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Ring out the old and ring in the new

By: Hershel Sarbin

Make way for the affluentials, the new leading edge in global leisure travel. This is the perfect bed - anywhere… Ring out the old and ring in the new; regroup, reinvent or POOF… Luxury branders all, do not run for the exits, luxury lives…

These recent headlines from my business newsletter, Luxury Travel 360, set the stage for some thoughts I want to share with those discerning leisure travelers who are surely wondering: What is really going on out there on the luxury landscape? Does luxury really live?

My answer is that yes, luxury does live, but at the same time it is essential to note:
• Affluent consumers are refining their descriptions of luxury to reflect what really counts for them today. Discerning travelers want the best of service, a caring attitude, and the assurance of a level of comfort and mostly quiet ambience that continues to enrich the travel experience. Thoughtful, affordable luxury is in! For most of us, glitz and excess are out!
• We are, I believe, simply ‘turning down the noise’ to a level that suits a less exuberant mood everywhere in the world. When I am told I can get "luxury accomodations for less", that takes nothing away from my feeling of enjoying a special reward.
• A new type of affluent consumer has emerged, - the negotiator - who is growing stronger by the day. The negotiator is a product of the economic downturn, which has precipitated considerable consumer disorientation as travelers seek to navigate the new luxury landscape. What people value is being radically re-evaluated.
• We may well be moving to a healthier time in travel, where more and more people-more and more families-will be sharing experiences of life-long dreams over and over again.

I have recently interviewed many top travel brand leaders who, I am thrilled to say, reflect new energy, and are investing in building more personalized opportunities for one-to-one connections with local people and culture that enrich the travel experience in a way that glitz and glamor cannot match.

We will absolutely see a new focus on affluent travelers in the marketplace, I believe. Take the most recent Ipsos-Mendelsohn annual Affluent Survey, which shows that in the USA the rich are connecting to the Internet more than the rest of the population. Where the head

of a household earns $100,000 or more a year, a staggering 23.4 hours per week is spent online: that figure rises to 27.4 hours among those earning upwards of quarter of a million per year. Similarly, the use of mobile devices was found to be elevated in affluent households – 40% among earners of $100,000 plus rising to 57% among those earning in excess of $250,000.

The 2009 Survey, the 33rd, was presented March 23rd, 2009, to the Mendelsohn Advisory Council MAC. Its 30-plus members include thought-leaders from American Express Publishing, Bloomberg, CNN, Comcast, Condé Nast, Discovery, Dow Jones, Fox, Hatchette, Hearst, NBC Universal, StarcomMediavest, Time Inc and Zenith. The President of Ipsos-Mendelsohn, which is headquartered in New York, is Bob Shullman. Thanks to this important study I do think we will have a sooner than expected recovery in high-end travel.

THE AUTHOR

New York-based Hershel Sarbin, formerly CEO of both Cowles Media and Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, owns and edits Luxury Travel 360 newsletter.