Travel’s Biggest Megatrends for 2025
Skift Take
Key Points
- The rise of 'quiet luxury' reflects a shift toward personal and understated travel experiences, with affluent travelers seeking unique and curated stays.
- Hotels are enhancing their direct booking experiences using AI and predictive analytics, offering upsell opportunities to boost revenue.
- Cooler climates like Norway and Greenland are gaining popularity due to social media exposure and increased airline capacity, but face challenges regarding infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
Summary
Skift highlights major travel trends for 2025, including the rise of 'quiet luxury,' where affluent travelers seek personal and understated experiences, often at owner-operated hotels. Hotels are enhancing direct booking experiences with AI and cloud computing, increasing revenue through upsell offers. Cooler destinations like Norway and Greenland are becoming more popular due to social media and increased airline capacity, but they must balance growth with infrastructure and environmental preservation.
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Episode Notes
Skift’s annual Megatrends are back. From pet companions to psychedelic retreats, travel is rapidly evolving. But let’s review three of the biggest trends as we enter the new year.
First, the rise of “quiet luxury.” As high-end properties test just how much their consumers are willing to spend, travelers are growing tired. Columnist Colin Nagy says affluent young travelers want something different: personal, understated experiences.
Owner-operated hotels fill this niche. “Post-luxury” travelers enjoy a sense of place, and these hotels offer curated — not cookie-cutter — stays.
Quiet luxury is a departure from conspicuous consumption, but these travelers have spending power. Big brands will have to adapt.
Next, hotels are playing catch-up with their online travel agency competitors, reshaping their direct booking experience, Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill explains.
Hoteliers can seize cloud computing and predictive analytics as they tailor the booking journey. Upsell offers are a key component, with IHG reporting a boost of $20 per night for budget brands as these offers increase.
AI could also step things up. Maps and 3D models could take guests inside the hotel before they even set foot on the property, giving hotels a chance to monetize every nook and cranny by selling specific features previously bundled into room rates.
Finally, cool destinations are in hot demand, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit writes.
Norway and Greenland have garnered more attention on social media, and Arctic Russia, Iceland, and Greenland have witnessed big increases in airline seat capacity since the pandemic.
As travelers need a break from the heat, these destinations guarantee relief. But these destinations need to be cautious, focusing on infrastructure and environmental preservation.
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