Transformative Travel
The peripatetic Roe, who oversees 20 countries and territories, 21 brands and over 700 hotels in the region for the US hotel brand could very well be describing herself when asked to elaborate on who today’s luxury traveller is.
“The essence of true luxury today is personal fulfilment, a concept that is replacing the long-held cliché of time being the ultimate luxury,” says Roe. She adds that there’s a clear and present shift among high-end travellers’ priorities from “what you can do” to “who you can be” when exploring new destinations.
The modern luxury traveller is on a lifelong journey to achieve personal fulfilment, seeking meaningful and purposeful travel experiences that speak to their inner, idealised selves. Personal fulfilment has been a key driver of the “transformative travel” trend, which has been gaining considerable momentum in the last couple of years.
READ MORE: This Hotel Offers A Different Side Of Bangkok To The World Traveller
Adventure activities are the new luxury as affluent travellers are looking for fewer mainstreams options and instead seek for nomadic, over-the-top, off-the-grid adventures in places where few others have.
Multi-generational travel is this year’s top global vacation trend, and we see that these trips are planned by Gen Z travellers who hold the purchasing power. They are influencing travel decisions when traveling with their families.
Millennials are driven by the desire to capture jaw-dropping luxury moments and are often willing to splurge for an once-in-a-lifetime luxury holiday. We speak to the passions and the interests of today’s travellers with new, transformative experiences across Asia Pacific.
The perfect holiday for me would be one at a beach resort, where I can enjoy the beautiful summer weather. I love travelling with my family, and don’t have any specific destinations in mind because what matters most to me is that all of us spend time together. As we like to try different types of activities, we would choose to stay at a resort with plenty of family entertainment options and perhaps partake in some water sports like snorkelling.
Our strategy centres on placing our customers’ needs as a priority. We use social listening and understand our customers through MLive, the company’s real-time marketing command headquarters. This helps us engage travellers in more personalised ways by participating in one-to-one conversations with our guests across social platforms where they are already active and engaged.
