Luxe Travel Remains in High Demand with No Stopping in Sight

Luxe travel is still king in this fast-paced travel resurgence. Luxury travelers are taking more trips and spending more money as the demand for luxury travel and experiences continues unabated, according to a study titled The U.S. Luxury Traveler Study 2022, conducted this quarter by The Olinger Group.

“People told us in the spring that they wanted to take more luxury trips, and now we know they are really doing it,” said Chanttel Allen, Managing Director at The Olinger Group. “And they have more plans on the horizon.”

In addition to confirming the continued demand for luxury travel, the study reveals striking similarities between luxury travelers with household incomes of $100K-$249K and those with incomes above $250K.

“It doesn’t matter if people make $100K or $250K per year, they want to splurge and enjoy luxury travel and experiences,” Allen added. 

The study also provides detailed information on how each group interacts with travel advisors, tour operators, hotels, and cruise lines.

A few key findings from the luxury travel study:

• * More than 80% of luxury travelers involve their children in key decision-making processes, and more than 90% said their children were influential in one particular decision.
• * Two hotel chains are significantly more appealing to higher-income ($250K+) luxury travelers, and one is significantly more appealing to lower-income ($100K – $249K) luxury travelers.
• * Luxury travelers identified the 10 most influential factors in deciding which cruise line to select.
• * Households with income levels of $100K – $249K are significantly more likely to seek out travel guidance through social media, tour guides, and tour operators.

What may be surprising, is that among those surveyed, significantly more Hispanics identified as luxury travelers (10 percent, compared to 7 percent of non-luxury travelers) and significantly fewer Asians are defined as luxury travelers. (9 percent, compared to 13 percent of non-luxury travelers). It’s also good to know that the luxury traveler is significantly younger and more likely to have children in the household. The median age of a luxury traveler is 46 (53 for non-luxury travelers) and most (53 percent) have kids under 18 in the home (35 percent of other travelers). 

On average, luxury travelers took significantly more vacations that used the services of a travel advisor than did other travelers. On top of that, significantly more plan to use a travel advisor for their vacation(s) in the next two years. 

Over the past three years, 16 percent of luxury travelers used an advisor (just 6 percent of other travelers did) but over the next three years, 55 percent of luxury travelers will use a travel advisors (38 percent for other travelers). The increases across the board here are a great sign for travel advisors as many showed their worth throughout the pandemic and appear to have helped solidify their role/importance in planning a vacation. 

Luxe Travel Accommodations

While most luxury travelers (93 percent) listed a hotel/resort among their preferred accommodations, luxury travelers are more likely to use a bed and breakfast (23 percent vs. 15 percent), a timeshare (15 percent vs. 13 percent), a personal vacation home (12 percent vs. 9 percent) and an RV/camper (10 percent vs. 6 percent) compared to a non-luxury travelers.

According to the study, the top 10 hotel brands in terms of “overall appeal” are The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, JW Marriott, Grand Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria, The St. Regis, InterContinental, Fairmont, Conrad and Loews. When it came to preferred guestroom features, luxury travelers more than other travelers valued housekeeping, the ability to choose a room before arrival, a balcony, name brand toiletries and a digital key. Other top responses (with equal rates of preference) included proper shower temperature/water pressure, complimentary Wi-Fi, the room size/layout, availability of electrical outlets and a refrigerator. When it comes to cruising, luxury travelers are more interested (49 percent are extremely interested and 28 percent are somewhat interested) than other travelers (29 percent and 30 percent, respectively in taking a cruise).

Luxe Travelers and Travel Advisors

In addition, luxury travelers who are planning to use a travel advisor said they would use one for such services as booking a vacation package, choosing accommodations, booking a cruise, purchasing airline tickets and picking a destination (more than other travelers across all categories). Luxury travelers responded – they feel travel advisors possessed a strong knowledge of destinations; taking the hassle out of booking; offering an extra level of service if things go wrong; help to develop complex itineraries that they can’t do on their own; and will find better prices for the total vacation, among other benefits.

Luxe Travel Opportunities

Overall, those who enjoy cruising tend to be passionate about it and their interest in cruising seems to have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Likely related to the percentage of luxury travelers who have kids at home, Disney Cruise Line (60 percent) had the largest appeal of all lines. The remainder of the top 10 are: Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Viking River Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Silversea, Cunard and Windstar.

Influences 

Are travel advisors “influencers?” Nearly all travelers surveyed have a personal page or social media profile. In fact, just 2 percent said they weren’t on any platform. The most popular were Facebook (91 percent), Instagram (71 percent) and Twitter (60 percent), but many are using Pinterest (42 percent), Snapchat and TikTok (both 36 percent).

Similarly, as you might expect, social media has a strong impact on the selection of vacation destination and cruise line/lodging brand used by travelers. More than other travelers, luxury travelers said they selected a vacation destination based partially or primarily on social media (60 and 77 percent, respectively) or that they selected a hotel brand, cruise line, or airline based on social media (76 percent). According to the study, celebrities and influencers have become important in driving business in many categories, including travel over the last eight to 10 years. Nearly half of luxury travelers (47 percent) follow a celeb or influencer on social media, while six in 10 (60 percent) have purchased travel based on a social media post by a celebrity or influencer.