Luxury Travel

The "local" trend in the hospitality industry only goes so far and Marriott is worried about freshening up some of its older brands such as Marriott and Courtyard. CEO Sorenson concedes that not every property can be unique.

Among the new guard of luxury hotel brands to state Gen Y as a primary target market, Quorvus Collection is positioning itself ahead of the curve in anticipation of a monied Millennial travel boom.

The luxury segment is having its moment, but it obviously isn't the be-all and end-all. Some 100 million Chinese outbound travelers are making their trip plans, and most of them won't be looking for luxury properties.

Among the sites with the most reviews of luxury brands, it is interesting that online travel agencies, such as Booking.com, Expedia.com and Hotels.com, which only accept reviews from verified guests, are among the leaders and are definitely making their presence felt.

Can Capella Hotel Group make a sustainable business model out of providing highly individualized service to guests who think that run-of-the-mill 5-star properties are too cookie-cutter?

The breadth of destinations and type of accommodations featured in this book makes it a treat in comparison to the staid and unoriginal lists released by traditional travel magazines each year.

Although these companies represent only a piece of the growing vacation rental market, their calculated combination suggests that other rental competitors could see the benefits in similar deals in the next few years.

Park Hyatt established the business case for offering local, experiential travel options in the luxury sector, where luxury amenities are no longer a differentiator for well-heeled clientele.

By launching this new luxury site, HomeAway is leveraging existing assets and tweaking them a bit with a dose of curation. Given the rise of vacation clubs and the supposed boom in luxury travel, this move makes a lot of sense.

It will be interesting to see whether HotelTonight's user base will really go for 12,000-square-foot, two-story penthouses that are bookable starting "tonight." While some people can afford to shell out $700 for a suite at the last minute, that will probably not be most people's preferred option. Are suite options here to stay in the app? Stay iTuned.