Recently our sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor hosted the ULTRA Luxury Summit at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort.
The event brings the world’s most elite travel advisors and suppliers together for an exclusive discussion about the latest research and trends in ultra-luxury travel. We've rounded up the key insights.
Awards of Excellence Winners
The event kicked off with the announcement of Luxury Travel Advisor's Awards of Excellence winners for 2014, rounding up the best of the best in luxury travel.
Winners are determined exclusively by travel advisor readers of Luxury Travel Advisor magazine, who voted for nominees selected by an invitation-only advisory board made up of influential travel advisors. Nominees represent hotels, resorts, individuals, cruise lines and professional services that excel at delivering memorable experiences, a hallmark of the luxury travel industry.
“Each year we proudly recognize the suppliers that make clients’ travel experiences so unforgettable,” said Ruthanne Terrero, founding editorial director of Luxury Travel Advisor and vice president of editorial for the Questex Travel Group. “We congratulate all of our winners and nominees for demonstrating outstanding customer service delivery and exceeding client expectations, time and time again.”
The full list of winners is available here.
Influencing the Future of the Luxury Traveler
The summit continued with a talk by Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global, debunking some of the myths surrounding affluent travelers. Some key takeaways: while relaxation topped the list of reasons to vacation among both affluent Millennials and Baby Boomers, unlike Millennials, Boomers scored meeting new people among the bottom reasons to travel.
Continuing to look into the future, Larry Pimentel, president and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises, also presented a look at the future of luxury based on research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The research marked travel as the third highest "spend category" among luxury consumers, after second homes and automobiles.
“The business and the complexity of luxury is changing, and it is about shifting attitudes,” says Pimentel.
A full writeup of the talks is available here.
How to Use Social Media and Content Marketing to Boost Your Brand
During the event we also got a look at the ins and outs of social media and content marketing by Caitlin Domke, brand strategist from Newscred.
Domke's top tips including being sure to start with a strategy, being sure to track your return on investment and taking the time to find your voice.
Watch Domke share all of her top tips here.
Key Twitter Takeaways
Finally, the summit offered attendees the chance to sound off on the state of luxury travel on the Twittersphere. We rounded up the top nuggets of insight here.