Skift Take
It's difficult to pin down exactly what's going to dominate the headlines in the luxury travel sector in 2018, but expect a handful of destinations to grow in popularity and for hoteliers to talk up the benefits of enhanced personalization.
The Skift New Luxury newsletter is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of selling luxury travel, the people and companies creating and selling experiences, emerging trends, and the changing consumer habits around the sector.
Everyone loves predications. If they’re right, great, but if they’re wrong, it’s easy to forget them (most of the time).
Travel is no different from every other sector out there. Consumers are eager for the next big thing — whether that is a destination or a piece of technology — and companies need to be ahead of the curve.
Well, with that in mind, we have a couple of stories looking at what’s ahead in luxury in 2018. Our suggestions aren’t plucked from nowhere. We’ve spoken to tourism boards, hoteliers and tour operators to get their thoughts on the year ahead. And if you want more, be sure to keep an eye out for our list of Megatrends, which is slated to appear in mid-January.
— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor
Five Looks at Luxury
The Luxury Destinations Making a Big Impact in 2018: We’ve made a list, and checked it twice, specifically looking at places where purveyors of luxury travel are setting up shop this year.
Hoteliers Taking Different Approaches to Luxury Travel Innovation: Everyone has different ideas and approaches for the next big thing in luxury hospitality, from digital innovation and more personalization to smarter, more intuitive service, and better dining experiences.
Luxury Travel’s Next Phase Could Be in Vacation Rental Consolidation: Luxury travelers are increasingly looking to vacation rentals for a different type of experience. This presents opportunities for both established players and newcomers.
Hospitality and Retail Join Forces But It Shouldn’t Be Forced: In the rush to smash together retail and hotels, brands have to focus on doing this with a lot of care and intention. Sometimes a brand just isn’t that important.
Minor Hotels Buys Majority Stake in Upmarket UK Restaurant Group: Corbin & King is home to some iconic restaurant brands so a deal that will see them expand internationally makes sense to us.
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Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte [[email protected]] curates the New Luxury newsletter. The newsletter is emailed every Tuesday.
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Tags: luxury
Photo credit: The Heian-jingu shrine, Kyoto. Japan has developed its luxury travel offering in recent years. Torne / Flickr