Luxury travel is booming like never before, including high-end cruise trips, and hotel prices are jumping.
Virtuoso, the leading global network specializing in luxury and experiential travel, is hosting its 2023 Symposium this week in Montréal. During the event’s General Session, Virtuoso Executive Vice President David Kolner presented proprietary data and industry insights before an audience of the industry’s top professionals from 35 countries.
As a sign of travel’s continued rebound, Kolner shared that Virtuoso bookings for 2023 are 91 percent higher than they were in 2019 leading into 2020, and 62 percent higher than 2022. That’s truly remarkable.
“With Tourism Economics not predicting global travel and tourism recovery until the second quarter of 2024, Virtuoso sales indicate the demand for luxury experiences is leading the way forward,” company officials said. “Booking windows have also tightened up to 64 days in advance, as opposed to 85 days in 2019 and 109 days at the beginning of 2021.”
The Four Seasons Bangkok. FOUR SEASONS PHOTO
According to Virtuoso sales data, the network’s preferred hotels are experiencing extremely high demand, with bookings 193 percent higher than in 2019 and 77 percent over 2022. Hotel average daily rates (ADRs) continue to soar, as summer 2023 rates average nearly (US) $1,700 per night, 16 percent higher than in 2022 and 69 percent more than in 2019.
That startling figure is for Virtuoso preferred hotels, which are generally quite luxurious. But it’s still a crazy number.
I went online today to look for hotels in a few world cities. The Paris Marriott Champs Elysees was priced at $668 USD for Tuesday, July 11 on Expedia, while the Peninsula Paris was at a sky-high $2,268 USD, which is nearly $3,000 CAD. Closer to home, The Hyatt Regency Vancouver on that date was listed at $621 USD; which is $840 CAD. It’s a nice hotel, but…
Cruising is also looking very strong, with total Virtuoso bookings up 55 percent compared to 2019. By sector, however, mass market cruising sits at 30 percent higher, while premium is up 61 percent, luxury is up 79 percent, expedition is 83 percent higher and river cruising is up a whopping 128 percent.
Interesting world we live in.
