• Home
• News
• Small Luxury Hotels

Green shoots of recovery now in full bloom: SLH survey

Luxury travel in both the business and leisure segments is set to increase over the next 12 months according to the results of a new survey by Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

The survey was targeted at members of The Club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the luxury brand’s customer recognition programme.

Forty-one per cent of respondents said they expected to have more disposable income in the next year with 11 per cent saying they expect to see a significant increase. 

Members of The Club are high net worth, frequent travellers and are well placed to offer insights into the behaviour of affluent consumers.

Thity-one per cent of Club Members who responded to the survey spend over three weeks staying at hotels every year and ten per cent stay at hotels over 30 nights every year on holiday. Thirteen per cent of respondents said they stay at hotels on business over 30 nights every year. 
The survey was co-ordinated by PricewaterhouseCoopers and was initiated to assess current consumer sentiment and to gain insights into travel plans for the next 12 months following the recent global economic downturn. More than 7,500 members of The Club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World responded to the survey.

Frequency of travel, a key sign of recovery, is increasing with 41 per cent of respondents revealing that they are planning to go on holiday four times or more this year and nearly half (45 per cent) saying that they will travel four times or more for business. Nearly one quarter (23 per cent) said this will mean an increase in their business travel over the next 12 months. 

In terms of researching hotels, even the most discerning travellers are jumping online with over 84 per cent of respondents choosing www.slh.com over any other option.

Even the most affluent and discerning travellers are looking for value for money with over two thirds (67 per cent) saying that they search for the best hotel rates on the internet.

Paul Kerr, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, said: “Travel behaviour has changed dramatically in the last ten years and this has been affected by the global financial crisis, the cost of air travel, world events – both natural and man-made.

“There is no such thing as ‘normal behaviour’ any more. What we can say is that travel patterns are settling down and that we are seeing positive indicators such as a resurgence in long-haul travel, longer lead times and increased frequency and length of stay.”