Family

Traditionally (or historically) women have had a strong influence on family travel decisions. Move over moms – now it’s the kids who are becoming influencers according to a recent Ipsos Mendelsohn 2011 Annual Affluent Survey. Purchasing decisions – especially for vacation locations, new houses or renovations – are no longer made by the head of house, but are largely discussed and influenced by the children.

The trend of hotel alternatives continues as home-swapping and the vacation rentals continue to grow. Many services cropped up to meet demand. TradetoTravel is one luxury vacation home exchange service with a portfolio of 400 vacation properties valued between $1 million and $20 million. Uniquely, they meet any preferences in houses, designs or themes.

Here’s a new product that came to my attention in Luxury Briefing that hits all the right hot buttons for today’s luxury consumer. It’s called The North Circular, a new knitwear brand. It promotes British heritage and craftsmanship (which ticks the ‘authentic’ and ‘artisanal’ boxes), uses wool from a rare-breed of rescued British sheep (ticks the ‘sustainable’ and ‘ecological’ boxes), is knitted by older workers (ticks the ‘socially responsible’ box) and last but not least, is sustaining a dying art.

If it offers value as well, then you really can’t get better than that.

By: Karen Weiner Escalera

Does a resort positioning itself as sensual and hip compliment marketing efforts appealing to families? The Fontainebleau Hotel thinks so and top executive, Howard Karawan, points to outstanding sales results over the last two months as the proof that it can be done. In the marketing world, that is no small feat.

Family travel is growing at a faster rate than all other sectors of leisure travel. This is fueled by both parents and grandparents looking to travel as a way to “reunite” in a contemporary world dominated by work, etc. Travel + Leisure Family reported that their readers spent $2 billion on travel with their Amex cards.

And if I had any doubts, they were dispelled on a recent visit to the Marbella Club in Spain this summer. After vacationing there for nearly 30 years, I’ve never seen so many children as this year — British, Dutch, Middle Eastern, French, etc.

However, every trend has a counter trend: NetJets Europe, the largest operator of business jets and private jets in Europe, is addressing the growing number of traveling families, by advertising services and products that appeal to travelers who want to get away from the family …or other people’s kids. One of the most blatant examples is their ad in upscale European magazines: “We have eliminated the single most troublesome part of flying. All those other people.” And in a box with quick facts about their services they list: aircraft in service 89; number of pilots 550; flights in 2005, 43,800; number of crying babies 0.

If you come across a luxury resort that purports to be “family friendly”, you might need to read between the lines. It might be a place where they say kids are welcome – just not too many
Some resorts in the luxury category have taken to advertising how “family friendly” they are. What they may really be saying is they wish you would leave your two sets of triplets at home.