In today's commentary we share thoughts from a recent conversation with Mary Gostelow, editor of KIWI's online WOW Report. They don't say "Affluent", but they sure point to a more sensible, and comfortable travel culture to come:

•  Everybody was using luxury for everything. We've been living in a time of growing excess which was not really necessary. Why should bedrooms get bigger and bigger? Why should the thread count of sheets get higher and higher? Who cares? Does anybody even know what thread count means? Why should one hotel's terry bath towels get thicker and more sumptuous than anybody else's? You know, it was as though everybody was going for the Guinness Book of Records the whole time.

• Luxury became the one word that implied that you, the purveyor, were on the ladder to that Guinness Book of Records. It was a very useful word. It covered everything. Nobody really ever queried what luxury meant. Now, we all have our own visions of luxury. I think I may have said this before, but if you are in a Colombian jungle and you have been held for six months by rebels, luxury could possibly be a tube of toothpaste. For other people, luxury simply means getting to bed early.

• Luxury could be the fact that the children are being taken care of and you're going to be able to enjoy dinner with the lovely person in your life without the kids interrupting you every half hour. In the end luxury means different things to everybody. Luxury is the satisfaction of feeling that in some ways you are on the road to perfection. And that's where luxury is going. It's discretionary. It no longer means bragging about what you have or what you spent. .It is much more a personal choice, not something to be shared with every Tom, Dick and Harry.  

Recent relevant nuggests of change in Luxury Travel 360.

• From Melissa Bradley-Founder of Indagare:"...a new type of affluent consumer has emerged, who she dubs the negocionado (negotiator) "and who is growing stronger by the day." The Negotiator is a product of the economic downturn, which has precipitated massive consumer disorientation as travelers seek to negotiate the new luxury landscape..... What people value is being radically reevaluated.
• From Jayne Clark, USA Today- "In a time when posh has become a four-letter word, forget about keeping up with the Joneses. It's more socially expedient to stay down with them. Economic turmoil is giving luxury a bad name, it seems, and not just among the private-jet set, either. The desire to tone down consumption is affecting how some Americans vacation -- or at least how they say they vacation."
• From Karen Escalera, KWE Group:" Then, too, high-end companies, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Coach, are expanding their mid-priced lines, as well as many of the big names in hospitality. Even a luxury giant like Rolls Royce is introducing the new Rolls Royce Ghost, a lower-priced model aimed at today's market-shocked affluents."
• From The Editor-Affluent consumers are refining the descriptors of a rich travel experience to reflect what really counts: the best of service, a caring attitude, and the assurance of a level of comfort and mostly quiet ambience that continues to enrich the travel experience. We are, I believe, simply ‘turning down the noise" to a level that suits a less exuberant mood everywhere in the world.