Travel And Hospitality Trends

I independently planned my first solo international trip to Thailand and realized – Solo traveling is not as daunting as I assumed it to be. (Please note, I’m not a seasoned pro – this was my first time too.) Deciding to travel solo, especially as a woman, felt both thrilling & terrifying. Safety, comfort, and planning were all top of mind. But with the right strategy, I turned my anxiety into an unforgettable experience. Here’s how I did it and how you can too: 📌 STAY: → I chose hotels with ratings above 8/10 (verified through online reviews and social media). → Being a vegetarian, I checked for breakfast options that fit my diet. → I prioritized proximity. My hotel was near major locations, in well-lit, bustling areas safe for women. → I splurged on a 4-star hotel to ensure extra safety and peace of mind rather than going with a hostel or a dorm room. 📌 TRAVEL ITINERARY: → ChatGPT, social media (YouTube, Instagram) and advice from friends who’d been there helped me map out my trip with minute details. → Bangkok’s BTS local trains were my go-to – affordable, fast, and scam-free. → I skipped taxis and tuk-tuks to avoid haggling or potential scams. 📌 FOOD: → Apps like Google Maps and HappyCow made locating veg-friendly spots easier. → Finding good vegetarian options was a workout – I clocked 20k steps daily to get to those restaurants! → Drinking water isn’t free in malls, so I relied on bottled water from 7-Eleven. Solo travel might seem intimidating at first, but it’s all about preparation. Plan smart in advance, prioritize safety, and embrace the adventure. Trust me – If I could do it, so can you! Got questions?  Ask away in the comments!  What’s that one thing holding you back from your first solo trip? #drishtiispeaks #solotrip #Thailand #travel #female

The overlooked guest: Why ignoring families is costing hospitality brands more than you think. In luxury hospitality, we obsess over details — thread counts, pillow menu's, wine lists—yet there’s one audience consistently undervalued: families. Not just tolerated. Not just given a “kids menu” and a box of crayons. Truly, thoughtfully, designed for. And yet, so many hotel brands still don’t see the value. The global luxury family travel market is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion by 2030, growing at 8.4% CAGR. Parents — especially HNW & UHNW parents — are no longer willing to compromise. They want to travel as a family without sacrificing sophistication, design, or experience. The opportunity is enormous. The execution? Rare. A Personal Benchmark: Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong I recently stayed in the Hong Kong Tram Suite on the new family floor with my 5-year-old daughter. From the moment we walked in, it was magic: - A custom Hong Kong tram bunk bed with buttons, sound effects, and lights. - UV-painted wallpaper that revealed hidden characters when lit up at night. - A joint suite, one immersive room for her, one luxury and refined room for us. And then there was The Hangout — a Horizon Club-style lounge for kids. All-day access to freshly stocked juices, yogurts, smoothies, warm pastas, dips. Afternoon tea. Ice cream hour (with toppings). Bedtime “Happy Hour” with cookies and warm milk. Not an afterthought. A destination. A memory. And my daughter? Still talking about it. The ROI of Family-Centric Luxury: Here’s what the best operators are seeing: - +22% higher spend per family vs. couples, driven by multi-meal, multi-room, and experience layering. - Increased stay lengths during holiday periods. - Stronger lifetime value, as families repeat and evolve their loyalty across generations. - Organic, high-trust referrals from parents to parents — amplified by content sharing. Actionable Steps for GMs & Brand Leaders: 1. Redefine Luxury for the Family Lens Luxury doesn’t mean compromise — it means context. For parents, luxury might be as simple as thoughtful snack access, sensory calm, or a seamless bedtime ritual. 2. Create Immersive Multi-Generational Zones Go beyond kids' clubs. Curate family floors, shared lounges, co-dining rituals, design-forward play. 3. Empower Staff to Say Yes Train teams to respond with curiosity, not constraint. A non-cake birthday shouldn’t be a puzzle — it’s an opportunity. 4. Bake It Into the Brand Family offerings should be part of your tone of voice, your rituals, your service flow. If you’re serious about it, don’t hide it. Final Thought: Families don’t want “kid versions” of luxury. They want luxury that includes their kids. Not an upgrade. Not a corner room. A mindset shift. Because when you get it right — they don’t just stay with you. They grow up with you. #LuxuryHospitality #FamilyExperience #GuestLoyalty #UHNWGuests #HospitalityLeadership #IslandShangrila #EDGDesign #NextGenTravel

I can see an opening, finally, after decades of online travel booking dominance by the usual suspects. It isn't that all the big players will be gone, it is that those who win going ahead -- hopefully including totally new players -- are those who understand that integration depth beats market share, the quest for the last three decades. Based on all the conversations at last week's Skift Global Forum, I wrote up five strategic shifts and what they mean for the industry's next phase. → Attach rates now matter more than booking volume. RevPOR is the new growth metric that actually creates sustainable value. → Discovery is becoming carousel-driven. The "stays" shelf now mixes homes with boutique hotels side-by-side, fundamentally changing how travelers browse. → Pricing transparency became table stakes. Airbnb's move to host-only fees signals that split-fee confusion is finally getting addressed industry-wide. → AI went from chatbots to action buttons. Travelers expect card-based flows that can rebook, refund, or modify instantly—not more conversation. → Non-Google traffic became the ultimate leverage. As EU regulations and search UI changes whipsaw paid acquisition, direct relationships create structural moats. Full analysis story link in the first comment.

I have STOPPED travelling! That’s what everyone has been saying, because I just spent 2 months in 1 place And it's not even a new place - I’ve been there before. But that made me wonder - Does a traveller have to travel every week? Do I have to visit a new country every month? Can I not create travel content extensively in one single country or city? You see, social media gave me the sense of always being on the go. I thought, stopping in one place for too long would make me irrelevant. But after 1 serious burnout, I realised - I MUST slow down. My body and my mind get tired from the constant change. And I don’t give them time to heal and regain their energy. So I decided this needed to change. And so, from now on I will be travelling but “slow travelling”. When I visit a new city or revisit an old favourite - ➡️ I will stay for as long as I’d like - a weekend, a week, a month, 2 months, or more ➡️ My aim is not to tick off every place on earth but to enjoy each place I visit deeply ➡️ I will spend more time trying to get to know the people and cultures of a place ➡️ I will focus on my own mental and physical health while travelling Stepping away from social media expectations wasn’t an easy step. But it was necessary. Would you like to travel slow too? Tell me in the comments!

✈️ From Dream to Booking: How Social Media Is Completing the Travel Funnel Back in the early 2000s, during my time with Priceline and Travelocity (now part of Expedia), we nailed the UX and supply side—but struggled with demand, interest, and conversion. Travelers were inspired, yet getting them to book directly from inspiration remained elusive. Fast forward to today: ✔️ Travelers now visit up to 277 web pages in the 45 days leading up to a booking. That’s up from just 38 in 2013. The path to purchase is increasingly fragmented. ✔️ 81% of travelers say social media inspires their travel decisions. TikTok has become one of the most powerful discovery tools, especially for Gen Z. ✔️ But sourcing inspiration across platforms and then seamlessly booking through OTAs? The funnel was broken. ⸻ A Game-Changer Emerges Booking.com and TikTok have just raised the bar. In the U.S., select users can now: ✔️ View hotel availability, ratings, prices, reviews ✔️ Book directly within the TikTok app ✔️ Receive confirmations straight in their TikTok inbox This is a watershed moment: social media is no longer just about inspiration—it’s becoming a distribution and booking platform. ⸻ Why It Matters ✔️Travel inspiration and booking are finally converging in one seamless experience. ✔️TikTok’s highly personalized feed now drives real-world decisions, and Booking.com brings the commerce element in-app. ✔️This integration showcases how visual storytelling can lead directly into transactions—no friction, no tabs, no abandonment. ⸻ Tryp.com: Cracking the Inspiration-Booking Gap This is why I’m so inspired by what Tryp.com has built: ✔️An AI-powered experience that turns inspiration directly into full itineraries—flights, trains, buses, hotels, activities—based on your preferences. ✔️ In just four years, André and his team have taken the idea of inspirational travel and made it instantly bookable. ✔️ They’ve essentially reimagined the top of the funnel, turning browsing into booking. I have no connection to Tryp.com—I’m simply excited and impressed by how they’ve solved a problem that many of us have wrestled with for decades. ⸻ The Future of Travel Commerce ✔️ Social platforms will increasingly act as both the spark and the checkout. ✔️ AI-driven inspiration platforms like Tryp.com are pivotal in shaping how travelers move from dream to itinerary. ✔️ The travel industry is on the cusp of a funnel transformation—and it’s fascinating to watch unfold. Could AI-powered inspiration be the next growth engine for travel tech? I believe Tryp.com and innovations like TikTok + Booking.com are pointing the way. #TravelTech #Innovation #AI #SocialCommerce #TravelInspiration

👵🏼 It recently dawned on me that I will never get to travel with my grandmothers ever again. As bittersweet as this realisation was, it added deeper conviction to what I read about Royal Carribean International - Enchantment of the Seas recent cruise product innovation. 🛳️ Its CEO Jason Liberty said "that cruising isn’t solely for a certain generation – it is a true multi-generational vacation offering and with itineraries to all 7 continents, it is the next experience you can’t wait to collect and share". And I believe this is also very true for on land hotel vacation experiences. ⛓️💥 Inter-generational travels, designing hotel products and programming that serve this segment is crucial. Especially with ageing populations worldwide, regenerative and inclusive travel itineraries where grandparents, parents, and children meaningfully participate—not just cohabitate—is a needed hospitality offering. 🛜 Technology that is intuitive and low-friction, would be needed to serve families juggling differing energy levels and interests. For seamless online to offline, or offline to online experiences. 💰 Last but not the least, inter-generational travels allow for bulk sale of beds, products, merch, and itineraries. Intergenerational travel is most impactful when it builds collective memory, values, and storytelling across generations. As every trip and vacation helps to rejuvenate place and people alike. Skift article: https://lnkd.in/geaP-hmA #inclusiveTravel #intergenerationalTravel #cruising #hotels #grandparents

🤖 "I Let AI Plan My Family Holiday - Here's What Happened..." My annual holiday locating challenge: Finding a European holiday spot that satisfies a value-conscious husband, three teenagers, and my desire for an authentic experience. Enter Claude AI, my unexpected travel consultant. 🌍 After months of using AI for my business, I decided to experiment. Could AI tackle the complex dynamics of family holiday planning? Here's how it transformed my approach: 1. Instead of endless Google searches, I asked Claude to find destinations similar to our favourite past experiences 2. It conducted a detailed villa vs. all-inclusive analysis based on our specific needs 3. Most impressively? It vetoed my own suggestions when they didn't align with my original criteria! (Talk about keeping me accountable 😅) The result? We've found a beautiful villa in a location I'd never considered, complete with personalised recommendations for local experiences that match our family's interests. 🔑 Key Learning: AI isn't just for business efficiency - it's a powerful tool for tackling those "analysis paralysis" moments in our personal lives. As a neurodivergent professional, I've found it particularly valuable for breaking down overwhelming tasks into manageable decisions. And lets be honest chosing a family holiday is certainly that! 💡 What time-consuming personal task could AI help you simplify? I’d love to hear your ideas below! #ArtificialIntelligence #ProductivityHacks #FamilyTravel #WorkLifeBalance #Innovation #AI #PersonalDevelopment #NeurodiversityAtWork

The End of Opulence: Luxury's New Currency Isn't Gold, It's Goosebumps. For too long, the luxury sector has been trapped in a gilded arms race, a contest of opulence over experience. I have long maintained this was a hollow pursuit. Today, that conviction is validated. The age of ostentation is officially over. The just-released 2025 Luxury Travel Report confirms a seismic shift I've been navigating with my clients: the new currency of luxury is no longer material, but emotional and transformative. The data paints a clear picture of a revolution in taste and expectation among the world's most sophisticated travelers. They are actively rejecting standardization, with a staggering 70% expressing frustration with the "disappointment of the destination" caused by uniform luxury. Instead, they crave authenticity and a unique sense of place. This is because the ultimate return on investment is no longer a status symbol, but a memory that reshapes their perspective. Over 80% confirm that the most powerful moments arise from deep, personal connections. They seek transformation, not just a transaction. This is why demand for hyper-personalized journeys (an 89% expectation) and deep immersion in cultural heritage (a 90%+ priority) is surging. They don't just want to visit a destination; they want to feel its pulse. This isn't a fleeting trend; it is a fundamental restructuring of value at the highest level. Brands still focused on passive consumption will quickly find themselves irrelevant. To thrive, leaders must grasp the nuance of this new landscape and move from providing features to architecting feelings. Is your brand ready to lead this new era of luxury? If you are a business leader seeking to understand the mindset of the world's most discerning clientele and build a strategy that resonates, let's connect. #LuxuryTravel #FutureOfLuxury #Hospitality #BrandStrategy #ExperientialTravel

🚀 AI is now my go-to travel planner I travel extensively—both for work and personal vacations. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that planning a trip can be exhausting. From picking a destination to figuring out flights, hotels, visa requirements, and local transport—travel research used to take hours, sometimes days. Now? AI does most of the heavy lifting for me. It’s like having a personal travel assistant that helps with every step: ✅ Shortlisting destinations – I just describe what I’m looking for, and AI suggests options based on preferences, budget, and time of year. ✅ Weighing pros and cons – Instead of going through multiple websites, I can ask AI to compare weather, cost, activities, and travel restrictions. ✅ Planning the details – Flights, hotels, visa requirements, local transport—AI pulls up all the relevant information instantly. ✅ Creating itineraries – It suggests the best places to visit, organizes the days efficiently, and even provides tips on local customs, packing lists, and food recommendations. Memory in AI tools like ChatGPT is making this even better. Instead of starting from scratch every time, AI remembers my family’s preferences. 💡 It knows we love cultural experiences over adventure sports. 💡 It remembers we prefer apartment stays over hotels. 💡 It factors in that we like planning buffer time in itineraries. So now, when I ask for travel suggestions, I don’t get generic recommendations. I get suggestions tailored to my family's travel style. And Google is taking AI-powered travel a step further: ◾ Google Maps now automatically organizes your trip research. It identifies places you’ve searched for and groups them into lists—so you don’t have to manually save them. ◾ Gemini now lets users create their own AI travel expert for free. Want a custom trip planner? You can build an AI assistant that understands your preferences, suggests destinations, helps with packing, and even gives real-time tips. ◾ Google Lens is adding more languages for instant translation of signs, menus, and more—making international travel even smoother. New languages include Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. For travelers like me, this means less stress and more seamless experiences—no more juggling multiple apps and websites. For companies in the travel space, AI is reshaping how people plan and book trips. Businesses that integrate AI-powered recommendations, itineraries, and real-time assistance will have a clear edge in delivering personalized and frictionless experiences. The future of travel is AI-powered, and it’s already here. I write about #artificialintelligence | #technology | #startups | #mentoring | #leadership | #financialindependence   PS: All views are personal Vignesh Kumar

As we explore the world, we often overlook the unintended consequences of our travels. But the truth is, tourism has a significant impact on the environment. ✈️🌍 ❌ The Alarming Facts: ❌ Did you know that tourism accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions? ❌ According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the carbon footprint of global travel is expected to increase by 152% by 2030 if we don't make a change. ❌Aviation alone accounts for around 2.5% of global carbon emissions, and this number is expected to rise as air travel becomes more accessible. 🤔 Reflect on this: 1️⃣ Take a moment to think about your favorite travel destination. Have you considered the carbon footprint of your trip? 2️⃣ How can you make more sustainable choices when traveling? What small changes can you make to reduce your impact? 3️⃣ What role do you think the tourism industry should play in reducing carbon emissions? Should they prioritize sustainability over profit? 💡 Sustainable Tourism Tips: 👉 Offset your flights: Calculate and offset your carbon emissions from flying. You can use online tools like Carbon Footprint or TerraPass to offset your emissions. 👉 Choose eco-friendly accommodations: Opt for hotels and resorts that use renewable energy, reduce waste, and promote sustainable practices. Look for certifications like LEED or EarthCheck. 👉 Reduce transportation: Use public transport, walk, or bike whenever possible. Consider renting electric or hybrid vehicles for road trips. 👉 Support local communities: Engage with local tour operators and support community-based tourism initiatives. This can help reduce poverty and promote cultural heritage. 👉 Avoid single-use plastics: Refuse single-use plastics like straws, bags, and water bottles. Instead, opt for reusable alternatives like stainless steel water bottles and cloth bags. ✅ Take Action: ✅ Share your sustainable tourism tips and experiences in the comments below! ✅ Tag a friend who loves to travel and encourage them to make sustainable choices. ✅ Support organizations that promote sustainable tourism and reduce carbon emissions. Make a conscious choice to travel responsibly and reduce your carbon footprint. Every small action counts, and by working together, we can create a more sustainable future for all. 💯 #SustainableTourism #ClimateChange #ResponsibleTravel