Skift Take
Connecting luxury travelers to the local community and fostering a better understanding of a destination is hard to do well. Here are two examples that the industry can draw inspiration from.
In my conversations with hoteliers and other people crafting high-end experiences, there's always a recurring talking point: the need for discovery and fellowship. As a hotelier put it to me: "Many of the guests have a house (or a plane) that is probably nicer than our actual hotel. But if you can add meaning to someone's stay, teach them something they don't know, or provide a community link, you can create a better relationship with the guest."
The shift in what defines true luxury travel from material comforts and indulgence to something more meaningful has been fascinating to watch. Those symbols of wealth of the not-too-distant past have become mass-market and accessible, as longtime Financial Times luxury columnist Lucia Van Der Post noted in her article How We Spent It: The Changing Face of Luxury. And those that have endless means seem to be moving toward unflashy quality experiences and a focus on betterment in various forms, be it mental, spiritual, intellectual, or charitable.
A large part of what's driving this change is also a desire for access to community and knowledge. But all too often, some of these initiatives fall a bit short. In Africa, it's a bit of a cliché for luxury travelers to drop into a local village for a few hours, buy something, and leave. There exists a larger opportun
