Amid Global Tension, Luxury Hotel Brands Emphasize Human Connection
Photo Credit: Luxury hospitality companies like Belmond are positioning their brands around a more personal and direct connection to local communities. Belmond
Skift Take
In a world that seems in constant flux, luxury travelers are pivoting a bit. They're prioritizing a stronger connection among themselves and with the people they meet, which hotels are attempting to facilitate with travel experiences designed around engaging guests on a more personal level.
With all the global disruption in 2016, ranging from Trump to terrorism, there’s a decided shift in the luxury travel industry toward simplicity, balance, human connection, self-discovery, and getting back to the basics of what’s important in life.
That was the biggest takeaway at the International Luxury Travel Market 2016 conference in Cannes last week. Most of the participating brands emphasized human connection and elevated, authentic cultural experiences to better reconnect family and loved ones with each other, and engage people in the local destination. Luxury is very personal in 2016.
Top-tier hotel groups are now aligning their marketing and communications around those themes. The biggest challenge for luxury brands, however, is differentiating and defining their unique value proposition for customers when every upscale hotel is basically saying the same thing.
Arnaud Champenois, SVP brand & marketing at Belmond, summed up today’s consumer expectations i
