Hotel developers are always looking years ahead. The properties they open in the future will reflect the consumer trends we’re seeing now.
That’s why we dug right into “The Evolution of Luxury, from Hotel to Residential” at the IHIF (International Hospitality Investment Forum) in Berlin in May. While we attended virtually, we were able to fully learn what hotel developers from Marriott, Hilton, IHG and GOCO/Horwath Hospitality see as trends as they plan their hotels of the future.
1. Luxury is defined by authenticity. We’ve heard this before but if that’s what Hilton, IHG and Marriott developers are telling us is the top trend, you can bet that future hotels will be designed to deliver an even more localized experience than we’re seeing now. Visiting an ultra-luxury hotel that could just as well be in India, Berlin or Minneapolis is no longer acceptable to the luxury traveler. “I want to have a hotel interior that reflects the true elegance and culture that I’m in,” said Ingo Schweder, CEO of GOCO.
2. Luxury is the “3 Ps:" Personal, Private, Purpose,” says Willemijn Geels of IHG. “Personal” means people don’t want to live the same experience as another customer. “Private” is just that, a villa, an island or a boat where other customers are not around. “Purpose” has become more important; travelers want to know how their luxury vacation is impacting the environment. That means they don’t want to be in a place that’s densely populated with other vacationers, which brings it back to private experiences.
3. Co-location, co-location, co-location: With that, luxury travelers will seek private accommodations, but will want a resort to wander over to if they want to see other people or have dinner in a great restaurant. Takeaway? Watch for even more stand-alone villa product to be co-located with hotels and resorts in the future.
4. New-build hotels will reflect that wellness is now a $4.7 trillion industry: Schweder of GOCO, however, warned against “well-washing,” where a hotel will promote itself as a wellness facility but isn’t really “all in;” it has a spa and a manager who isn’t very highly placed in the organization but public relations is touting it as much, much more. Takeaway? Just because a hotel says it’s a wellness destination, research what’s really on offer.
5. Length of stay will grow. The pandemic taught luxury travelers that if one is going to go through the trials of getting to a destination (testing, crowding and other angsts), they may as well stay longer. And as destinations more remote than Europe reopen, flights will get even longer. Takeaway? Future resorts will have full-blown residential homes as part of the offer, and in some cases, standalone branded residences (think, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis or W) are being developed.
6. Luxury travelers are getting younger and have money to spend. They want to go to luxury hotels and aren’t keen on roughing it, even though they have their youth. Takeaway? Future uber-luxury hotels will appeal to age groups across the board, not shying on the safer side of classic luxury. This impacts design, service and again, that local flavor.
7. Price sensitivity at the uber-luxury level is gone. Once was, super-wealthy folks wouldn’t blink at the price of a Lamborghini Veneno, but they were known to question cost of a luxury vacation. Post-pandemic it appears travel clients are willing to pay for what they want and when they want it.
As usual, the future is bright as luxury travel products just keep getting better every day. We enjoyed our trip into the minds of the hotel developers at IHIF.
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