The headline said "Guilt trip; Luxury travelers are toning it down, keeping it quiet or canceling vacations to avoid flaunting wealth in hard times". The story in March 6 USA Today was by Jayne Clark, who ‘carried it off' in splendid style. Here's the saucy essence, followed by the link to the full treatment.
"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." Much of the anecdotal material in this USA Today piece comes from travel agents -worth the trip.
Consumers plan to use and collect more loyalty rewards than ever before in 2009 to soften the bite of the looming recession, according to new research by U.K. travel rewards program Airmiles. Millions of people (95 percent) have collected loyalty rewards from travel and shopping reward programs, with nine out of ten people planning to redeem them in the coming year.
"In this tough economic climate, people are looking for ways to make their money work harder for them and get the best value," says Andrea Burchett, Director, Relationship Marketing and Insight at Airmiles. More data
New York Times Reports on Latest Hotel Industry Statistics and the Numbers Are Sobering
In his New York Times blog of Dec. 23, Joe Sharkey reports on the latest numbers from lodging industry statisticians Smith Travel Research (STR). Those figures showed a 12.9 percent industry-wide decrease in revenue per available room (RevPAR, the standard industry measurement.)
But the bad news in the luxury sector was a precipitous drop of 20.7 percent in November. A notch below luxury – at STR’s “upper upscale” level – the numbers were better at 13.7 percent while for “upscale” it was 12.8 percent.
Looking at the impact of these numbers Sharkey offered the following:
Upscale Tour Operators Chip Away At Trip Elements To Cut Prices
Michelle Higgins, the Practical Traveler columnist for The New York Times, reports on upscale tour companies replacing top-of-the-market hotels and implementing other measures to reduce overall prices.
She cites Classic Journeys, an upscale operator in La Jolla that normally puts customers up in the likes of Jasper Lake Lodge, a Fairmont resort in the Canadian Rockies; In 2009, for the first time, the company is introducing camping trips for about $700 less than itineraries that include hotel stays.
There’s plenty of fancy stuff (chefs do the cooking and the sheets are Egyptian cotton) but guests must share bathrooms and sleep on air mattresses.
Some operators are offering shorter – and thus cheaper options to their selections; or allowing customers to use their frequent flier miles rather that including airfare in prices. Even Abercrombie& Kent, which pretty much exemplifies the upper end of the tour market, has split some of its tours into shorter, less expensive excursions. Instead of a 14-day Highlights of East Africa at $6,375, travelers can choose Highlights of Kenya or Tanzania alone, 10 days each at $4,500.
A little quieter, yes. With sensible adjectives like authentic, natural, affordable, even "simplistic and humble," as Jeff Weinstein, Editor of Hotels Magazine puts it. Indeed, he adds, "..opulence may be going on a much needed vacation."
You will notice, however, that important travel brands defining themserlves as "Luxury"-Small Luxury Hotels, Luxury Link, Starwood's Luxury Collection, and Luxury Travel 360, of course---have no intention of changing the name plates on the door.
I, for one, see affluent consumers simply refining the descriptors 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. When I am told I can get "luxury accommodations for less", that takes nothing away from my feeling of enjoying a special reward.
We may well be moving to a healthier time in travel, where more and more aspiring middle class and mildly affluent people will be sharing experiences of life long dreams that they will live over and over again.
So, as I leave for our annual summer sabbatical-no newsletter issues until September-I am confident that Fall will bring better news and less wringing of hands over the future of the New Luxury-a better place for all.
The headline said "Guilt trip; Luxury travelers are toning it down, keeping it quiet or canceling vacations to avoid flaunting wealth in hard times". The story in March 6 USA Today was by Jayne Clark, who ‘carried it off' in splendid style. Here's the saucy essence, followed by the link to the full treatment.
"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." Much of the anecdotal material in this USA Today piece comes from travel agents -worth the trip.
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