22 Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel | Future Traveller Tribes 2030
Balancing high-touch and low-touch
An important facet of the luxury travel experience is how well travellers feel that their needs and preferences are understood by their travel providers . This includes striking the right balance between respecting their desire for independence and lack of intrusive service, which may shift at different points along the trip cycle. Enhancing their trip by checking in to offer additional elements or assistance might be appreciated. The sweet spot is the ultimate representation of modern luxury.
High-touch travellers Value human interaction and like to be guided through the purchasing process to get the best options for their journey Will use technology in conjunction with personal service Are happy to be contacted (when it’s useful) throughout their journey
Low-touch travellers Require little or no interaction when making a purchase Use technology so they can self‑serve Prefer not to be contacted during or after their time of travel
How can brands cater to these polar‑opposite travellers? And how can they anticipate whether travellers will shift between being low-touch and high-touch at different points along their journey cycle? The starting point is understanding the behaviours and preferences of the six luxury traveller tribes, and how these shift throughout their journey cycle . Strategies can be developed and perfected over time by incorporating technology and by being able to read and react to customers’ behaviours and intentions with an understanding that these can change with every trip.
In 2015, sales of boats larger than 24 metres rose by 40% , which could be interpreted as a rise in popularity of low-touch luxury travel, with consumers showing an inclination to get “off the grid”, to enjoy seclusion and to take their travel arrangements into their own hands. Alternatively, low-touch luxury travellers may be too time-pressed for service that is heavy on interaction (as with the Bluxury and Cash-rich, Time-poor tribes). Or, it could be a personality trait: an introverted traveller may prefer having the space to consider their options, without the need for continual contact or what they may consider “over-the-top” service. On the other hand, the option for high-touch service is a traditional component of luxury travel – having someone on hand 24/7 to assist travellers, to enhance their trip, and to deliver warm, personal service is, for many, a differentiator between standard and luxury travel. For high-touch travellers, this will be a minimum expectation, and a sign that they are being pampered and shown due attention. Strictly Opulent and Independent & Affluent luxury tribes tend to be more high-touch. When luxury travel brands consider strategies for achieving appropriate service and interaction levels, their size and business model may work for and against them. Boutique brands that champion personal service or those with smaller customer bases will be able to determine luxury customers’ preferences by building individual relationships with them – be it by liaising with their executive assistants or with the customer themselves. At the other end of the spectrum, multinational luxury travel providers that operate on a larger scale will have the reach and the data to apply rapidly evolving customer experience management technology, and use machine learning to identify travellers’ preferences down to the nth degree.
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