Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

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.

Travel marketers take note: A December 2009 MarketingSherpa survey indicates that deals aren’t the top motivation for social media engagement, but users also want deeper engagement - learning about new products, features or services. Sharing interesting content that users care about, alongside the deals and discounts they have come to expect, will keep users engaged and spur them to pass along your marketing messages.

With 300 million tourists annually, religious tourism is the fastest growing tourism niche worldwide, according to the World Tourism Organization.

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.

Back in November, we wrote about Loyalty Marketing in Turbulent Times, whereby loyalty programs can be a key differentiator among competition these days, as individuals are taking a closer look at these programs for added value and benefits. Although hotels have also had these programs for years, they recently have had to relax restrictions to keep loyal members on board.

Travelers are more cautious these days and want a summer vacation that’s going to give them the best experience for their hard-earned dollars and vacation time. When we’re all pinching pennies, it’s great to know your price for everything up front (accommodations, meals, and entertainment), with no surprises later. All-inclusive properties also offer the ultimate in relaxation—everything is provided for you, especially attractive in these high-stress times. Cruises and luxury all inclusive resorts have been offering discounts abound, and are thriving despite the economy.

We’re just back from Eye for Travel’s Online Marketing Strategies for 2009 conference in Miami with lots of solid information, inspiration and interesting facts. Here are some highlights which resonated with us..

A local gift followed by food and beverage items rank at the top of the list of preferred turndown amenities and services by guests according to a recent survey by The Leading Hotels of the World and Market Metrix.

Encouraging the sampling of travel products and services is a good method to generate much needed revenue in this downtown and take advantage of available staff with more time on their hands. With this in mind, we’re seeing more and more travel products offering “mini indulgences”, scaled back versions of their full product lines. Here are some examples that caught our eye…

“Hotel X” will be decorated with furniture and knick-knacks purchased from ordinary consumers.