As travellers remain cautious about their budgets this year, luxury travel advisors within TravelSavers and NEST are reporting increases in shoulder season travel and last-minute bookings. The American Marketing Group (AMG) brands surveyed their advisors in spring to see how their business was shaping up for the year.Interestingly, these trends were not just mirrored but were more exaggerated among those advisors who belong to AMG’s Affluent Traveler Collection program.
Forty-one percent of advisors affiliated with the Affluent Traveler Collection said their shoulder season bookings are up from last year. Just over one in 10 (13 percent) said their shoulder season bookings were up by 10 percent or more compared to last year.This is compared to 20 percent who stated their shoulder season business is down and 34 percent who reported their shoulder season is the same as last year. (Four percent revealed that they don’t experience a shoulder season, with sales constant year-round.)
Growth in Last-Minute Bookings
Booking shoulder-season trips allows travellers to be more spontaneous and reserve closer to the time of their vacation, as inventory is more readily available compared to peak season. Travelers, said AMG, can enjoy the flexibility to adapt their destinations to changing circumstances such as weather or pricing.To that point, one in four advisors reported a higher-than-normal number of last-minute bookings. Forty-two
percent of advisors, however, said they saw a normal amount of last-minute bookings. One-third (32 percent) say they are not seeing last-minute bookings this year.
Hotels Up Their Offers; Travellers Willing to Wait
LATTErecently spoke with Ed Donaldson, Vice President, Sales, Affluent Traveler Collection, and Kelly Mickens, Director, Supplier Relations, Hotels & Resorts, Affluent Traveler Collection, to dive into some of these and other trends.Said Donaldson: “The biggest thing is that unsureness and instability in the market, as to what consumers are going to do. Hotels have kind of gone back to their old playbook of, basically, offering two kinds of promotions. You’re either going to get an extra commission or you’re going to get an extra night stay complimentary. That seems to be pretty systemic.”He points to IHG’s Destined program, which was offering a free night through June of this year. It has since extended that promotion through the middle of last year—three times as long as the promo was initially intended to run. Even more “unusual,” Donaldson noted, is that the offer is available through festive season, which is usually blacked out for such promotions.Beyond the extra night free, Donaldson added “A lot of hotels are offering 15 to 20% commissions in the luxury space,” even among brands that are typically “anti-commission.” Hotels in Europe and Asia are offering such incentives to travel advisors, as well.LATTE asked if he believes hotels are upping their commission in recognition of the value luxury travel advisors provide them or if they’re sampling looking to expand their prospect
pipeline by any means necessary. Donaldson’s response? “Yes.”No longer are we seeing the ‘revenge travel’ that was spurred by the pandemic; now, people are slowing their travels and are more reactive to the market. These incentives, said Mickens, are “a big, big carrot” for advisors.Donaldson added that even consumers who may not be as affected by fluctuations in the market or exchange rates are sitting and waiting for the best deal because they know it’s coming. To that point, he said the pre-sell for this festive season “is anywhere near what it’s been for the last three” years. People are willing to wait to get the best rate.
Trending Destinations: Eastern Europe, Asia
According to Donaldson and Mickens, Eastern Europe (including Istanbul, Türkiye) and Japan are two of the top-selling destinations for the group. They added that Kyoto is almost outpacing Tokyo in terms of traveller interest.With this being the case, Donaldson mentioned the importance of always growing the Affluent Traveler Collection’s hotel and resorts program. One recent addition is an off-the-beaten-path, four-bedroom hotel that has a Michelin-starred chef helming the dining room.Similarly, Mickens pointed to a hotel in Montenegro—Heritage Grand Perast by Rixos—which offers luxury travellers a hotel in a lesser-visited part of a popular destination. With this hotel located within the Bay of Kotor, off the Mediterranean, it’s possible to visit in peak season (or high shoulder season) and still have an “insider, more authentic experience.”
