New Ways to Build a Travel Community

Luxury Travel News

The Skift New Luxury column is our weekly column 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.

We've all had that feeling of oneness with those around us, whether it's 100,000 people shouting out the same chorus in unison in a field somewhere or the collective joy of seeing your team score a last-minute goal or touchdown. In a disconnected world, we crave that connection.

It's the same in travel, and it's part of the reason why membership communities have sprung up all over the world, connecting like-minded people and offering them experiences unlike any they would normally be able to get.

This week, Skift contributor Samantha Shankman examines a handful and looks at what it is they are really offering.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at pw@skift.com or tweet me @paddywhyte.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

6 Looks at Luxury

Crafting a New Generation of Membership Travel Clubs: Travel has always been as much about who you meet as what you do in a new location. These intentional approaches to community and relationship building, fostered by immersive curated experiences, are what luxury looks like to an increasingly disconnected population.

Who’s Cracked the Code on High-End Homesharing? ThirdHome just might have the winning formula on what affluent homeowners want when sharing properties. Scaling quality and keeping up a high level of trust will be key as it grows.

U.S. Affluent Travelers Plan More Wellness Trips This Year: In its third year, Skift Research’s U.S. Affluent Traveler Survey provides necessary insight for travel industry insiders by revealing the particularities of this lucrative target market.

Beverage Brands Get In on Growing ‘Sober Curious’ Movement: If a bar doesn’t serve alcohol, is it really a bar? If a beer doesn’t get you buzzed, is it really a beer? As alcohol purveyors and entrepreneurs seek to cash in on the trend of healthy beverages, twists on nonalcoholic adult drinks are popping up everywhere.

London’s Landmark Hotel The Cavendish Is Up for Sale: The owners of London’s Cavendish hotel have hired brokers to sell it for about $325 million (£250 million). They're betting it's a desirable property. A stay in the four-star hotel costs up to $1,400 a night.

Virgin Galactic Could Fly Customers to Space as Soon as This Year: Virgin Galactic already has about 700 customers willing to pay $250,000 for a 90-minute flight. That's remarkable, right?

Subscribe

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

Sign up for Skift's New Luxury Newsletter