Merging Premium and Mainstream — New Luxury

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.

There used to be a very clear dividing line between luxury travel and the rest, but in recent times it has started to blur.

Take cruise ships, for example. In the past you had luxury lines and mainstream lines. Now the likes of Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises think they can woo high-end travelers by offering a smaller slice of luxury onboard.

These enclaves are now big business, partly because cruisers’ demands have evolved. Younger clientele might find some luxury ships a bit boring or they may want to bring their children along.

As we’ve been saying for a while now, the rules of luxury travel have changed.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

Five Looks at Luxury

The Rise of Luxury Outposts on Mainstream Cruise Ships: Will a traveler who only expects the finest ever decide to board a mass-market cruise ship? Well, the marketplace has spoken and it says, “Maybe, but only under certain conditions.”

Luxury Is Evolving But Consistent Themes Connect Old and New: This evolution of luxury will impact luxury brands and marketers and require them to adapt products, experiences, and communication to align with consumers’ new definitions of quality, comfort and elegance.

Blackstone Is Paying $1.1 Billion to Buy Maui’s Grand Wailea Resort: Blackstone, which still owns Hilton shares, has a penchant for making big hotel real estate deals involving the Waldorf-Astoria brand, doesn’t it?

Newest Luxury Hotels in Milan Showcase the City’s Ties to Fashion: A city synonymous with high fashion deserves luxury hotels that are equally, if not more, stylish and experiential, and smart hoteliers are beginning to deliver.

Delta Finds Passengers Paying for Upgrades With Their Own Money Is Big Business: You don’t expect corporate travelers to dip into their own pockets on business trips. But certain travelers love to fly in premium cabins, and that’s good news for Delta’s revenues, which were already strong.

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Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte [pw@skift.com] curates the New Luxury newsletter. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday.

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