Travel trends are changing rapidly, and 2018 looks to be a compelling time. Millenials are setting the trends now, everyone will have their own personal paparazzo, hotels and home-rentals will do battle, iceberg watching becomes a thing, Nordic cuisine goes global, booze and breakfast hotels, and vacation planning gets outsourced, yes but vacation planning is changing and travel advisors are once again in high demand.
Hotels chains are going after home-sharing in 2018, with new concepts and partnerships they hope to lure the AirBnB crowd. Hilton Worldwide is launching a new urban micro-brand or a “hostel on steroids”. rooms are expected to be small, inexpensive and interconnected. Hyatt has also invested in Airbnb rival Oasis, while One Fine Stay has been acquired by French hotel chain AccorHotels, both offer high-end services and amenities. Airbnb has countered wit ha new range of curated travel experiences such as sunset kayaking, sushi making, and is set to launch Airbnb Lux with amenities and concierge service to go with their 4,000 fancy properties.
Iceberg watching is in, with a record 46,000 travelers expected to visit Antarctica in 2018, and not just to check out those adorable penguins. A block of ice the size of Delaware broke away from the Larsen C ice shelf and is now floating the Weddell Sea. overtime, this massive iceberg will break into smaller ones, further enhancing a spectacle that is already sparking a surge in iceberg-watching cruises, like those of French line Ponant, which uses advanced sonar for tracking t keep the ship in perfect position without dropping anchor, so as not to disturb the ocean floor.
Scandinavian cuisine is among the most innovative and delicious, getting some respect finally. Last year, the Great Northern Food Hall opened in New York, serving regional foods. Nordic-inspired Joro opened in Sheffield, England and was awarded Bib Gourmand designation. In Sydney, the new Sven-Sun serves Sandi-Asian fusion delights such as lobster Skagen toast. New York’s Aquavit has now opened outposts in Tokyo, London where is won its first Michelin star for a menu that includes venison tartare with wild berries and the classic Swedish meatballs.
Booze and breakfast hotels are here, the world’s first craft beer hotel, the DogHouse in Columbus, Ohio. The Tarnished Truth Distilling company is making bourbon and rye at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. In London, the Distillery hotel lives up to its name with house-made gins, vodkas.
The personal paparazzi is here. Following a recent Instagram obsession with “plandids” (a photo planned to appear candid), travelers are elevating their filtered, not-so-random shots by hiring personal photographers. At the forefront of this trend Miami-based Shoot My Travel, which connects travelers with photographers in 230 destinations.
Trends come and go, and the travel experience is what matters. In the ’90s, it seemed like a fair prediction that the future of travel planning would be self-service through the internet, enabling travelers to research and book their own vacations, but today vacation planning is changing and travel advisors are once again in high demand. Tired of planning their own trips and searching for memorable, unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary experiences, travelers want trusting and reliable resources to curate extraordinary vacations. The reality is the travel adviser is not a thing of the past, but rather the gateway to unique and rewarding future travel experiences.