2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year for luxury travelers and travel-based businesses. Fueled by the desire for novel, authentic experiences and travelers’ increased willingness to spend, the luxury travel market is expected to grow this year. To help properties prepare for the spike in demand, high-end properties should focus on creating a luxury hotel marketing plan that meets the moment.
In this post, we explain everything you need to know about luxury hotel marketing, from what it is and how it works to why building a thoughtful luxury hotel marketing plan should be a key objective for your team. As we explore several types of luxury travelers, from transient travelers and event planners to wedding blocks, corporate groups, and everyday walk-ins, you will discover which marketing strategies will most likely capture their attention. Whether you are entering the world of luxury travel for the first time or seeking ways to reenergize your hotel’s current strategy, we can help.
What is a luxury traveler?
Believe it or not, modern luxury travelers may not be who you think they are. In the past, luxury experiences were reserved for the wealthy and well-resourced. As we move through 2024, we can see that the contemporary definition of luxury travelers is changing—and it may not encompass who you think it does.
According to a 2024 Forbes report, more than a third of the luxury travel market, with a total value of $239 billion, is driven primarily by non-millionaires. Breaking McKinsey’s recent Report of the State of Tourism and Hospitality in 2024, another exciting recent report detailing the current state of luxury travel, Forbes highlights some compelling trends that hotels, venues, restaurants, and other hospitality professionals should consider.
What do modern luxury travelers look like?
For some time, the modern-day luxury traveler was defined by the willingness to spend upwards of $500/night on accommodation. However, according to McKinsey, this demographic is shifting dramatically on various fronts. Although almost two-thirds of the luxury travel class falls into the “ultra-high net worth” consumer category (worth $30 million+), their demographic only accounted for 15% of all luxury travel spending in 2023. Next on the rung, “very high net-worth” travelers (i.e., $5-30 million) only represented 16% of luxury spending in 2023.
So, who is spending the most on luxury travel? Individuals who earn between $1-5 million a year. In 2023, they accounted for 33% of all spending in the luxury travel market. Additionally, McKinsey’s report highlighted another crucial detail that all hospitality professionals should be keenly aware of: there is a large, expanding, and robust base of aspiring luxury travelers—those earning between $100,000-$1 million a year—who are spending on luxury travel, many for the first time. This growing segment accounted for $84 billion of the luxury market value in 2023.
So, how much can hotels and venues expect the non-millionaire segment to grow, and---more importantly—what can you do about it? What exactly is a marketing plan?
So, what is a luxury hotel marketing plan?
Like marketing plans enacted by other properties, a luxury hotel marketing plan details how the high-end property intends to generate leads and convert lookers into bookers. While the specific marketing plans and their contents will vary from property to property and market to market, a thoughtful luxury hotel marketing plan should include:
- A detailed description of your marketing objectives. Which market segments do you want to capture? Which competitors do you want to shift share from?
- Your growth projections. Quarterly, annual, and year-over-year index goals (i.e., how much you want to increase profits, occupancy, etc.).
- The big picture. An outline of which strategies you intend to implement to attain your goals.
- The specifics of each marketing campaign. Include each strategy’s start date, end date, budgeting guidelines, and other vital information.
- Technical details. Which channels will you utilize for each campaign? Will they run through social media, email, video advertisements, print marketing, or other channels?
- Delegate marketing responsibilities. Determine who will oversee the creation, execution, management, and monitoring of each campaign.
- Your collaborative partners. A list of current, prospective, and target cross-promotional partners or networking groups.
- Success metrics and analysis plans. Choose the data points your team will use to monitor each campaign's success and ROI.
- Identify target groups. Will your hotel target luxury weddings, high-end corporate groups, international conventions, or other affluent parties?
How do hotels qualify as “luxury?”
Essentially, a luxury hotel is a hotel that offers guests and visitors luxurious accommodations, experiences, and services. Unlike many budget-friendly competitors, luxury hotels are not designed for basic survival—providing a safe place to rest and recoup. Instead, luxury hotels offer exceptional, expensive, life-enhancing experiences, each afforded the care and meticulous detail required for something—anything—to be defined as luxurious. Luxury hotels provide an atmosphere and accommodations that radiate opulence, finery, and access to the typically inaccessible.
How do hotels qualify as “luxury?”
Although there are no specific criteria a hotel must meet to earn a place amongst the ranks of other luxury properties, there is a certain level of service and style travelers expect at luxury hotels. No particular hotel star rating, amenities, or facilities are required for a property to qualify as luxury; some are independently owned, while others are branded. However, there are universal characteristics most luxury properties commonly share, such as:
- Elegant décor
- Large, well-appointed rooms
- Quality furnishings
- Impressive interior design
- Tech-friendly facilities
- Fine dining
- Innovative amenities
Although you may not always be able to describe luxury, you know it when you see it—and so do consumers. While most travelers associate five-star hotels with luxury and glamor, no definitive industry standard connects them. So, even if your hotel does not hold the stars, you can still promote your luxury property as such, as long as you can back up the claim.
If you want to portray your property's luxury and opulence, create marketing that showcases it. Create dedicated marketing campaigns designed to appeal to what matters to various segments inside the luxury traveler class, including groups, weddings, corporate travelers, and event organizers.
What do you need to create a luxury hotel marketing plan?
Before creating and executing a marketing plan for your property, conduct a situational analysis to establish your hotel’s current placement in the relevant market. How do you stack up against the competition? What do you have to offer that they do not? What are your current marketing strategies? How much free money does the hotel have to invest in fresh marketing campaigns? Determine the position you are in now and where you want to go before diving into a fresh marketing strategy.
How to create a luxury hotel marketing plan that works
Whether managing a small boutique luxury property or a massive destination resort, a quality luxury hotel marketing plan is essential for your business’s success. To build a marketing plan that works, follow these tips.
- Identify your target audience
Are you appealing to a particular market segment? Do you want to attract tech-savvy business travelers, executive leaders, or wealthy individuals seeking a one-of-a-kind wellness retreat? Does your luxury hotel cater to eco-conscious adventure seekers? Generally, the target market for luxury resorts, hotels, and boutique properties include:
- Executive business travelers
- Celebrities
- High net-worth individuals
- Exclusive-experience seekers
- High-end service and product consumers
Recent reporting from Affluent Consumer Research shows that 81% of high-luxury travelers are younger than 45. Of that demographic, 76% of survey respondents identified as male, with 75% of all respondents reporting higher levels of formal education (an MBA or greater). Do those metrics match your clientele, or does your market attract a different demographic of luxury travelers?
Determining who you want to appeal to should be the first step in developing a marketing plan. Are you seeking to attract high-net-worth travelers, the non-millionaire class, affluently minded event planners, or transient travelers in the middle of the wealth bracket?
- Create and promote an exceptional guest experience
Whether vacationing on a budget or seeking an exceptional luxury experience, travelers want their destination and lodging decisions to matter. From business to leisure and everywhere in between—travelers want authentic, immersive experiences—regardless of their intention of fully relaxing, disconnecting from technology, getting to know the locals, or delving into the destination’s unique cuisine.
Whether a multi-millionaire or pushing $500k annually, travelers seeking luxury experiences crave opulent, engaging, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Hotels must look beyond the traditional ideas and notions of luxury travel to establish personally fulfilling and personalized hotel experiences. Provide personalized guest experiences for every visitor—whether leisure passersby, family vacationers, regular business travelers, wedding groups, or high-end events.
- Demonstrate superior customer service
Aside from high-quality products and accommodations, superior customer service is another element that defines luxury hotels. Luxury-level staff are prepared to go above and beyond for their guests, typically exceeding their expectations rather than meeting them. Luxury properties seeking ways to supercharge their current customer service policies should seek opportunities to add value to the guest experience while cutting prices.
Highlight your superior customer and event services on online booking engines, the hotel’s website, and wedding venue listing pages, like WeddingSpot.com. Showcase your luxurious wedding spaces, services, dining options, and other amenities to capture the attention of elevated event planners and actively sourcing couples.
- Make data-driven marketing decisions
Collecting, analyzing, and implementing data will continue to become an increasingly important part of hotel marketing for properties of all sizes and service levels. With artificial intelligence and automated reporting tools, hotels can uncover more about guests and how they behave than ever before.
Use behavioral and performance data to help identify what your target audience likes, which sites they use, which forms of content they prefer, and other valuable information. Track guest interactions with your hotel to garner powerful consumer insights, using them to create more tailored, personalized marketing materials and stay experiences. Personalize pre-arrival communications, onsite offerings, and post-stay interactions to impress luxury guests.
- Enhance your website
Create a cohesive web presence that signifies your hotel's high-quality accommodations and services. Update your hotel’s website to match the same brand identity as your new marketing strategy. Does your current website design signify the luxurious atmosphere the hotel provides its guests? If not, upgrade your site with high-quality photographs displaying your sought-out amenities and superior facilities. Ensure the hotel’s contact information is up-to-date and easy to find so interested guests can quickly get in touch.
Develop consistent branding that portrays the opulent stay experience your property provides all visitors—business, leisure, group, and transient included. Update pricing and stay packages that reflect your luxury branding goal. High-end clients will pay more for what feels like a higher-end, exclusive experience. Instead of offering discounts and bonuses, consider stripping freebies away and creating a pricing structure that reflects your property's affluent value.
- Streamline the booking process
From event organizers to solo travelers, sourcing consumers are becoming increasingly likely to book a hotel or venue entirely online. According to Cvent’s North American Planner Sourcing Report, 85% of planners are more likely to book simple meetings at a hotel or venue that offers online booking. Does your hotel offer luxury meeting space or high-end event services? If so, consider implementing Instant Book meeting tools to help your team and planners.
Instant Book makes booking small, simple meetings easy. With just a few clicks, interested planners can view your luxury hotel’s event space, meeting options, dining packages, and more. Planners can select the items they want to include, such as food and beverage (F&B) options or audio-visual (AV) equipment, and seamlessly move through the booking process without needing person-to-person negotiation.
Create a dedicated landing page to display your property’s tech-friendly workspaces. Feature photographs of luxury meeting spaces or large convention centers. Build luxury meeting packages that include audio-visual equipment, hybrid event tech, fine dining catering options, and other superior services.
- Embrace experiential marketing
Use experiential marketing to set your luxury hotel brand above the rest. Promote a virtual tour of your hotel, inviting potential luxury travelers, planners, and event organizers to explore a photorealistic three-dimensional representation of your property. Consider creating a cultivated guided tour that includes your voice, guiding them through your high-end space, and pointing out all the unique features, amenities, and guest technology that make your hotel unique. Use interactive social media content tools, like live polling, Q&A, and video comments, to build a stronger relationship with your online followers.
- Partner with luxury influencers
Influencer marketing has continued to be a powerful advertising tactic for hotels of all service levels. The global influencer market value reached $21.1 billion in 2023, up from just $8 billion in 2019. Take advantage of the continuing trend and boost your social media presence by partnering with luxury-based influencers with a formidable reputation and broad audience reach.
Instead of investing substantial portions of your budget into mega-influencer partnerships, although they may have a wider reach, spend your marketing dollars where they will have the most impact: targeting social media users with a particular interest in luxury travel.
- Target high-end wedding groups
Collaborate with niche influencers focused on the luxury wedding market. Create captivating social media content that showcases your property's elegant spaces. Display past wedding setups, extravagant tablescapes, or iconic ballroom features. For many high-end wedding groups, attendees could travel from afar, so highlighting comfortable, elegant transportation options can help capture planners’ and couples’ attention.
Additionally, luxury wedding groups want the ability to immerse themselves in the event experience fully, so make it easy for them. Cultivate accommodations that ensure comfort, reflect meticulous care, and highlight your staff’s diligence—all characteristics luxury planners look for when sourcing a venue.
- Optimize search engine content
Improve your hotel’s marketing copy to help the property rank better and appear higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). Optimize luxury hotel marketing content by incorporating relevant travel and luxury keywords, linking local businesses, and using a consistent voice across all marketing channels. These qualities will give your copy more reliability and credibility, which can help it appear closer to the top of search results, making it easier for travelers to find you.
Optimizing search engine copy can also help maximize exposure by boosting how high your property ranks in relevant local searches, such as:
- “Luxury hotels nearby”
- “Luxury stay in Boulder, CO (or your location)”
- “High-end hotels near me”
- “Five-star hotels in Utah”
- Invest in sustainability
Moving toward more sustainable, eco-friendly practices is no longer an option for most hotels—even luxury properties—it is necessary. In many destinations, eco-friendly, green hotels are the future of hospitality. For example, Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea, which opened toward the end of 2023, is dedicated to regenerative desert tourism.
Six Senses Southern Dunes is LEED-certified, which showcases its environmental design and commitment to energy leadership. The eco-conscious luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia features 36 guestrooms and suites and 40 private pool villas. In addition to attracting high-end travelers through their initiatives to rewild the desert region, Southern Dunes' commitment to supporting local Umluj Sadu weavers has uniquely appealed to travelers seeking the most authentic luxury travel experiences.
Still have questions about creating a luxury hotel marketing strategy?
If you still have questions about the future of luxury hotel marketing, luxury travel trends, or tackling revenue goals, check out these frequently asked questions:
- How can luxury hotels increase revenue in 2024 and beyond?
Driving direct bookings is one of the quickest and easiest ways luxury hotels can reduce expenses and improve bottom-line profits. Instead of paying booking commissions and fees to third-party hotel distribution channels or online travel agencies (OTAs), direct guests to book directly, driving more revenue to your property and staff.
- What should luxury hotels do to attract walk-in customers?
Luxury hotels face intense competition. Although the luxury travel demographic is snowballing, it is still among the smallest. Because of this, hotels must work diligently to capture the attention of every guest—including passersby and walk-in guests. Upgrade your hotel’s curb appeal to capture the eye of affluent guests seeking a high-end place to stay.
- How should luxury hotels attract transient travelers?
Install clear branding on the façade, invest in road signs to make it easier for drivers to spot you off the highway, and reinvent outdoor landscaping to create a grand outdoor space that reflects the hotel’s interior. Help interested destinations connect with your property quickly with a mobile-friendly hotel app that provides valuable data-driven ads and consumer demographics to help you better understand the behaviors of potential guests.
Now, you can create a luxury hotel marketing plan that reaches your target audience.
With a better idea of what to expect in the luxury travel industry this year and beyond, keep preparing for your best year ever by exploring other meeting and event trends you should know about in 2024.
Kim Campbell
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