Thread by @WolfieChristl

What do airlines such as United and AA, hotel chains such as Hyatt and Marriott, and car rentals such as Hertz and Avis have in common?

They provide data to a firm who says it has traveler profiles on 750 million people, on their searches, purchases, devices, passenger records.

The Adara 'data co-op' states to collect 'real-time search, purchase and loyalty data from 200+ of the world’s most recognized travel brands', with 'more than 30 data points per traveler profile', all based on personal identifiers.

adara.com/about-data-co-…
adara.com/recognized-tra…

Adara calculates 'traveler value scores' based on 'customers’ behaviors and needs across the global travel ecosystem, over time', and it provides personalized offers/treatment 'pre-purchase, booking, post-purchase, check-in, in-airport, or in-destination'.
adara.com/traveler-intel…

So, can we say the participating companies sell data? I'd say yes.

They share customer data with each other (=value exchange). And they let marketers utilize this data, for example, to target people after they have been searching for flights or hotels.
adara.com/advertising-so…

Adara is US-based, yet claims to be 'GDPR compliant': adara.com/recognized-tra…

They collect data via their 'data warehouses' in Amsterdam+Netherlands, and seem to see themselves as a 'data controller', but legal bases for different purposes are not clear: adara.com/privacy-promis…

"ADARA collects the data, and then decides on the specific business use"

Nope, that's not at all how the GDPR works.

I don't understand, why EU authorities are not already investigating this. I guess, Adara will claim everything is based on 'consent', but I doubt this is legit.

At least in 2016, data providers also included KLM (Netherlands), Iberia (Spain) and Ryanair (Ireland):
adara.com/2016/08/06/100…

In 2018, Adara stated to have 168 million 'rich profiles' on Europeans: airportscouncil.org/wp-content/upl…

Are airports also providing data?

According to this corporate presentation, Adara calculates a 'Traveler Value Score (TVS)' for 'each' German traveler: go.adara.com/l/414092/Marke…

The consumer data broker LiveRamp lists Adara as a 'data provider', serving not only the US but also France+UK: liveramp.com/partners/adara/

Others who provide(d) data to Adara:

- STA Travel
- Air Berlin
- National Rail
- National Express
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Cheapflights (part of Booking)
- Dubai airports

...and many more:

[1] …t36wc2k4epfru-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/upl…

[2] …t36wc2k4epfru-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/upl…

[3+4] slideplayer.com/slide/7973431/

In this video, Adara explains how customer service agents or front desk agents at a hotel can instantly see the 'traveler value score' of individuals in order to treat them differently, regardless of what the company already knows about those persons: vimeo.com/355373142

Companies who use the major CRM system Salesforce to collect and manage customer data can 'access the ADARA Traveler Value Score for millions of travelers, calculated from billions of real-time travel behaviors across ADARA’s global travel brand partners': globenewswire.com/news-release/2…

They can use it to get an 'evaluation of an individual traveler’s potential value' to 'inform service and customer care strategies such as direct call center routing, personalized messaging and relevant offers' (above press release).

Low score? Prepare to wait when calling in.

And here's how companies can use Adara's data in Salesforce to automate and manage customer behavior by defining dynamic/conditional sequences of personalized interactions, in this case for 'elite' consumers with a traveler value score greater than 650.

(vimeo.com/355373142)

But Adara data can also be used elsewhere. For example, companies can buy 'audience segments' (=lists of personal IDs referring to individuals with certain characteristics), send it to Google, who combines it with other data, and then use it for targeting: vimeo.com/371194654

According to the above video by Adara, partners also include Ticketmaster, Omio (based in Berlin), Kayak (checkfelix/swoodoo/etc, owned by Booking), airlines from Portugal, Turkey, UAE, Malaysia, Japan,…

Most likely, they all provide data, and also have privileged access to it.

Taken together, major firms are sharing and exploiting personal data at scale. Consumers are assigned secret scores that may determine how they are treated. I'm sure most people are not aware of this.

Some of these practices may violate the GDPR. EU authorities must investigate.

Journalists: You can quote parts of my thread without asking, if needed.

Consider that my thread is based on publicly available info, which may be inaccurate. And just because a firm is/was mentioned as a data co-op partner, doesn't mean it actually provide(d) or obtain(d) data.

Adara has a form to request a copy of your personal data: go.adara.com/SAR-1018

They show how to retrieve the 'travel value score' based on someone's name and email address (from 1:55: vimeo.com/355373142). Adara should ask for additional authentication to match this data.