It's 2010: Do You Know Where the Luxury Travel Market Is?
‘Frugal Fatigue'
Sets In and
The Affluent Are
Ready To Spend
More On Travel
Early
into the economic recovery and with fresh studies in hand, we decided it was
time to revisit some of the companies and people we looked and spoke to in the throes
of the recession for a reality check. We asked them the following:
How did the luxury market change during the crisis - both the customer in their
behavior?
Were some of those changes permanent?
Where do we go now?
Here's
a look at what we heard from these luxury marketers. And we have to note that
much of it tracks with what we are seeing, which is that travelers are:
Being more responsible in their choices in not looking for glitz and lavishness
Seeking a sensible, experiential vacation. They want comfort,
but also the opportunity to drink in local culture (and not necessarily exotic
culture.).
Open to easy family vacations
Favoring a new, anti-glitz
simplicity.
Here are some voices from the
luxury marketing front:
From Toni
Hinterstoisser, GM of Andaz Wall Street.
What
we found out is that they wanted their experiences to feel more like
being at
home. They no longer wanted to be nickled & dimed during their stay
and they were unhappy with the constant barriers that were presented
from the
moment they entered a hotel until the moment they left.
From Thomas Hayden, senior vice president, The
Affluent
Traveler Collection, a group of upscale travel agents:
The fact remains that the luxury segment
was destined for a change. Travelers had long been asking for more
quality, experiential trips and the savvy marketers in the luxury market
were
creating these unique non-cookie-cutter, customer-centric experiences in
virtually every market.
From
Ron Kurtz, who heads up the American Affluence Research Center
Consistent with the Fall 2009 survey,
this new survey indicates the concepts of the "new normal", "stealth
wealth",
and "luxury shame", to the limited extent they ever existed, have been
replaced
by "frugal fatigue" among luxury and affluent consumers."
From Takis Anoussis,
GM ofthe Helmsley Park Lane
The ego has gone out of the market. People will pay $800 or $1000
for a lovely
suite but not $5000 as they might have. And they will negotiate.
From Bill Tucker, president of Agency 212 - ad agency for
Helmsley and Loews Hotels:
A big challenge is offering value without downgrading image. It's all in
the
way you deliver luxury. For instance at the new Loews Atlanta, the
doorman and
front desk person have ear buds and the doorman will tell the front desk
who's
coming in so they may be greeted property.
From Diane McDavitt, Luxury Link
It's about value once again - the
emotional dividends one enjoys from a
meaningful trip well taken are every bit as important as the dollars
saved.
From Kristi Jones, president Virtuoso
The fire sales of this recession
have
made consumers wonder whether some products were ever "worth the price."
Ipsos Mendelsohn and American Express Publishing-Harrison Group OfferFreshInsight on Consumer Behavior in 2010
According to new studies from two blue-chip research sources, Ipsos Mendelsohn and American Express Publishing - the affluent are not only ready to travel -- they are frequently going to spend more on it. While the Ipsos study focused on intent and American Express Publishing on mindset, they both point to a surge in affluents taking to the road (Amex sees an increase of 6 to 8% in spending on all luxury categories).Interestingly, both studies agree on a positive attitude despite lingering concerns about the economy. Here's a look at the highlights of both 2010 studies.
LuxuryTravel 360 has long looked to the affluent as a burgeoning market in business and leisure travel, fueling growth in more affordable, common sense luxury - less glitz and glamour, but ready to pay extra for memorable family experiences and genuine local culture.
Resource Center 
From Toni
Hinterstoisser, GM of Andaz Wall Street.
From Thomas Hayden, senior vice president, The
Affluent
Traveler Collection, a group of upscale travel agents:
