Industries

Hospitality

The affluent traveler is choosing more than a destination. We measure what drives the decision across stays, experiences, wellness and branded residences - and what turns a hospitality choice into a relationship worth returning to.

Luxury hospitality is judged on a promise the guest tests in person, which makes it the hardest category in luxury to research well. Loyalty programs count stays and satisfaction surveys catch the guest on checkout morning. Neither explains what they will pay for next, or why they chose a competitor for the trip that mattered. Our luxury hospitality market research measures the guest and the buyer directly, fielded among verified affluent and high-net-worth travelers in priority markets: what governs destination choice, what a property is worth to them, and where expectation and delivery diverge. Our wellness tourism research and branded residence market research apply that discipline to the two decisions carrying the most capital.

Our solutions for this industry

Custom studies, fielded once, exclusive to one client. Each carries the same four parts: the opening line, the idea, what we do, and why it matters to you.

These are custom research engagements. They are not drawn from a syndicated panel, they are not resold, and the findings belong to the sponsoring client alone.

Solution

Longevity & Wellness Intelligence Study

A spa is an amenity. A longevity clinic is an investment. Your guests already know the difference. Do you know what they will pay for?

Custom engagement. Fielded once, exclusive to one client, never syndicated or resold.

The idea

Wellness has crossed from a pleasant amenity into a genuine reason the affluent choose where to stay, and into a genuine line on the capital budget. The distance between a refreshed spa and a medical-grade longevity offer is measured in tens of millions, and the decision deserves evidence, not enthusiasm.

What we do

We survey affluent and high-net-worth travelers in priority markets on how much wellness and longevity truly weigh on where they choose to go, establishing wellness as a booking reason for affluent travelers.
We run a choice-based exercise on the real trade-offs faced: a diagnostics-led program against a spa-led one, on-site medical staff against a referral network, the price, the minimum stay.
We deliver a willingness-to-pay for wellness and longevity programs reading mapped to your specific proposed program, cut by geography and wealth tier.

Why it matters to you. An affluent wellness and longevity demand study puts a defensible number in front of the investment committee, grounded in your own guests rather than an industry trend a competitor could cite to argue the opposite.

Solution

Branded Residence Buyer Study

Your name means something to a guest for three nights. A residence asks someone to live inside it for twenty years. Nobody has actually checked whether the name holds up that long.

Custom engagement. Fielded once, exclusive to one client, never syndicated or resold.

The idea

More hotel groups are building homes, not just rooms, and those homes sell for more because your name is on them. That premium is real, and it is what the lender and the board want proof of. But a guest checks out and an owner does not, so guest data tells you nothing about what someone expects from your name a year into living with it. You are lending out the brand, and you can get it back in worse shape than you sent it. Independent branded residence buyer research is no longer a marketing nicety. It is a gate the capital must pass through.

What we do

We talk to prospective buyers, and to owners already living in residences like yours, about what they thought your name promised, whether it delivered, and whether they would buy under it again.
We run a conjoint separating how much of the decision is the brand from the address, the amenities, and the service, and which of your brands actually carries the most weight with which buyer.
We compare resale prices against unbranded homes nearby, which puts the premium in plain numbers for the financing conversation and shows whether the brand is still earning it years later.

Why it matters to you. You find out which of your brands can carry a home, and what owners will hold you to, before your name is on the door.

Experience Economy 2.0 - core findings for this industry

Drawn from Wave 1 of the Experience Economy 2.0 series: 500 verified HNWI and UHNWI respondents across six markets. Below, the findings specific to this industry.

Guests choose on connection and restoration
Quality time with loved ones is the strongest driver in the category by a wide margin (+0.73), with creating unforgettable memories (+0.35) and mental reset and relaxation (+0.23) the next strongest. What the highest-value guest is choosing is the emotional payoff of the stay - time together, restoration, moments worth keeping - far more than any feature of the property or the service. Discovery and a personalized experience register too, but the center of gravity is connection and renewal.
What this might suggest for brands. The stay competes on what it makes possible between people, not on the building or the amenity list. Spaces and programming that leave room for togetherness and recovery may matter more to this guest than another feature.
Wave 1 500 verified HNWI and UHNWI respondents across six markets
The service and logistics the trade sells hardest rank low
The operational attributes that dominate luxury-hospitality marketing sit at or below the category average. Seamless logistics handled for you is negative (-0.24), exceptional service lands at roughly the average (-0.03), and “maximizing the value of your time” and learning from experts or insiders are both below zero. This isn’t a sign that guests don’t want good service - at this level they expect it. Service has become the floor rather than the reason to choose, which leaves the emotional payoff to do the differentiating.
What this might suggest for brands. Visible service and logistics read as table stakes here rather than a differentiator. The open question is where to compete once the operational baseline is shared, and the data points toward relational time and memory more than another amenity.
Wave 1 500 verified HNWI and UHNWI respondents across six markets
Discretion over display
Prestige or social recognition is the lowest-valued attribute in the category (-0.44), further down than anything else tested. What ranks lowest is the display side of luxury - being seen, recognized, envied - rather than exclusivity itself. Privacy and rare access sit only mildly below zero. The guest at the top is choosing the experience over the status that comes with it.
What this might suggest for brands. The recognition-and-bragging-rights narrative is the weakest ground to lead on with this guest. Discreet, personal, recognition-free experience is closer to what they are choosing for.
Wave 1 500 verified HNWI and UHNWI respondents across six markets

See the Full Research Series

Why you should partner with us

We Study the Decision, Not the Stay
Satisfaction surveys read the guest on checkout morning, when the interesting choices are already behind them. Our work measures how a destination, a program, or a residence gets chosen in the first place.
We Reach the Traveler Who Actually Books the Suite
Verified affluent and high-net-worth travelers in priority markets, screened by spend and travel record rather than stated intent. Aspiration is easy to sample. The guest who pays for the program is harder, and it is who we field.
We Separate the Brand From the Building
Conjoint tells you how much of the price is the name and how much is the address, the specification, and the service. Branded residence market research carried out independently of the sales gallery.
One Property, One Study
Every engagement is scoped for a single owner, operator, or developer, and fielded among their own market. Nothing is syndicated, so nothing you commission arrives on a competitor’s desk.