How have travelers’ priorities shifted as a result of COVID-19? What is important to people and what do they care about now? How can the travel industry provide us with what we need and want as a result of our shared pandemic experience? Florence Quinn, founder of marketing and PR firm Quinn, shares the company's insights.
The following 11 new priorities for re-imagining travel in a post-COVID world are based on insights collected and compiled from our many travel clients -- hotels, destinations, airlines, restaurants and wellness retreats -- with further intelligence from current travel reports and expert opinions.
1. Cleaning and Social Distancing: First, of course, are the new cleaning and social distancing protocols. Marriott has launched a Global Cleanliness Council; Hilton has partnered with the Mayo Clinic, and Airbnb is requiring 24 hours between bookings. Everyone must have strong and clear protocols for cleaning and social distancing. Think about following the protocol of CDC and WHO and/or a trusted medical organization and providing proof that items and areas have been properly cleaned. One piece of good news is that the CDC has deemed pools and hot tubs safe from COVID-19 due to their chlorine and bromide disinfectants.
2. Connection with family and friends: Pre-COVID the travel buzz word was experiences. Post-COVID it will be connections. From consumerism to connection-ism. Many people deepened their relationships at home and over Zoom chats and wine hours while sheltering in place. They will be super excited to connect in person when we are “let out.” “People will have an emotional need to travel with people they know and trust,” said James Henderson, CEO of Exclusive Resorts.
Exclusive Resorts
3. Privacy: Privacy is the new luxury as we continue to guard our safety and health while social distancing. Bookings for vacation villas and residences are already strong with sold-out periods. These types of properties also fulfill the desire for connection with family and friends, as loved can gather under one roof in an environment that they can control. “Self-sufficiency and privacy will rise,” noted Larry Korman, president of AKA luxury serviced residences. According to VistaJet, there will be a new crop of private jetters drawn to private aviation’s controlled environment that limits exposure to other travelers.
4. Wellness and Health: The desire for wellness retreats and vacations will increase. In our post-pandemic, when-will-the-next-one-hit world, the best retreats will also provide medical work-ups backed by data so we can stay healthy. At Sensei, the new wellness retreat started by Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Dr. David Agus, a leading physicians and best-selling author, on Lanai in Hawaii, the most current, evidence-led expertise informs all wellness treatments and decisions.
5. Kitchens: We are going from “Why do I need a kitchen?” to “Do you have a kitchen?” so that people can control their food source and who touches it. At the idyllic lakeside Inns of Aurora in New York State’s Finger Lakes district, three boutique inns can be rented in their entireties with fully stocked kitchens.
E.B. Morgan House, Inns of Aurora
6. Fresh, Healthy Food: More than ever people care about food that will keep them healthy and strong. This includes educating ourselves about foods and food sources that strengthen our bodies and immune systems.
7. On-site Laundry: An onsite laundry room will be the new, must-have amenity. People will want to wash clothing while traveling, especially after going out.
8. Culture and the Arts: The meaning and delight that culture and the arts brings to people is more important than ever as we emerge from the darkness and losses suffered during the pandemic. Travel brands, like Aqua-Aston Hospitality in Hawaii, are figuring out how to provide access to the arts while we continue to social distance.
Aqua-Aston Hospitality
9. Support for Local and Small Businesses: As a result of the devastating losses suffered by small businesses and restaurants during COVID-19, people are very focused on wanting to support and help them by giving them business in a way that feels safe.
10. Save Mother Earth: While people were very concerned about our natural environment pre-COVID, the pandemic has made people hyper passionate about saving our oceans and planet. Aqua-Aston will continue #ForOurReef, its leading initiative to save the coral reef with its game-changing switch to coral-safe sunscreen and its participation in Raw Elements’ World Reef Day with Hawaiian Airlines.
11. Technology, Our New Best Friend: Now that we have become besties with Zoom, we will continue to integrate Zoom and other technology into our personal and business lives, as social distancing remains the new norm for now and because we see how well they work to connect us to each other. Expect to see a greater dependency on technology, as well as technological advancements, even after we return to normal.
If there is any good that has come out of the pandemic, it’s that the virus that stopped the world also gave us pause to reflect on what is most important to us, each other and our shared globe.
