Luxury Travel

The luxury sector is one of the first to benefit from an economic rebound, but it still caters to a very specific market in most regions of the world.

Chinese outbound travel is hard to understand without understanding retail shopping as part of the mix. Rich Chinese travelers take that to a whole new level.

Luxury amenities are a welcome treat on long-haul flights, but most airlines reserve the high-end goods for high-paying passengers in business or first class.

The project is modeled after Spain’s Paradores, 25 of which were recently shut down indicating not even they were safe from the recession. The Italian project might provide a tourism boost, but won’t be a saving grace.

The high-manpower, high-costs five star luxury hotels haven't recovered since the recession, and investors are more interested in smart upscale, one or two notches below, as that market -- competing with boutiques -- has been booming over the last year or so.

These trends could be adopted by the entire travel industry as consumers across all spending strata are attracted to companies that are digitally engaged and offer beneficial loyalty programs.

Granted the objects are supposed to be more travel-inspired than travel-hardy, LV will never have a more rapt audience than the modish consumers at the premiere’s location at Art Basel in Miami.

Hotels in the economy segment have more at risk on user review sites, but would be wise to leverage the information found on the sites to address specific failures.

Will Jetsetter be able to take off under new ownership or will the once-hot flash sale site be a flash in the pan?

Acquisitions ran rampant last year as operators that couldn’t keep up brand standards were dropped and then picked up by brands looking to renovate the space, or left to become individually owned.