Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

Remember the old adage that every reaction has a counter reaction? As marketers struggle with exponential growth of Internet advertising, luxury advertisers are once again focusing their attention back to print. Print has always been a cornerstone marketing channel of the luxury industry. Today’s focus is on quality versus quantity, meaning that brands would rather get a targeted message out to the right people than use a ‘spray and pray’ approach. Print media campaigns can be highly targeted to consumer demographics and psychographics.

“Hotels need to think like media companies” was a major takeaway from a recent Webinar courtesy of ReviewPro and Hotel Marketing Strategies. This means an orientation to content being king in websites and all social media activities. Hoteliers were urged to take what they called a “concierge and service approach” in a three step process coinciding with the three stages of a guest’s stay:

Sure, having Wifi on hand is convenient, but what’s the point of a vacation if it’s constantly being interrupted by email? To provide the most relaxing experience, expect to see more hotels and resorts that force (or allow) guests to unplug whilst they unwind, stowing away all electronics upon check in.

A new wave of cool, movable accommodations are appearing and morphing every few months while tying into compatible events. Not always pricey, pop-ups give consumers something they can perceive as an exclusive discovery, to be grabbed “while it lasts.”

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.

In case you haven’t noticed, the interest in vampirism has exploded. Media news and Nielsen online have reported the demographics for the growing trend toward vampiric entertainment. According to their reports: “There has been increasing mainstream interest in and gravitation towards all things vampire, most recently spurred by the Twilight books/movies and the HBO series, TrueBlood. And even if these aren’t familiar topics to you yet, marketers are keen to the vampire mystique.”

Were the Olympics worth the investment for the publicity of encouraging future investment and tourism? In this age of everyone looking for ROI, it’s hard to gauge. Only time will tell, but many think that it will be tight financially.

Over the last couple years, ART has become a central focus for hoteliers due to its appeal to affluent consumers (i.e. art is a part of an affluent lifestyle), its ability to add personality to any room, and the value it adds to the guest experience. An added benefit – it can be a very good investment over time. As a result, we’re seeing more and more hotels creating distinctive interiors by keeping up with some of the hottest trends affecting the art market.

Social media’s proliferation has helped to advance public relations and marketing practice. Yet, despite the long distance we’ve traveled in just a short time with social media, we still have much to learn about both its potential and its limitations. So whether you’re an experienced social media user or are just developing this as a part of your communication program, we call all benefit from recognizing some common myths surrounding social media.

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).