 | |||
 | |||
| |||
It makes sense that the wealthiest among us would travel the most, but just how much the top 5% of households travel may surprise you.
For the new Resonance 2016 U.S. Luxury Travel Report, we interviewed 1,667 U.S. travelers in the top 5% of households (household income of at least $200k or net worth of $2 million+) with 724 travelers falling in the top 1% (household income of $400k+ or net worth of $8 million or more) - the wealthiest 1% in the country. Our goal was to find out where the richest among us want to travel, their preferred hotel brands and the activities in which they participate while on vacation.
We found that the wealthiest 5% take an average of 14.3 trips per year compared to just 4.8 by the average U.S. traveler (about half for business and half for leisure). With an average expenditure of $3,115 per person per vacation and an average of 2.9 people per household, that adds up to spending of more than $390 billion per year just on leisure travel alone - making wealthy U.S. travelers the most lucrative leisure market segment in the world.
So where are they planning to spend that time and money in 2016? While Mexico, Canada and Europe are the most popular international destinations among both wealthy and general U.S. travelers, Caribbean destinations such as the Bahamas, Anguilla and the U.S. Virgin Islands stand out when it comes to attracting the top 1% of U.S. travelers.
Top 10 Vacation Destinations for the Wealthiest 1% of Households
1. Mexico (26%)
2. Canada (24%) 3. Italy (24%) 4. England (22%) 5. France (22%) 6. Germany (14%) 7. Bahamas (14%) 8. Anguilla (13%) 9. Australia (12%) 10. U.S. Virgin Islands (11%)
The key to attracting the wealthy is offering hotel brands that resonate with them – both the top 5% and top 1% rate “upscale/luxury hotel or resort” as their preferred type of accommodation – and then providing exciting and experiential activities.
In Anguilla, where Resonance is currently marketing a Viceroy property, the government has focused almost exclusively on the development of luxury resorts, likeViceroy Anguilla, CéBlue Villas and Beach Resort, Malliouhana Resort, and the Zemi Beach House, which will open in February 2016 with beachfront residences starting at $2.1 million. And these efforts are paying off.
Total visitor arrivals to Anguilla increased by 17 percent from 2013 to 2014 and new projects like The Reef by CuisinArt, Manoah and Solaria contributed to a 38 percent increase in construction as they prepared for their openings. For a country that relies so heavily on tourism – ranking 7th globally for Travel and Tourism’s total contribution to GDP – Anguilla needs to attract a high net worth travel market if it is to maintain market share in the highly competitive Caribbean market.
Similarly, Mexico attracts the luxury crowd thanks to established and highly rated resorts like Four Seasons and St. Regis in Punta Mita and the re-opening of high end resorts in Los Cabos that closed following 2014’s Hurricane Odile.
The cliffside Resort at Pedregal on the southernmost tip of Cabo debuted a new champagne terrace overlooking the Pacific; One&Only Palmilla reopened after $140 million of renovations; and Montage Los Cabos will open its doors in 2017 boasting a 1,400 acre luxury community with 122 guest rooms, 52 ownership residences and a main pool spanning two levels overlooking the Sea of Cortez. And not to be over looked, Ritz-Carlton’s Reserve (a luxuriously experiential offering) is also preparing to open in Los Cabos in 2017. Features include a desert botanical theme park, fisherman's wharf, a 500-slip marina, and two private championship golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.
According to our study the hotel brands most highly regarded by the Top 5% of U.S. Travelers are:
1. Ritz-Carlton (82%)
2. Four Seasons (81%) 3. Peninsula (81%) 4. Mandarin Oriental (74%) 5. Aman (72%) 6. Montage (72%) 7. St. Regis (70%) 8. Viceroy (68%) 9. Waldorf Astoria (67%) 10. Fairmont (60%)
President and CEO of top-ranked Ritz-Carlton, Simon Cooper, told Bloomberg that the key to the brand's success is to develop such a strong emotional engagement between hotel staff and guests that a guest won’t even consider staying anywhere else.
“It’s all about people. Nobody has an emotional experience with a thing. We're appealing to emotions,” Simon says.
Cooper told Forbes that Ritz-Carlton’s appeal also comes from being more than a hotel company.
“Whether you are spending a night, spending a week, buying five weeks of fractional ownership or buying a lifetime in the Ritz-Carlton, we feel that we represent lifestyle, that we have moved beyond being just a hotel company.”
However, the hospitality field is increasingly crowded with lifestyle brands, and Ritz-Carlton, like all others, need to continue to distinguish themselves.
To learn more about the destinations the wealthy plan to visit in 2016, the brands favored by the Top 1%, the activities and experiences that resonate with them and the distinct types of luxury travelers we’ve identified, you can purchase our new 2016 U.S. Luxury Travel Report here.
|
New (and expensive) trips combine the just-sign-up ease of traditional group tours with luxurious accommodations, insider experiences and transportation in private planes
FLIGHT DINNER | Inside the Embraer Lineage 1000 used for Remote Lands' private-jet tour.
THE TERM "group tour" doesn't connote glamour—unless, that is, the group is traveling on a private Boeing 757, along with a personal chef.
More and more travel companies are offering private-jet tours, which combine the just-sign-up approach of guided trips with luxurious lodging and billionaire-style transportation. And pampering isn't the sole selling point. Though such tours can cost tens of thousands of dollars, they can save time, aggravation, even money.
"To recreate our Around the World trip…flying first class and staying at the same hotels, would take you twice as long and cost over twice as much," claimed Scott Leviton, director of guest relations at Seattle's TCS Expeditions. It's a hassle to organize guides and lodging, some destinations can be challenging to reach by commercial flight and delays are all but inevitable.
With these five trips, the work is all done for you—albeit at a price.
AFRICA FROM ABOVE
Abercrombie & Kent didn't just pioneer the luxury safari—25 years ago, it offered a private around-the-world journey via Concorde. It relaunched its Private Jet program this March with an African itinerary designed by founder Geoffrey Kent. For next year, he's created a 19-day, seven-country journey that includes gorilla-tracking in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a dinner accompanied by fire spinners in Namibia's dunes and a stint in A&K's mobile camp in Tanzania's Serengeti. The ride is a chartered Icelandair Boeing 757-200ER, configured for just 44 passengers and upgraded with custom leather seats that lie flat and have built-in massagers. An in-flight chef cooks up dishes using ingredients sourced en route, and the open bar is stocked with each guest's preferred tipples. Feb. 20 to March 10, 2015, from $82,995 a person,abercrombiekent.com
HOTEL-HOP AROUND THE WORLD
Four Seasons's Boeing 757
In April, Four Seasons introduced the hotel industry's first fully branded aircraft, a Boeing 757 retrofitted for 52 passengers, with handcrafted Italian-leather flatbed seats. Also on board: a Four Seasons executive chef who serves destination-inspired dishes. February's inaugural, around-the-world trip sold out in two months; the next is set for March 2015, with nine stops—and Four Seasons stays. Activities can include a day trip from Istanbul to the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, and a low-altitude flight over Australia's iconic red sandstone formation, Uluru. March 16 to April 8, 2015, from $119,000 a person, fourseasons.com
GOLF THE GLOBE
Known for crafting European golf cruises, North Carolina-based Kalos is venturing into the skies this fall with an around-the-world tour via Boeing 757. The plan: to visit five continents in 23 days, hitting mountain, seaside, jungle and desert courses, from renowned spots like South Africa's Fancourt to lesser-known gems in Fiji and Thailand. (There are plenty of options for nongolfers, too.) Limited to 78 passengers, the first trip has already sold out; a second is scheduled for next fall. Oct. 8 to Oct. 31, 2015, from $73,950 a person, kalosgolf.com
TRACE HUMAN HISTORY
National Geographic Expeditions tapped geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells to help craft an off-the-beaten-path voyage via Boeing 757 to some of the world's oldest centers of civilization, from Uzbekistan to Israel. Among the highlights: joining paleoanthropologist David Lordkipanidze on an excursion to Dmanisi, Georgia, where he discovered the earliest-known hominid remains outside of Africa, and staying in a traditional tent in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. Along with Dr. Wells, a Nat Geo photographer will join the trip, offering picture-taking tips. Next year's tour has filled up, but another is slated for 2016. May 12 to June 4, 2016, from $67,950 a person,nationalgeographicexpeditions.com
ACROSS ASIA VIA AMAN
Covering China, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, the very first private-jet group tour from bespoke outfitter Remote Lands was designed for Asia enthusiasts—and hotel snobs. The Embraer Lineage 1000 has space for just 18 guests. The itinerary has been built around the eight stylish Aman Resorts in those countries; each hotel offers insider access to nearby sites. From Beijing's Aman at Summer Palace, for example, you can explore parts of the Forbidden City not open to the public. Oct. 4 to Oct. 21, 2014, from $49,950 a person, remotelands.com