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Look for growth in mini-indulgent services. Spa “tapas” are being offered at some of the top spas around the globe, allowing guests to pick and choose from a variety of abbreviated treatments. Want a first class travel experience without the full fare? Munich Airport just opened a VIP wing. London’s Heathrow by Invitation provides clients with personalized VIP airports services.

While reports abound that aspirational ‘trading up’ is over, luxury marketers still need to consider them as opportunities for new revenue streams and new ideas. Why? read further…

Like the U.S. economy in general, magazine has been slow to pick up steam. With this in mind, brands /magazines are looking for new partnerships as a means to drive new revenue streams and create new user experience for their consumers/readers.

Among its many attributes, social media is global. Luxe car builder Porsche USA is taking advantage of this in its new “Engineered for Magic. Everyday” campaign. Here, American misperceptions of German sports cars are challenged by everyday owner stories of running mundane errands in their Porsches. This expands Porsche’s value proposition through words and images of owners themselves.

1. Less than 140…more room for RT’s
2. SEO is key, write what people may be searching for
3. Use hashtags #

AP foodie, JM Hirsch suggests what to get our culinary lovers for Christmas. From smaller indulgences, like hand crafted collection of intensely rich sweet treats from Dufflet Rosenberg, a Toronto pastry chef who has been earning accolades for more than 30 years; to some of Norman Love’s artistic chocolates or jars of Jamie Oliver’s artisanal Marvellous Mayo or jams.

Travel these days can be cumbersome –crowded airports, long lines and rude people, all as airlines are cutting back on amenities for coach travelers. At the same time, airlines are shelling out big bucks to upgrade first-class service experiences – there are new seats with more entertainment options and larger lounges to pamper customers paying top dollar for their flights. These travelers have higher expectations and expect a higher level of personalized service for their sky high fares. In fact, some airplanes and airport lounges are so impressive, rivaling some world class hotels, so much so that you may not want to leave.

Since in-your-face luxury is now without a doubt passé, designers everywhere are making eco-friendly glamorous – indulgence with a clear conscience to lift ones spirits in this crazy world. Conscious consumers still want chic design, but also something that will decrease their carbon footprint; and they’re demanding that the goods they buy be made in ways that do not harm the environment or the workers who make them.

Omni Hotels is taking its sensory branding to the next level by making a lasting emotional impression on guests with customized scents “based on the destination’s particular ambiance” which they refer to as the ‘local color’ experience that they’re looking to create for each hotel.

I’ve recently been discussing in online forums a trend that many have been observing in journalism: Recently, there has been a proliferation of so-called “content providers” that carry no real writing credentials, and in many cases, produce articles that don’t even carry a byline. This is an especially big issue in critical journalism, notably, covering luxury products and services where special expertise and connoisseurship are required.