Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

With the arrival of the New Year, there are some encouraging signs that the travel industry is poised for a gradual recovery, although not as quickly as many travel service suppliers would like. The culprit remains the languishing economy. While recent GDP numbers reflect a positive path and job losses have subsided, American consumers have adopted more conservative spending patterns and now maintain the highest savings rate observed in the past eight years.

Until now, being “green” has predominantly meant selling eco-friendly products or services. But this year’s tough economy presents a new opportunity for businesses to take environmental stewardship to a new level – by helping customers buy less stuff. But it has to be the “right stuff.”

First it was hotel bed linens, then spa-like bathrooms. Now it seems that hotels are influencing our interior and exterior home décor, design elements that only used to be seen at five star hotels and resorts.

KWE group’s President & Chief Strategist, Karen Weiner Escalera, was recently interviewed by Hotel Vikas, a magazine for the American hospitality industry. In the interview, Karen highlights steps to help hoteliers in today’s challenging economy, the importance of value even to the affluent, rethinking strategic market/product positioning, and where the hotel industry is headed. We invite you to read the interview in its entirety to learn more.

Want to get off the tourist trail? You’re not alone. Today’s travelers are looking to collect a string of experiences from their journeys. A trip is much more meaningful for the participant if they are more than just a witness to the attractions of a destination and can instead have an experience that they will remember forever.

It’s permeating everything from gifting and wedding registries to personal enrichment and self-reinvention, so that creativity and artistic expression are accessible to everyone, not just reserved for the affluent.

An excerpt from Karen Weiner Escalera’s speech last week in Palm Beach for the Luxury Marketing Council last week, as reported by The Palm Beach Daily News: “Value rules the day at all price points,” she said, reminding the audience that before the global recession kicked in last year, excess was in vogue.”It’s a badge of honor for consumers to get things at a good price.”

Tea is steeped in English tradition, but is becoming a very hot US beverage (could it be that after 200+ years, we’re finally starting to get over that bit of unpleasantness in Boston Harbor?). Tea is becoming the ultimate, affordable, healthy beverage of choice for millions of Americans and, more significantly, a ‘tea lifestyle’ is emerging.

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.

We’re just back from the Hospitality Design Boutique Exposition & Conference in the heart of Miami’s South Beach. Most interesting was a panel “Affordable hotels 2.0- Hybrids, New brands and fresh ideas” where the industry’s latest pioneers (Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode, Micheal Levie of CitizenM hotels, Bill Lanting of Stay Hotels, and Enrique Sarasola of Room Mate hotels) discussed the next generation of hotels, design and the newest consumer.