Travel & Hospitality
One of the lowest-scoring sectors in the corpus, with three distinct sub-sectors that disclose very differently — and a Delta turnaround story that should be required reading.
The headline
224 disclosed scores across 15 years, average 58.3, median 62.0. That's 12 points below the corpus median of 74. Travel & Hospitality is one of three sectors (alongside Energy and Media) where the sector itself acts as a headwind on NPS performance, regardless of operator quality.
The sub-sectors tell the story:
| Sub-sector | N | Avg | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airlines | 91 | 50.6 | 47.5 |
| Hotels & cruise | 84 | 61.1 | 70.0 |
| OTA & travel tech | 47 | 67.7 | 70.0 |
Airlines drag the average down hard. Schedule disruption, baggage, IRROPs and a low-margin economy seat are structurally tough surfaces to score on — and the data says airlines have not solved it in fifteen years of disclosures.
The two big company stories
Delta's complete turnaround (2019 → 2021)
Delta Air Lines disclosed -2 in September 2019, rebuilt operationally through COVID, and was reporting +70 by March 2021. Continued under "Delta Air Lines" branding to 75 by November 2020. The largest single-company swing in our entire travel set (+72 points). Worth bookmarking as a case study on what genuine operational reset can deliver.
Virgin Australia and Southwest, the other way
Virgin Australia disclosed 95 in 2017, collapsed during COVID under different ownership, and is now disclosing 27 (2025). Southwest Airlines went from 62 (2018) to 4 (2025) — the tail of the December 2022 IT meltdown is still measurable in their NPS three years later.
Fresh in 2026
21 disclosures so far this year. Premium and niche operators dominate the top: The Leela Palaces (86, India luxury hotels), Intrepid Travel (83, small-group adventure), Magellan Jets (90, private aviation), Coshocton KOA (90, US campgrounds). Mass-market scale is largely absent at the top — consistent with the broader pattern that disclosed scores in this sector are concentrated in operators selling to high-engagement customer segments.
eDreams ODIGEO is the recovery to watch: 10 (Dec 2025) → 62 (April 2026) on the back of Prime member retention. If sustained, it would be the largest year-over-year movement among the OTAs.
Older nuggets worth a second look
- Virgin Australia posted 95 in September 2017 — pre-COVID it was a reference point in the sector.
- Royal Caribbean 75 (October 2017) — cruise lines rarely disclose; this is the cleanest data point we have for the segment.
- Red Robin 70 (August 2017) — only restaurant disclosure in the older set; useful as a casual-dining benchmark.
- Thomas Cook 50 (June 2017), and 4 by 2016 — the failure was visible in the score 18 months before the corporate collapse.