SITE
Luxury is a state of heart
DIDIER SCAILLET, CEO OF SITE, SAYS A TRUE, AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE IS THE NEW LUXURY
ocal experiences have
always been an integral
part of incentive travel.
Years ago, one group
included dinner in their programme
with a local family in Cape Town, South
Africa, and served Bobotie, the
traditional spiced mince dish of the
country. And for years, corporate
planners and DMCs have been taking
groups out of crowded cities, to
off-the-beaten-track venues to
experience how the locals live.
But such experiential activities have
never been in the forefront as they are
today, which may have something to do
with millennials (or GenX or GenZ)
who tend to be about “experiences” and
not about “stuff”? Typically they’d
rather get wet and zipline in a Costa
Rican rain forest than sit down to a
five-course dinner at a Michelin-Star
restaurant.
To that end, this relates to the fifth of
the 10 statements in SITE’s Bangkok
Manifesto (www.siteglobal.com/page/
the-bangkok-manifesto) created at the
SITE Global Conference in Thailand in
January, the Manifesto was developed
by incentive industry thought leaders on
the industry’s true purpose in the
business world today.
The Manifesto’s Statement 5 reads:
‘The definition of luxury has
changed. The era of logos and
brands is ending. Luxury in the
future will be defined by authentic,
unique and personal experiences.’
Bob Miller, CEO, One10Marketing,
weighed in on authentic experiences
being the new luxury, saying, “Luxury
is a state of mind that arises when
circumstances make people feel special.
It’s defined by long-held preferences, is
highly personal and often changes. It
used to be opulence and extravagance,
“Luxury used to
be opulence and
extravagance,
champagne
and caviar,
but now it is
authenticity and
unique personal
experiences, craft
beer and local
cuisine.”
champagne and caviar, but now it is
authenticity and unique personal
experiences, craft beer and local
cuisine.”
Miller further says that now
researchers are trying to understand
the shifting face of luxury based on
generational differences, personas and
life stages. “As the power of individual
choice continues to assert itself globally,
many of the traditional definitions of
luxury are being challenged,” he says.
Make no mistake: The luxury goods
market is not going anywhere; in fact,
according to research from consulting
firm Bain & Company, it will top
€275bn (US$305m) this year.
Today’s high-earning consumer
wants luxury experiences that sets them
apart from their peers, helps them learn,
facilitates their overall wellbeing,
provides access to one-of-a-kind
experiences, and enables them to
achieve their dreams.
A recent Skift study also concludes
that there is a new and elevated set of
themes defining today’s luxury market;
themes that emphasise more creative,
meaningful, multicultural, internal and
ISSUE 102
personalised customer journeys.
A great opportunity for the incentive
travel industry to be sure, says Miller in
the Bangkok Manifesto. “Our clients
still look for obvious comforts, but the
real focus now is on unique access to
experiences: Access that guests can’t
buy or curate on their own. Access to
locations, activities and other people.
Authentic, once-in-a-lifetime moments
that are truly transformational.”
Luxury is emotional - a state of heart,
not mind, says Miller. “But, more than
anything, luxury arises when we
experience life changing moments that
we turn into memories that, in turn,
define and transform our lives.”
As one top producing insurance agent
said to me recently, “I don’t remember
the gifts I received in China, but I’ll
never forget the cocktail party we had on
the Great Wall, and the lunch we had
with a family in a Hutong neighbourhood
in the backstreets of
Beijing. Learning to
make dumplings with
the locals is something
I’ll remember for the
rest of my life.”
/
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
/
39