{"id":20977,"date":"2024-01-13T23:04:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T17:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-travel-industry-wants-everyone-to-go-premium-for-a-price\/"},"modified":"2024-01-13T23:04:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T17:34:26","slug":"the-travel-industry-wants-everyone-to-go-premium-for-a-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-travel-industry-wants-everyone-to-go-premium-for-a-price\/","title":{"rendered":"The travel industry wants everyone to go premium \u2014 for a price."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Consumers who got a taste of higher-end amenities during the last couple years\u2019 travel boom aren\u2019t too keen to go back to basic economy, and the travel industry doesn\u2019t want them to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf \u2018revenge travel\u2019 was then, emboldened travel is now,\u201d said Erika Richter, a spokesperson for the American Society of Travel Advisors, which has seen customers continuing to take advantage of the upgraded offerings operators are dangling. With travel volumes still trending well ahead of pre-pandemic highs, \u201cpremium leisure travel is definitely on the rise,\u201d said Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, which analyzes the travel industry.<\/p>\n

At the top end of the market, the most deep-pocketed consumers are still spending heavily on high-dollar getaways and exclusive experiences. Now, airlines, hotels and cruises are prodding passengers of less lavish means to go premium, too \u2014 in some cases revising down what counts as \u201cluxury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upgrading from basic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Caleb Cash-Tobey and his husband have been springing for larger rooms and suites than they used to. Each year, the Fort Smith, Arkansas-based couple takes one major trip as well as smaller monthly ones that they\u2019re increasingly comfortable enhancing with extra amenities, such as evening turndown service and in-room breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve learned that we should take the experience when it is offered, because some experiences are no longer available in the post-Covid world that we may have really enjoyed,\u201d Cash-Tobey said, citing a Champagne-augmented tour of the British crown jewels that a favorite London hotel discontinued.<\/p>\n

Kristin Winkaffe, a travel adviser with Avenue Two Travel in Columbus, Ohio, said customers are becoming \u201cmore inclined to treat themselves to experiences that they may not have considered a few years ago. They\u2019re now prioritizing the quality of their vacations over budget constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The airlines have realized that if they price these products in the right way, they can coax enough people to trade up.<\/p>\n

Henry Harteveldt, Atmosphere Research Group Founder<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s a habit players across the travel industry want to spur more of.<\/p>\n

Both international and domestic airlines are increasing their premium cabin capacities, a pre-pandemic trend that shows no sign of letting up. Major carriers have been adding extra legroom in premium economy and expanding some business and first-class cabins, looking to nudge more flyers out of their cheapest seats and into pricier ones.<\/p>\n

Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein told investors in October that revenue from premium offerings jumped 17% from the prior year, \u201coutperforming main cabin by five points.\u201d Its premium select tier for long-haul flights, situated between economy options and the upscale Delta One, was revamped in late 2022 and has performed \u201cabove expectations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Delta's<\/picture>
Delta Air Lines has said revenue from its premium select seats has exceeded expectations.<\/span>Courtesy Delta<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A round-trip Delta ticket from Atlanta to Zurich in April would cost around $1,350 for a main cabin seat if booked today, compared with about $2,800 for premium select and $5,250 for Delta One.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe airlines have realized that if they price these products in the right way, they can coax enough people to trade up,\u201d Harteveldt said. His firm found last year that 1 in 3 travelers either booked a premium option or considered one, down just slightly from 38% in 2022, \u201cwhen we were still in the throes of revenge travel and when people still had more savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some consumers are shelling out on upgrades that are more about practicality than self-pampering.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the pandemic, I now only book changeable airplane tickets and hotels,\u201d said Cathy Raines of Washington, D.C. That typically adds about 15% to her bills, Raines said, but she thinks it\u2019s worth it for the added flexibility.<\/p>\n

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Life is too short to be standing around with a roller bag and a double-parked car wondering how to get in.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Ross, Seattle Consumer<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kristin Chambers, founder of the Boston-based luxury travel agency Travellustre, said many of her clients now ship their luggage ahead of arrival and book VIP services like airside pickups, expedited service at customs and immigration, or cars to hotels. \u201cTravelers are increasingly willing to invest in aspects of their journey that will guarantee an elevated level of service,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Seattle resident Rebecca Ross and her husband have ruled out Airbnb-style accommodations without 24-hour staff. \u201cLife is too short to be standing around with a roller bag and a double-parked car wondering how to get in. We\u2019ve vowed that our lodging must have a front desk with a human,\u201d she said. That sometimes means spending more but often just requires a little extra time to hunt down, she added.<\/p>\n

A Morning Consult report in September put it bluntly: \u201cForget first-class seats and penthouse suits \u2014 luxury travel is about customer service.\u201d If that means redefining what counts as premium to include things like the ability to speak to a real support agent, the researchers found consumers may welcome it all the same.<\/p>\n

First-class flights, fancy hotel stays and fine dining hold less appeal now than simply \u201cfeeling relaxed,\u201d \u201cexperiencing comfort\u201d and great service, the report said, adding that brands can find opportunity by treating the latter as high end: \u201cThe experiences that comprise \u2018new luxury\u2019 don\u2019t require the traveler to be affluent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The high end gets higher<\/h2>\n

Some amenities certainly do, though, and wealthy customers are scooping them up.<\/p>\n

Many \u201cultra-high-net-worth individuals\u201d ditched first-class seats on commercial flights for private jets during the pandemic, and the habit stuck, said Doug Gollan, founder of Private Jet Card Comparisons, a buyer\u2019s guide to these services.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew flyers racked up record-high private flight hours in 2021 and 2022, and 95% of these newcomers have continued to fly privately,\u201d he said \u2014 at an average cost of about $40,000 for a two-hour trip.<\/p>\n

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Our private cabanas are selling out on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Bill Zucker, Carnival Cruise Line Spokesperson<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lodging operators have also seen strong demand from offerings aimed at higher-dollar guests. \u201cBooking patterns continue to overwhelmingly favor premium suites, and some categories are booked months to years in advance,\u201d said Gebhard Rainer, the CEO of Sandals Resorts International.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s newest resort, Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines, won\u2019t open until March, but its beachfront butler villas that start at $1,111 per person per night, and two-story overwater units starting at $1,570 per person per night, have already sold out dates well into 2025, Rainer said.<\/p>\n

The Westin Poinsett hotel in Greenville, South Carolina, put together a \u201cHome Alone\u201d themed holiday package with prices ranging from $599 to more than $1,000 a night \u2014 over-the-top rates for the local market during what\u2019s usually a slow holiday season there. It sold out with 93 bookings and many guests asking about reservations for next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been in the industry for 25 years between Washington, D.C., and Greenville, and by far this was the most successful package I have ever seen,\u201d said John Geddes, the hotel\u2019s sales and marketing director. \u201cGuests were spending a minimum of four to five times the amount they would generally spend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tour organizations and cruise lines report much the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravelers are willing to pay more for exclusive experiences,\u201d said Terry Dale, CEO of the United States Tour Operators Association. As a result, organizers \u201care curating itineraries to include personalized services and experiences with more exclusivity, going beyond the standard offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"National<\/picture>
Average fares on Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic\u2019s Islander II yacht are 45% higher than its predecessor\u2019s.<\/span>Courtesy expeditions.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holland America, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Line, is seeing more guest bookings for premium spa services like its thermal suites and hydropool, said spokesperson Bill Zucker. \u201cOur private cabanas are selling out on a regular basis. And our new direct luggage service, where guests can have their luggage shipped directly to and from their home, is proving to be very popular,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lindblad Expeditions, which operates National Geographic-branded cruises, replaced its Islander I luxury yacht with the more luxurious Islander II for Galapagos voyages in 2022, raising the average fare by 45%.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome nail-biting ensued\u201d said Lindblad Chief Commercial Officer Noah Brodsky, but the Islander II is already 78% booked for this year. That\u2019s well ahead of historical trends, he said, \u201cand an indication of the uptick in premiumization.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] Consumers who got a taste of higher-end amenities during the last couple years\u2019 travel boom aren\u2019t too keen to go back to basic economy, and the travel industry doesn\u2019t want them to. \u201cIf \u2018revenge travel\u2019 was then, emboldened travel is now,\u201d said Erika Richter, a spokesperson for the American Society of Travel Advisors, which …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}