Dear Travel Marketer, Intention Matters More Than Experience
Photo Credit: The lobby of the Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills. People like to talk about experience, but what about intention? Hyatt
Skift Take
Experience is passé. Today's top luxury marketers have moved on to a new way of looking at the customer journey. It's now about intention. High-end brands that can align their own intentions — beyond making a profit — with those of their customers have the potential to foster true-blue relationships.
Luxury Travel News
The Skift New Luxury column is our weekly column focused on the business of selling luxury travel, the people and companies creating and selling experiences, emerging trends, and the changing consumer habits around the sector.
If only I had a nickel for every travel marketer who has told me it’s all about "the experience," I'd be a very rich person. Alas, I am not paid by the cliché.
Travel has always been about the experience, so companies that think they can distinguish themselves from their competitors by yammering on about it actually aren’t differentiating themselves at all.
A new word, however, slowly seems to be working its way into the marketing lexicon. I’ve been noticing that a few of the most forward-thinking analysts are keying in on intention rather than experience. The idea is that companies must understand their own intention, whether it’s to provide a place of refuge, excitement, or creativity. At the same time, though, it’s every bit as important to
