Luxury Vacations Have Changed — This Is How the Ultra-Wealthy Want to Travel

These days, everything costs more — including travel. 

But the ultra-wealthy are not batting an eyelash. 

In fact, in many cases, they are spending more. Way more.

Dani Johnson, vice president of Coastline Travel Advisors, says that budget is not a topic of conversation for her clients.

“I told one of my VIP clients, ‘Italy and France are extremely busy this summer — it will cost $250,000 for this experience,’” she said. “They said ‘great.’ The playground is getting bigger. There is a lot of money for travel experiences.”

At Kensington Tours, average spend has increased by 31% across the board when comparing January to April bookings in 2019 versus bookings for that same period in 2022. 

Ashley Ganz, CEO and founder of Artisans of Leisure, says the company’s average earnings on tours is up by 30% compared with 2019, with the average tour costing approximately $22,000 per person.

If they flew premium, they now want business class. And if they flew business class, they now want private jets.

And according to Ignacio Maza, executive vice president of Signature Travel Network, spend for the consortium’s top segment of clients is up, at $750 to $1,000 per day, per person.

“Consumers are upgrading to better quality accommodations, arrangements and touring,” Maza said. “If they flew premium, they now want business class. And if they flew business class, they now want private jets. People want to make up for the two years they lost.”

Upgrading and price increases due to supply and demand — in addition to longer trip duration and bigger group sizes — are just some of the key trends observed by luxury travel experts today.

Why Do Luxury Vacations Cost More Now?

It’s not just the desire to splurge that is contributing to an overall increase to the bottom line.

At boutique tour operator Access Italy, where spend is up approximately 40% per client, average trip length is also up — by exactly four more days than in 2019, says CEO Simone Amorico.

They are going, and they are going to stay.

After two years of mostly being at home, clients want to return to the places they miss — and they want to stay put, says Cate Caruso, owner and principal travel designer of True Places Travel. 

“No one is going for a short period of time,” Caruso said, mentioning a couple who spent three weeks together — and more than $100,000 — in Italy. “They are going, and they are going to stay.”

Maza says there are fewer trips where the clients spend two days in France, two days in Italy and two days in Switzerland. 

“Instead of jumping around, they stay in Rome and do day trips to Naples, Orvieto and the seashore,” he said.

While Maza says that a savvy advisor can still find clients great value destinations, prices have skyrocketed in highly desirable locations such as Paris, Italy, the Greek Islands, London, Hawaii, Turks and Caicos and the beaches of Florida and Southern California. 

“In Florida, you are looking at spending $1,000 a day for no meals, and in some cases, with no view of the ocean,” he said.

Ganz of Artisans of Leisure agrees that costs for services such as hotels and private transport are much more expensive than they were a few years ago, especially in the most in-demand destinations.

But the rise in rates has had little impact on occupancy. In fact, celebrity-favorite Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in San Diego County, Calif., has raised its rates each year. At the same time, it has seen an increase in occupancy of 10–15% year over year, according to Laura McIver, general manager of the resort.  

Bring the Whole Family

While Caruso has always booked family vacations, it’s never been quite like this before. Typically, she says, family travel is part of a long-term portfolio of trips that her agency plans for a client. Now, many new clients are reaching out specifically about family vacations.

She is mainly seeing her “working wealthy” demographic of 45- to 60-year-old clients book travel that includes adult children, as well as grandparents.

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“The parents are footing the bill, though sometimes the grandparents are,” she said. “They want to bond and lock in memories with grandkids. If they want to create a generational story, they have it be a part of an emotional bonding experience — and that is travel.”

Rancho Valencia is also seeing the strength of the multigeneration market.

“We have always been popular for girlfriend getaways and couple retreats, but we now have many multigenerational families with grandparents, adult children and the grandkids booking houses, two connecting casitas or multiple casitas,” McIver said.  

Luxury Vacation Rentals and Private Jet Charters Are Having Their Moment

Big groups bring the increased opportunity to charter jets and yachts, buy out hotels or rent out spacious villas and tourist sites.

“Exclusivity has been the ‘comfort’ trend that we have been seeing this year,” said Marc Sison, director of product at Kensington Tours. “Whether it is booking out an entire hotel or staying in smaller and more boutique properties, there is definitely a notion of staying away from the crowds.”

Exclusivity has been the ‘comfort’ trend that we have been seeing this year.

Johnson is currently planning a trip for a group of 19 — including kids and adults — to France and Italy, and they’re splurging on private experiences. In Florence, they are renting out the Accademia for a private viewing of Michelangelo’s “David,” and in Rome, they’ll have the Colosseum to themselves, where the kids will dress up as gladiators. 

And the popularity of villas and private residences was not just a pandemic-era trend — it’s here to stay, thanks to major brands such as Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group joining in with its collection of mansions, ranging from an Ibiza, Spain, private island escape for 10 to a Cotswolds, United Kingdom, country estate that can sleep 20.

This is a big opportunity for advisors, says Steve Lassman, vice president of Villas of Distinction, where the travel advisor villa spend averages $28,000 per villa, an increase of 25% compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

“We started to see the demand for villas increase significantly in the second half of 2020, and we have seen that demand continue into 2022,” he said.

Lassman said that while domestic destinations ruled in 2020, Mexico and the Caribbean were popular in 2021, and now he is seeing high demand for Europe, especially Italy.

Amorico from Access Italy has also seen a huge increase in villa rentals for Italy.

“Most are sold out for 2022,” he said.

The operator recently booked a private villa in Tuscany for $150,000 per week, and one group of clients bought out Hotel De’ Ricci in Rome — though Amorico says that hotel buyouts and private air are not as popular in Italy.

Caruso agrees that Italy is a better destination for villa rentals, while she considers hotel buyouts for Alaska and, at times, Costa Rica. 

Kensington Tours has also seen an increase in private accommodations requests, and recently booked an exclusive buyout of Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge, a safari lodge in South Africa, for 27 guests. The operator is also seeing the bundling of private elements.

“An example of one booking was a weeklong yacht charter, followed by a four-night stay at Le Sereno Villa in St. Barths with a private jet,” said Edita Sgovio, director of yachts for Kensington Tours.

Private jets have been up for Johnson, who says they’re a popular option for families who want to avoid crowds, lines and the general chaos of commercial travel.

Maza is seeing more reservations at private homes and properties that have bungalows, such as Carneros Resort and Spa and Montage Healdsburg, both in California’s wine country.

An example of one booking was a weeklong yacht charter, followed by a four-night stay at Le Sereno Villa in St. Barths with a private jet.

At The Beverly Hills Hotel, which has 23 bungalows, reservations for the room type spiked during the pandemic and have remained high.

“Bungalow demand remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels and enjoyed near 90% occupancies in April alone,” said Steven Boggs, director of global relations for The Beverly Hills Hotel.

At Rancho Valencia, the owner made the prescient decision to purchase two additional homes in 2019 — The Spa House and Casa Valencia — to add to the resort’s collection of casitas, villas and homes.

“Pre-COVID-19, we had many requests for larger accommodations with full kitchens and total privacy, with the same amenities and service as the rest of our resort,” McIver said. “Since COVID-19, that demand has naturally been even stronger. We have been very pleased with the decision to add these homes to our inventory.”

Over-the-Top Is Out

Even though trips are costing more than they ever have, the desire for crazy “over-the-top” or unique experiences is not coming up as much.

It’s priceless to know that someone cares.

“Everything old is new again,” Caruso said. “No one is asking for something no one has done before. We are not having those conversations.”

Clients want the whole itinerary hyper-customized to their comforts and interests, and the most luxurious thing of all these days is a trip free of hiccups. 

While private jets and top-tier hotels can ease some of today’s stressors, nothing is more valuable than having an expert travel advisor to turn to if things go sideways.

“Consumers are finally realizing the value of someone who has your back,” Maza said. “It’s priceless to know that someone cares.”