Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

You’ve appealed to your consumer’s rational side (see our earlier post – Rise of  the Intelligent Consumer). Now, appeal to their emotions. We’re hearing wide use of such sales phrases as “new lifestyle opportunity,” “passion points” and “one-of-a-kind experiences.”

Humans have five senses: sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. Today’s multi-sensory marketing of tourism products and services creates emotional bonds in consumers by appealing to all five of these senses. The idea is to influence perceptions of brands. Tapping customers’ emotions creates memories to be taken away for the long term.

After all, what sets one product apart from another, one brand from the next? Yes, the bed is soft, the shower water is hot and the lobby smells pleasant. What’s critical is that the customer’s whole sensory experience be funneled through a hotel’s identity.

As Laurie Babin told the Journal of Advertising, “The potential of imagery is both potent and provocative, especially when one takes into account that the forms of mental impressions include all five senses.” Travelers choose to be guests or visitors at your hotel, destination or cruise line. They may not be able to explain why, but they “have a feeling that it’s right”.

Vendors of luxury brands are in the experience and emotions business, selling stories and memories. Products and brands must inspire a special experience to provoke the universally sought “I love it!” response.

The hospitality industry is nothing if not competitive, so utilizing new technologies makes good sense as a means of differentiation. Engaging new technologies, we’ve seen Sheraton’s use of interactive tables, Mama Shelter’s installation of iMacs in every room, the Algonquin’s use of Kindles and the Townhouse Hotel’s emphasis on Twitter. The savviest now realize that achieving marketing success means figuring out how to rivet the attention of consumers obsessed with sleek mobile devices. Now continuing along this technological path comes InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, which recently announced that it is equipping its concierges with Apple’s recently launched iPad.

Still battling the current economic downturn, spas are implementing fresh concepts to attract new clients and retain existing customers.

Some call it vandalism. Others regard it as an expression of street lifestyle – even modern art. Yet, graffiti is becoming a popular player on the international art scene, garnering graffiti tourism dollars.

London’s Tate Modern turned its walls into a blank canvas for a graffiti exhibition. Its riverside facade was covered with giant murals by six urban artists with international reputations, including Blu from Bologna, Faile from New York, and Sixeart from Barcelona. Likewise, Miami, known for its whimsical palate of color and style, is seeing a resurgence of the street art. Tourists and locals alike are bypassing the museums and galleries, and heading to the Wynwood Art District (once dilapidated, now prime real estate) to see a selection of the best murals. Graffiti is even becoming an important dimension to red-hot Art Basel Miami Beach and the alternative fairs that come with it.

We recently wrote that over the last few years, ART has become a central focus for hoteliers due to its appeal to affluent consumers, and graffiti ties into this trend perfectly. The Hotel Erwin announced its arrival on the trendy, eclectic shores of California’s Venice Beach, the handwriting was on the wall – in this case, the exterior wall, just outside the entrance. In fact, the handwriting was in glowing, screaming neon colors, splashed there by NORM, a local graffiti artist whose signature work gave the new 119-room hotel immediate street credibility. “When we were designing the hotel it was very important that the hotel be a reflection and good partner with the local community,” said Benjamin Malmquist, general manager. “And Venice is renowned, has a worldwide reputation, for some really unique and creative graffiti art. That’s part of the culture at Venice Beach.”

Hence, a hotel as canvas, a gallery, as a showcase and a studio.

You’ve got to aim to get your message everywhere for maximum impact, giving your target markets the chance to listen to it, watch it, and read it – whenever they want it. Ubiquity is a watchword because of the fragmentation of people’s media consumption habits, as in we can no longer count on reaching the masses at least once through several media channels (an exception possibly being the Super Bowl).

Anyone who doubts the committed audience of online communities should have gone with me to Miami Yelp’s Spice Trade hosted by the Mandarin Oriental, where local reviewers could mesh in real life. It was quite a happening, with some of the Miami’s leading restaurants offering up Chinese dumplings, Indian curry, California rolls, cupcakes, and exotic drinks to match.

Want to cash in on positioning the next hot luxury product? Springwise, one of the world’s leading sources of new business ideas, had the best advice I’ve read in a long time…

So suggested the New York Times in a recent article “Influence and Spending Power Now Lies with the Middle Class,” referring to the closing of upscale food magazine, Gourmet. It went on to imply that an interest in “food exploration” is dead, and although Gourmet is an iconic brand, it couldn’t make enough profit to stay in business. A business editor at the paper even suggested that everyone would resort to “eating Ketchup, mayonnaise from a jar and Velveeta cheese.”

Food is all about globalization and variety these days. While some of us are making fewer trips abroad this year, we still want to taste what’s new and exotic. Influenced by street foods found across the world, mobile establishments are creating a buzz with their bold flavors, affordable prices and chef centric atmosphere and service.

Anyone working in PR can tell you about the bombardment of invites in their inboxes for seminars, webinars and conferences for social media and SEO training. This indicates a demand for more education on the topic, and according to these results, it’s paying off.