Expert outlines major travel trends

Trend expert Daniel Levine outlined five major trends for travel agents and operators at this year’s Advantage Conference.

Based on the findings of 10,000 global trend spotters employed by New York-based Avant-Guide Institute, of which Levine is executive director, the top five trends are:

1. Rate yourself
"Everybody’s being rated now online. What we’re seeing is that across the industrial spectrum, people are expecting to rate everything they work with. We all need to do better and be aware that we’re being rated. We need to be aware of who and where we’re being rated and join that conversation.

2 Make it simple
"We’re living in the fastest and most complicated times. Culture keeps moving faster and we’re busier, but that also means we are looking to work with businesses that make our lives simpler, which is one of the reasons we are seeing a resurgence of agents. Customers are looking for experts to take care of things for them, solve things for them and make things easier. Look for the pain points in your business, look at your business from your customers perspective and find these pain points. You can make it much simpler than OTAs (online travel agents)."

3. Customise and personalise
"Time and again, we are hearing that unique experience is the new meaning of luxury. It’s all about the ‘bragability’ of having unique experiences, experiences none of your friends have had. It’s about looking at customers as groups of people in different ways. It’s what agents have always done but make sure you keep yourselves in front with that."

4. Tell stories
"People want to hear stories – experiences rather than things. Stories are the new currency that people can share and trade. It’s not about having more than your neighbour physically. It’s about sharing what you know. It’s about the Royal York Hotel in Toronto where guests are invited to go to the rooftop and learn about the hotel’s urban bee keeping. Think about how it will make your customer feel and what they will get from the trip."

5. Help foster connections
"We’re all social beings and we want to make connections with other people. Because of social networking, or in spite of it, we’re wanting these personal connections in real life. We’re seeing a definite trend towards people wanting stronger and better connections with those around them. It might be the silver lining from the economic crisis – people are realising that what’s really important are connections with other people, meaningful experiences, going on vacations and making connections with new people once you’re there."