United States -Market Update – Q3
LEISURE TRAVEL
America West
· In Orange County and San Diego, most travel advisors report that the most popular outbound leisure destination is Europe.
· Zika Update
o Due to factors like international terrorism and Zika concerns in South and Central America, some clients have reported their travelers have preferred to stay within the United States and Canada.
o 90% of festive season was cancelled for Protravel. Their travelers are shying away from Mexico as well.
o Fear is mostly due to misinformation, however agents will not go against traveler’s beliefs or advice of their physicians.
· New Destinations, domestic and long-haul, are emerging as options
o Ovation is using this as an opportunity to re-direct the business to new, longer-haul destinations such as Maldives, and travelers are going for it.
o Domestic destinations such as Southern California are benefiting from this.
o Hawaii is a good alternative.
o Certain upscale destinations are not being affected by it such as St.Barts according to Black Tomato.
· Decision making depends on demographic of the traveler
o Black Tomato travelers are still going to St.Barts regardless, Zika hasn’t deterred them.
o PHD’s travelers (Brazilian agency) are not deterred at all because they live in a Zika region and are taking advantage of the deals at the moment. Their Caribbean business has grown as a result.
o Fischer Travel’s older clientele are still traveling to the Caribbean. Their travelers’ age group is not very concerned with Zika.
· Terrorism Update
o Travelers are becoming resilient to terrorism because they are getting use to it.
o With the exception of Turkey, people are willing to travel soon after an attack because they forget.
o For PHD Travel, Turkey is the only country where terrorism is still an issue.
o In the Know Experiences, has seen young travelers taking advantage of deals in hit destinations such as Paris and Nice.
o Altour has seen a rise in Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland because these destinations are perceived safer options.
o Israel has not been affected and is being booked a lot.
· Airbnb
o Airbnb is very aggressive in its marketing and social media.
o They have vast reserves of cash to try new things. They are buying local DMCs to offer local experiences.
o Travel agencies seem to have more confidence in onefinestay (recently acquired by ACCOR).
o “Experience a city like a local” is gaining momentum, and many clients are interested.
o Families will often choose larger, more affordable accommodations over service.
· What social media platforms are agents using most to communicate with their clients?
o Instagram
o Facebook
o Starting to use Snapchat
o Going back to Pinterest
· What social media tactics are travel agents using to inspire their clients, whether in selecting a destination, activities, upgrades, etc.?
o Sweepstakes
o Themed/Recurring Posts (Ex: “Lunchbreak Love” and “You can’t VIP Yourself”)
· How can we better educate your travel counselors on destination experiences?
o Provide up-to-date concierge tips and recommendations
§ Four Seasons does this best – on their preferred partner website they provide inside information on what to do and where to go from the concierge.
§ Four Seasons Lisbon had a fantastic email on personalized recommendations on what to do and best restaurants from and insider’s perspective.
§ Have an electronic concierge, whether available on a website or by email, of up-to-date activities outside hotel, and best restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
§ Have an “in the know” section
§ Agents often want the concierge’s opinion, they don’t want generic website information. They trust the local concierge and want to know the best kept secrets of a destination, not the tourist traps.
· Websites should have useful content
o Often hard to find contact information on website. Sales contact information is often omitted which is very frustrating for a travel agent.
o Accommodation section should have useful booking content, and less “fluff”, such as floor plans and pictures of multiple room categories (and not just an artistic picture of a vase for example).
· What technology changes would you like to see at hotels or offered by hotels within the next 3-5 years?
o Get rid of Wi-Fi passwords
o Adequate plugs in rooms
§ Multiple plugs
§ Easily accessible
§ Have at least 1 US plug
o Safes should never ben on the floor, and should fit laptops.
· Top 10 challenging destinations to finding hotel accommodations in?
o Rome
o Portugal
o Lisbon
o Algarve
o Santiago
o Madrid
o Houston
o New Orleans
o Croatia
o Coast of Barcelona
· Top 5 must-haves for a luxury hotel room?
o Adequate plugs
o Bathroom lighting
o Shower that turns on without getting wet
o Water temperature that can set (so it stays the same)
o Bedding
o Toto toilet
o Good reading light
o Good shower pressure
o Good hair dryer
o Nice toilet paper
· California Leisure Update
o Room demand through August 2016 grew by 1.7% over the previous year, slowing from 2015. California continues to outperform the nation in room demand growth.
o Occupancy rates in California hotels increased to 77% through August 2016, driving 6.1% growth in average daily room rate.
o OAG air passenger data through March 2016 show disparate growth across top foreign source markets.
o International inbound travel to California is expected to grow by 2.8% in 2016 after a 3.6% increase in 2015, a decline in travel demand from Canada and Brazil, along with weak visitor growth from Japan and the United Kingdom are stemming gains, while still-strong travel growth from China, India, and South Korea provide support.
o California is less exposed than the U.S. to travel from Brail and the United Kingdom, and is expected to outperform the nation through 2017 as demand from these source markets flags. The state’s overexposure to the larger Asian markets will cause it to trail the nation in the long-run as demand growth eases from double digits.
· Central Coast Region
o Specifically the counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara are seeing continued increases in business in Q4 of 2016, and do not foresee a slow down into 2017.
o Although Zika has impacted travel to the Caribbean, trips are being replaced with other sunny destinations, both domestic and overseas.
o Travelers are somewhat hesitant to travel to Paris, but many are still going and taking advantage of the good prices at the moment.
o Current Trends/Top Leisure Destinations
§ Italy
§ Ireland
§ Iceland
§ Spain
§ Portugal
§ London
§ India
§ Japan
§ Cuba
§ Canada
o Top agencies include Michael’s Travel Centre, En Route Travel, Travelstore, Camarillo Travel, Montecito Village Travel, Santa Barbara Travel Bureau, World O’Travel to name a few.
· Entertainment Market
o 21st Century Fox (Travel Department Office Move)
§ 12181 Bluff Creek Drive, Office 130, Playa Vista, CA 90094
Contacts for this market are Emily Reynolds based in Northern California and Maya Latinovic and Michelle Minassian based in Southern California.
America Southwest
· Top 15 International City Destination bookings in 3Q16 from Southwest USA Agencies: Lake Como, Italy; London, UK; Saint-Tropez, France; Ravello, Italy; Paris, France; Cancun, Mexico; Siena/Tuscany, Italy; Amsterdam, Netherlands; County Clare, Ireland; Straffan, Ireland; Capri, Italy; Venice, Italy; Monte-Carlo, Monaco; Zurich, Switzerland; Peter Island, BVI
· Top 15 Domestic City Destination bookings in 3Q16 from Southwest USA Agencies: Las Vegas, NV; Laguna Beach, CA; Napa, CA; Beverly Hills, CA; Kiawah Island, SC; Lahaina/Maui, HI; Washington DC; Ojai, CA; Sedona, AZ; Harwich (Cape Cod), MA; Bluffton, SC; Park City, UT; Newport Beach, CA; Big Sur, CA; Palm Beach, Florida
· The Caribbean and Mexico as well as Florida (Miami/Orlando) leisure bookings from this region have declined due to Zika virus alerts; Requests are up for Domestic United States (Western states), Hawaii and Alaska; International: New Zealand, Italy and Spain were top destination requests
· Holiday bookings are soft due to the impending US Presidential elections and Zika virus alerts. Travel Advisors are asking hotels to send details for last-minute bookings, which will occur after November 8, 2016 for the December holiday season. Please forward details to Kimberly Harris for agent distribution and awareness.
Contact for this market is Kimberly Harris based in Houston, Texas
America Central
· Millennials and luxury travelers are choosing boutique hotels over chains for the intimate, personal relationship enjoyed with the hotel staff and surrounding environments. Guests want to explore the art, culture, and people in their destination, while enjoying the one-on-one service a smaller property offers.
· Travel agents proclaimed the good news that millennials are increasingly using travel agents to book vacations. Travel agents have reported that there has been an increase in millennial clients.
Contact for this market is MaryAnn Rodriguez based in Chicago, Illinois
Northeast
· Tzell is launching a program based on Spas & Wellness
· Clients are not entertaining destinations that have been affected by Zika. Even if they have clients that are not having children or have a compromised immune system, they do not want to go to any of these destinations.
· Destinations that are receiving more inquiries include; California, Northwest US, New England, South Carolina, more local drive markets. For international destinations, Italy remains strong, as well as Spain and Portugal.
· Clients are looking at last minute destinations.
· Safety is a huge factor for choosing destinations. If a destination makes the news, people will look elsewhere.
Contacts for this market are Rick Stiffler and Jamie Brown based in New York City, New York
CORPORATE/BUSINESS TRAVEL
America West
· The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has passed a bill requiring Airbnb and its sharing economy peers to remove any listings not registered with the city, and analysts at financial services firm Canaccord Genuity expect it could lift hotel performance. More important, though, they expect San Francisco's move could sway regulators in other markets. Airbnb has had a materially negative impact on pricing during compression periods, particularly in New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Hawaii, stated the report from senior real estate investment trust and lodging analyst Ryan Meliker and associate Michael Kodesch.
· According to a survey by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), 67% of business travelers report that having the option of extending their business trips for leisure is important to them. Another report by Bridge Street Global Hospitality revealed that 78% of the respondents feel that adding leisure days to business travel adds value to their work assignments. These insights, while not unexpected, present a window of opportunity, not only for the travel industry as a whole, but also for companies that are able to adapt and accommodate these preferences. The returns in employee satisfaction and potential cost savings would be well worth the investments.
· Tupperware
o This is a newly managed account for Preferred Hotels & Resorts
o Signed chain agreement
o Tupperware Brands Corporation is the leading global marketer of innovative, premium products across multiple brands utilizing a relationship-based selling method through an independent sales force of 2.9 million. Product brands and categories include design-centric preparation, storage and serving solutions for the kitchen and home through the Tupperware brand and beauty and personal care products through the Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller Cosmetics, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, and Nuvo brands.
o Tupperware Brands has expanded to almost 100 countries around the world under its seven brands Tupperware, Avroy Shlain, Beauticontrol, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics and Nuvo.
o Headquarters in Orlando, FL; Offices in: Europe, Japan, Australia, Africa & Latin America
o Please contact Emily Reynolds, , with questions on this account
· Sephora
o This is a newly managed account for Preferred Hotels & Resorts
o Sephora is a visionary beauty-retail concept founded in France by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1970. Sephora's unique, open-sell environment features an ever-increasing amount of classic and emerging brands across a broad range of product categories including skincare, color, fragrance, body, smilecare, and haircare, in addition to Sephora's own private label. Today, Sephora is not only the leading chain of perfume and cosmetics stores in France, but also a powerful beauty presence in countries around the world.
o Sephora operates approximately 1,900 stores in 29 countries worldwide, with an expanding base of over 360 stores across North America. Sephora opened its first U.S. store in New York in 1998, its first Canadian store in Toronto in 2004. Sephora's North American headquarters is located in San Francisco, with corporate offices in New York and Montreal.
o Please contact Emily Reynolds, , with questions on this account
· Uber
o China’s biggest taxi app Didi will acquire all assets of Uber’s standalone Chinese operations, getting a stake in its global business as well. The consolidation of the two leading players in the world’s biggest markets follows on from other recent mergers in the sector – last week in Europe, Daimler-owned MyTaxi merged with Hailo while late last year Rocket Internet-backed Easytaxi merged with Tappsi to create the leading taxi app business in Latin America.
o The US-based technology company has initially enabled ‘scheduled rides’ features for Uber for business customers before opening up to all users. This means Uber will be able to pre-book for the first time and request between 15 minutes and 30 days in advance.
· Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) said it will provide strategic and product plans for a combined company of the electric automaker and SolarCity Corp (SCTY.O) ahead of a Nov. 17 merger vote by shareholders of both companies.
· Twitter - Some of the technology industry’s most prominent companies are interested in acquiring Twitter this year, according to a new report. Internet giant Google and customer relationship management company Salesforce are among the tech companies expressing interest in bidding for Twitter, CNBC is reporting, citing sources. While no deal is imminent, talks between the companies are reportedly intensifying, and a bid and subsequent agreement could be signed by the end of 2016.