As part of Women Leading Travel & Hospitality’s recently published report, The Synergy of Technology and Empathy in Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences, Diana Plazas, Marriott International’s chief sales and marketing officer, Caribbean and Latin America, shared a detailed outlook on what travel-related trends she expects to have staying power.

‘Bleisure,’ ‘Gleisure’ and Digital Nomads

  • The combination of business and leisure travel (“bleisure”) as a result of the trend toward more flexible work environments.
  • This trend is becoming noticeable in groups (‘gleisure”) as well, where a group attendee brings family and friends to enjoy the leisure facilities at the hotel while the group attendee attends meetings and events, or the group attendee is arriving earlier/staying longer to enjoy the hotel and destination on their own or with family and friends.
  • Bleisure has also empowered digital nomads who flock to cities. These modern Bleisure travelers tend to be culturally curious and open to educational adventures — the reason why urban destinations are a great fit to quench their thirst for culture.
  • Remote working creates new business travelers. The job setting for remote employees clearly differs from that of office workers and they have different needs, too. These differences and changes in work locations will result in the emergence of new types of business travel.

Purposeful and Regenerative Travel (Leisure)

  • Purposeful travel has taken many forms, including personal regeneration or self-renewal; relationship regeneration or restoring the bonds between people; or cultural regeneration by making a positive impact on the local communities or places visited.
  • This focus on purposeful travel means that travelers are taking a more considered, intentional approach to travel, from sustainability to community support.
  • Travelers now want to foster a deeper connection to the places they visit, getting to know people, history, food and the culture of a place, in addition to seeking out experiences that focus on holistic well-being as well as those that place an emphasis on relationship building.

New Sense of Luxury Travel

  • An increased desire to elevate luxury travel experiences to new heights. From private jets to adventure travel, the affluent consumer is willing to pay more to create a truly unique and one-of-a-kind experience.
  • The luxury traveler is also entering a new era of regeneration, driven by a maturing set of desires, tastes and aspirations. This type of traveler aspires to restore, renew and reimagine their life for the better. They no longer want to be known for the traditional status markers of wealth of the past, but for the contributions they’re making and the values they live by.
  • This leads to a more considered approach to travel. Travelers are craving a new kind of travel experience. Desire for luxury experiences that feel understated, less formal, and more local or uniquely authentic to a place.

To keep up with the high demand for travel as well as travelers’ increased expectations for safe, tech-enabled experiences, many organizations are investing in technology to both balance out the lack of frontline workers while also improving the overall traveler experience.

To learn more about this topic, including commentary from Women Leading Travel & Hospitality members, download the full report, The Synergy of Technology and Empathy in Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences, today.