loyalty thinking.
 
Prior to Phaedon, Denise ran her own strategy consulting practice, served as director of strategy at Optum, and spent more than a decade in loyalty and brand planning roles at Carlson Marketing. She excels at uncovering insights and actionable strategies that enable organizations to build emotional loyalty with their audiences and drive business growth. 

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