Keeping our Promise-More Danziger on Key Trends in Luxury Travel

We ended our March 4 interview  with Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing with a promise to post some of her ’passionately positive‘ thoughts about luxury travel and some highlights on key trends :Democratization, affordable luxury, and the new power of casual luxury,  at www.luxurytravel360.com -- Here are some ‘headers’ to guide you on that bonus journey *Frigid formality is out, casual is in. Happy to pay the price. Democratization is real. Comfort in an artificial community. You can tell a luxury hotel from the curb, But a luxury consumer? Not necessarily. The U.S. market is a global bellwether of luxury trends We are going more experiential Luxury is really not about what you have and what you own – it’s more about how you experience life. Democratization of travel experiences is a very real thing. You’re creating a community. When you stay in a hotel and you’re eating meals with people you do not know, there is this artificial community. In effect, you want to be in a community where you feel comfortable. Young affluents, really go for a more casual lifestyle. And the key word is fun. The frigid  formality that you see  in too many luxury hotels –yes, frigid formality--, where you have to wear a coat or a tie, and you have to sit up straight, and you have to know which fork to use,  is like a complete turnoff. Not a turn-on for younger travelers., and increasingly older ones as well.. People will pay the price, but they want to be comfortable. You can tell a luxury home from the curb. You can tell a luxury hotel from the curb – when you walk in the door, you kind of know it’s luxury. But you can’t tell a luxury consumer by looking at him. There is a danger in particular hotels saying, “They’re not our type. They’re not our class.” “It’s not only the depth of affluential pockets , and their contributions to the consumer economy; it’s that the affluent luxury consumer is a bellwether of trends coming to the great mass market.” The natural evolution of all luxury concepts is from the classes to the masses.” From my international perspective , the U.S. market is a bellwether of trends coming across the world, across the globe. We going more experiential Younger people are surely  more materially oriented because they have less. So as they mature they’ll buy up stuff. But then it reaches a point where enough is enough.. So you’re 50-years old, you’re 60-years old, what do you want to do with the last 20 or 30 years of your life? And it’s not buy another mink coat or another diamond ring. That stuff doesn’t mean anything. And people come to that. And it’s reflected in their spending, it’s reflected in how they spend their money. And  they do  turn their money and spending is into travel experiences, ---- stuff that they weren’t able to do before or they missed when they were younger.