The global luxury travel market is booming: According to GrandView Research, the segment as a whole was worth an estimated $1.3 trillion in 2023 and will exhibit a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 7.9 percent from 2024 to 2030. However, to benefit fully from such explosive growth, travel advisors must have a true understanding of luxury travelers in general, as well as effectively engage and cater to a diverse group of luxury travel clients. Here’s how.
1. Understand what today’s luxury traveler clients are looking for.
Truly tailored experiences top the list. “While a good portion of a given trip may just be a higher-end product booked through traditional channels, such as a flight and land package, a cruise, a hotel stay or a villa, we often find it’s the out-of-the-box requests and activities that present us with opportunities to go beyond,” observes Jamie Anderson, VTA, owner, Travel Cruise Desk, Lake Oswego, Ore. He cited the example of clients who wanted to find art for a newly purchased home by including a “special,” highly individualized art shopping trip in the itinerary of a weekend trip to Paris.
Anderson and his team spent ample time locating, vetting, and contracting with a personal shopper who could handle the request. “While the hotel stay went exactly as planned, and they were fortunate to receive an upgrade based on our relationship with the property, the thing they’ll remember forever is the artwork in the home and the curated shopping experience we arranged just for them,” Anderson states.
Professional, high-quality service is equally important. Sources say luxury clients are not only very accustomed to paying for professional services; they see the high price of these services as testament to the quality of the services themselves. “Impeccable service is crucial,” Anderson says. “The best way to achieve this is by booking accommodations or other components where you can close to guarantee the experience.”
Another luxury client “must-have”: exclusivity. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals generally define exclusive experiences as options that are simply inaccessible to the general public — like yacht charters and stays on private islands with no other guests present. For aspirational luxury travelers, it could simply be private transfers rather than shared transfers, or “skip-the-line”/after-hours tickets to a venue.
2. Consider what “luxury” means for individual client segments, such as extremely wealthy individuals, affluent professionals and aspirational luxury travelers.
While all luxury clients value personalized experiences, exclusivity, and service quality, they cannot be lumped into one homogenous group.
Extremely wealthy individuals equate luxury with ultimate exclusivity, privacy and bespoke experiences that cater to their every whim, asserts Jason Block, CEO, WorldVia Travel Group, Roswell, Ga. They have the resources to create their own standard of luxury, which can include anything from private jets and super-yachts to custom-built vacation homes in remote locations, etc. These travelers also value experiences that are not accessible to the public and deliver a high degree of privacy.
Anderson agreed, adding that despite uber-wealthy individuals’ penchant for bespoke experiences that suit their extravagant tastes, they just as often seek a more subtle experience that allows them to relax or explore in their own style. “The key here is getting to know them, asking questions, taking notes, and making suggestions,” he says. When serving clients in this segment, he advises, “always strive to set the right expectations while leaving space to exceed them.”
For their part, affluent professionals often value itineraries that allow them to conserve what Anderson deemed their “most valuable commodity”: time. “Over the years, I have seen members of this segment make scheduling and purchasing decisions that are hard to fathom simply because they (prioritize) high-quality service and unique experiences, but are limited on time,” he explains. “They appreciate seamless travel plans that maximize their leisure time and can be even less forgiving than the most affluent travelers if things go wrong. That said, if you can make a tight schedule work…you’ll win them over for life.”
Just as the definition of 'luxury' differs by level of affluence, it changes based on clients’ personality.
It’s important to keep in mind that “luxury is in the eye of the beholder,” says Michele Vogel, travel advisor and operations manager, Mequon (Wisconsin) office, Direct Travel. “For the ultra-luxe, it might be private planes, or a chartered yacht with full staff,” Vogel observes. “For the wealthy professional, it might be an African safari to disconnect from tech and reconnect with life.”
3. Get personal — with personality-based targeting.
Just as the definition of “luxury” differs by level of affluence, it changes based on clients’ personality. That’s why catering to the distinct preferences of different personalities remains a key strategy for winning in the luxury travel space.
Case in point: To cultivate “foodies,” the key lies in knowing individuals’ tastes — whether making restaurant recommendations; designing itineraries that incorporate exclusive dining opportunities, private chef services or gourmet tours; or booking packages, tours or cruises that offer or are built around culinary experiences. Asking clients about past experiences or even dining habits at home goes far towards finding the right fit.
Similarly, culture aficionados are strongly attracted to activities that allow them to immerse themselves in and learn the history of the destinations to which they are traveling. Anderson deems this especially true when travel advisors are able to consider clients’ own heritage in the planning process. He cites the example of planning a trip to Scotland for a woman, her sister and her daughter. "We used the assistance of a destination specialist who helped with the ancestry research and found them the perfect private driver,” he recalls. “They really were not sure if they would find anything, and what, (but) the trip was a huge success. They found gravestones, then ancestors, and then distant relatives they never knew they had.”
4. Leverage occupation-based targeting.
While targeting some luxury travel segments is largely relationship-based and referral driven, travel advisors would also do well to promote themselves as established experts in working with and understanding the needs of clients in keeping with their occupation or other job-related parameters. “For example,” Block notes, “if an advisor is targeting busy executives, he or she should highlight their skill in creating itineraries that are time-efficient.”
Anderson agrees, adding that exclusivity and seamless travel logistics resonate well with and appeal to C-suite executives. For entrepreneurs, he says, unique or innovative experiences — “perhaps new resorts, new cruise lines that do things differently, or emerging travel destinations” likely top the list of hot buttons.
Another group — creative industry leaders — can be effectively cultivated with travel experiences that center on arts- and culturally focused itineraries. Such itineraries might incorporate activities like private viewings (e.g., of museum exhibitions) and participatory experiences (e.g., getting up on stage at a performance). They might also include opportunities to improve the destination being visited, for instance, through beautification projects.
5. Engage, engage and engage some more.
All groups of luxury travelers — including aspirational luxury travelers — are easily engaged with social media pages devoted especially to them. For example, WorldVia has a Facebook page specifically for its highest-end travelers. Exclusive webinars, private events and involvement in local clubs and charities have all proven effective, experienced travel advisors reports.
Vogel, who said she has found some of her best clients through garden and women’s clubs, recommended that data analytics be used to tailor and personalize luxury travel for individual sub-segments. “It helps ensure the message is (properly conveyed) and then read,” she states. “You can also track what your clients are clicking on and follow up on it,” she continues. “Maybe they’ve always cruised, but they keep clicking on safari marketing, so you call to say ‘hi’ and mention how excited you are for the client leaving on safari, and you’ve got a new booking” and perhaps, a customer for life.
Meeting the Needs of Luxury Clients
Are you looking for solutions to capitalize on the luxury market? Read on. ALG Vacations has created a new program to provide new options to address the luxury sector. Jim Tedesco, the company's Vice President, Sales, spoke with us about the new product and how advisors can benefit from it.
Tell us about the new Luxe by ALG Vacations® program.
It’s a program that’s been in development for the past year, and one we’re very excited about. We’ve always had a wide range of options for the luxury sector, but we’ve made it easier than ever to book by curating a dedicated collection of the most prestigious hotels in the world. At launch, we had more than 450 handpicked properties, and that number will continue to grow. Selected hotels have to meet a series of high standards, of course. Each has either AAA Five Diamond status or AAA Four Diamond as well as two or more industry-recognized designations, such as inclusion on the Condé Nast Gold List or Forbes stars, or, for those not rated by AAA, five stars and, again, two or more designations. The expected Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Waldorf Astoria product is all there, as well as the one-of-a-kind boutiques that tell a unique story, particularly in Europe.
That’s another thing advisors should be aware of. Our Luxe collection is worldwide. We have options in Mexico and the Caribbean, the bread and butter for many of our advisors, Europe, as I just mentioned, the U.S., including Hawaii, but also far beyond, in destinations such as Thailand, Egypt, and China. All of our Luxe properties are directly contracted, which was very important to our travel advisors because of the seamless booking experience it provides. Every step we’ve taken went toward ensuring the highest standards for advisors’ most discerning clients. In fact, we reach out to your client’s hotel two weeks prior to their arrival to make sure the staff is prepared to welcome them as VIPs.
"Luxury is really about the attention to detail and service that anticipates your needs."– — Jim Tedesco, Vice President, Sales, ALG Vacations
Also our Exclusive Perks program offers ALGV customers extras such as spa credit, a complimentary bottle of wine, or other exclusives at preferred partner resorts that they can only receive through our brands. It’s yet another way we help our advisors stand apart. Now, we’ve done something similar for Luxe by ALG Vacations with our Luxe Amenities. We’re proud to provide exclusive value-adding inclusions at 105 of our Luxe hotels. It’s a nice finishing touch for clients accustomed to the finer things and that higher level of acknowledgement.
What makes this program stand out?
The #1 differentiator, in my opinion, is our Luxe Concierge Desk. Booking the hotel, no matter how instantly recognizable it is for its luxury, is only the beginning of a client’s travel experience. Luxury travelers expect complete customization and they expect it to be taken care of with minimal involvement on their part. They want their advisors to anticipate their needs and wants and come to them with recommendations. So much of luxury today is about personalization, and that’s where our Concierge Consultants come in. Our highly specialized, highly knowledgeable team is there to help advisors plan any travel arrangement a client can dream up. After an advisor has made a Luxe reservation, they simply fill out a special request form and one of our Consultants reaches out to assist with the special elements that transform a vacation into a true luxury experience: dinner reservations at Michelin-starred restaurants, tickets to the most in-demand shows, private tours of museums. No request is too large or small, and our Consultants are excellent at suggesting additional activities to flesh out itineraries and really highlight the value of using a travel advisor.
What makes ALGV uniquely qualified to launch a program in the luxury space?
We already go the extra mile for our travel advisors and their clients. Anyone who’s worked with us before knows we have a great support system in place with our BDMs, and our entire team is dedicated to caring for our customers and keeping kindness at the heart of our business. Luxury is really about the attention to detail and service that anticipates your needs, and these are things that we’ve been doing for years. We have 55 years of experience behind our brand. We have the product. We have the relationships with our partner hotels and DMCs. We have the partnership with our advisors. The formula for luxury was there; we’ve just perfected it.
For more information about Luxe by ALG Vacations, visit ALGVacations.com