8 Luxury Travel Trends You Shouldn’t Ignore
Luxury digital marketers, this one is for you.
1) Small is the New Big.
In luxury travel social media, size does matter. But in this case smaller is better when it comes to digital content and personalization. Short, mobile-friendly, image-rich posts and personalized digital communications ensure messages are seen, shared, and loved.
2) To create contagious digital content, be brief, be bright, be remembered.
Digital content in luxury travel should be creative yet concise, avoiding the hyperbole and irreverent tone so popular in social media today that is inconsistent with luxury.
3) In Latin America, smartphones can equal affluence.
High-income households account for 16.4% of the smartphone audience in Chile, 45% of the smartphone audience in Mexico, and 53.9% of the smartphone audience in Peru.
4) Personalize and micro-target messages for massive returns.
Digital targeting technology improves every year and has enormous implications for brands wanting to personalize messages in a social context. Facebook's Custom Audiences has ROIs reaching 50:1 for luxury travel brands.
5) Instagram and TripAdvisor are the most important social sites for luxury travel brands in the Americas.
To win on these sites, luxury brands should ensure they have instagram-mable experiences – think ridiculous views, jaw-dropping lobby design, latte art, or locally-sourced F&B.
6) Travel advisors still matter and social media is their best friend.
The key to success is winning new customers one by one, showcasing one's own luxury travel lifestyle on a personal Facebook account, and building influence in digital luxury web forums.
7) Luxury travel hotspots are moving to Latin America.
Destinations like Puerto Rico and Rio de Janeiro have the highest draw but La Romana in the Dominican Republic and São Paulo in Brazil are seeing strong increases each year.
8) North American and Latin American Luxury Travelers have different needs.
Perhaps that's no surprise, but Latin American luxury travelers care most about bedrooms and breakfasts while North American luxury travelers expect flawless and empathetic service levels at luxury hotels.
To learn more about each of these trends and the data behind them, download The Luxury Traveller & Social Media: The Americas, a special report produced by Brand Karma, global leaders in luxury travel digital analysis, for the upcoming International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Americas conference.
The report analyzes 1,936,145 reviews written between January 2012 and June 2014 on more than 2,000 luxury hotels worldwide. Brand Karma COO and Co-Founder, Mario Jobbe, will explain these eight key findings at ILTM Americas 2014 in a dedicated seminar entitled 'Contagious Content: How Luxury Brands Win in Digital' on Monday 22 September at the Fairmont Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
About Brand Karma
Brand Karma creates immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences for the world's most-admired travel, real estate, and luxury brands. Combining its ten-year history in both software development and content marketing, Brand Karma has created the ultimate VR studio focused on the travel and luxury sectors. By providing cutting edge tools and creative expertise, Brand Karma helps brands drive sales by thrilling and delighting their customers.
The company operates a global team from offices in the US, Singapore, Greater China, and Japan.
To learn more about Brand Karma, email [email protected] or visit www.brand-karma.com.
Jorgia Parker
+1 (212) 330 8228
Circos Brand Karma
