The Luxury Market in travel, for all its growth, glamour and hype, is
notably underserved by the business press in the US and abroad. It is
not the travel consumer who is underserved, but the marketers and other
top managers who must stay ahead of the field in analyzing critical
issues, tracking and anticipating trends, and just plain knowing "Who’s
Doing What That Works."
Enter Luxury Travel 360, our bi-weekly online newsletter, covering
the global business of luxury travel marketing with News You Can Use
in a refreshing Real People, Real Results style.
We are also very pleased to have the collaboration and counsel of
Travel Weekly Editor-in-Chief, Arnie Weissmann, in serving VIP travel
agent content for leading frontline sellers of luxury products.
The smart luxury travel marketer will look to us to be 360 in all our
content and our perspective, in our global reach, and in serving all
customer touchpoints. Our editors are recognized for their mastery of
Essence Journalism-- concise, clear, easy to remember and use in
everyday business.
We see the internet as a powerful ally for engaging the entire
luxury community in real time. It enables feedback and interaction with
unbelievable efficiency. It allows us to create living content from
thought leaders, conferences, researchers, and luxury retailers, while
using the strengths of print to enrich the engagement process.
But Lux 360 Found a Brighter -and we think, Sensible Side-
From Harvey Chipkin’s report in the British online Hotel Report-a paid service from William Reed Business Media- http://www.wr-bi.co.uk/ - Reproduced here with publisher permission
At the first industry wide meeting following the fall financial meltdown and the recent presidential election, the consensus seemed to be that, yes, the industry faces a historically challenging situation that will last for awhile. But there was also a feeling that lodging is in a better position than other industries – and, happily, a few silver linings were perceived as well.
We’ve all heard the bad news over and over: global liquidity drought, drops in rate and occupancy, a dismal outlook for employment, and a possibly extended recession. But some leaders managed to find ways to take – if not a positive view -- at least a more nuanced one. Following are a few comments about why weeping and gnashing may not be the only appropriate attitudes.
Steve Joyce, who recently became CEO of Choice Hotels International, said he has been “the only optimistic person in the room at a number of events over the last few weeks.” I strongly believe,” said Joyce, “that there is a paralysis factor and that you can’t base projections on two weeks of hysteria.”
“Forecasts in this environment,” he continued, “are entertaining but not much use.”
Other ‘smart marketer’ insights from Joyce, Mark Lomanno of Smith Travel Research; Peter Yesawich, CEO of The Y Partnership; Michael Kaufman, Chairman of National Restaurant Association; Patrick Ford, CEO of Lodging Econometrics; and Roger Thomas, Steve Wynn’s design guru for many years.
Nat Ives, in Ad Age Online Sept 6, cites new data from Ipsos MMR which assures that well-off readers read print publications just as much now as they did 5 years ago.
Also, survey respondents making more than $100,000 annually said their average hours online had grown to 22.1 each week from 10.7, while the time they said they spent watching TV sunk to 18.6 hours from 23.7 in the 2003 survey. Read the full Ives story at http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=130685. Lux 360 attended the client briefing this week and will provide additional perspective in our Sept. 30 issue, interviewing Ipsos MMR President Bob Shullman.
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