World Consumer Insights

Trend - Hotels are becoming popular venues for hosting gaming competitions, tournaments, and community gatherings related to esports. These events leverage the hotel’s infrastructure, such as conference halls, ballrooms, and high-speed internet, to create a space for athletes, casual gamers, and spectators.

Insight - Gaming tourism has surged in popularity, with casual and competitive fans across the globe eager to witness their favorite teams in action. In response, hotels are transforming their event spaces into esports hubs, capitalizing on the opportunity to host related events while streaming logistics related to setup and security for organizations involved. Businesses using this approach can boost revenue through add-on services and position themselves as go-to destinations for future gaming events.

Trend - New hotels are opening with a primary focus on immersing guests in local culture through curated experiences and events. These properties prioritize connecting travelers with the local community through events such as guided tours, workshops, and culinary experiences featuring regional recipes.

Insight - Travelers are increasingly seeking unique, meaningful experiences that provide deeper connections to the destinations they visit. The rise of experiential travel, coupled with a shift away from standardized, one-size-fits-all accommodations, has created demand for hotels that act as cultural hubs. By offering immersive cultural experiences, these hotels address travelers’ desires for authenticity, enrichment, and memorable stays, ultimately enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Trend - Luxury hotels are partnering with popular fragrance brands to launch collaborative, experiential tea activations. These events are intended to blend the intense flavors of the teas with the rich, aromatic notes of luxury fragrances. Combining these offers consumers heightened experiences.

Insight - Higher-income consumers, in particular those who frequently travel for work or pleasure, are often privy to enjoy finer, higher-end experiences. These consumers want premium accommodations, dining experiences, and living conditions, with minimal work required, and are willing to pay for such things. In order to cater to these illustrious consumers, luxury hotel brands are launching multisensorial fragrance-based high tea and afternoon tea experiences.

Trend - Chinese food and Japanese sushi restaurants alike are beginning to roll out fried cream cheese wonton as an appetizer dish. The combination of cream cheese with a traditional Chinese wonton leads to a crispy, oily shell that houses savory cream cheese, often served with sweet & sour dipping sauce.

Insight - Consumers who frequently choose to dine-out often find themselves either searching for a new place to enjoy, or defaulting back to one of their favorites. When searching for a new restaurant, one important factor is variety and uniqueness. In order to differentiate themselves from other restaurants while offering a new appetizer for consumers who may not eat meat, or may not want a protein-heavy appetizer, restaurants are launching crispy fried cheese wontons paired with dipping sauces.

Trend - Brands in the camping product space are releasing tents designed to be ultra-lightweight and portable, without compromising on stability or safety. These tents can be easily compacted and worn as a backpack for hiking, and quickly set-up for overnight camping when needed.

Insight - One of the largest considerations for campers is payload weight. Campers often bring technology, such as foldable grills or water purifiers that enables them to cut down on the weight of their supplies. The more serious the camper, and the longer the camping trip, the more important cutting down on weight is. In order to appeal to the more invested camping consumers, brands are releasing ultra-lightweight tents designed to be tightly compacted.

Trend - As the boutique hotels market grows, new hotels are embracing local culture through design plans, local sourcing, and/or community collaborations. These hotels aim to facilitate more authentic local experiences, while maintaining the benefits of luxury travel for their guests.

Insight - The demand for authentic travel experiences continues to grow, and more consumers are traveling while aiming to reduce their impact on local communities and environments. As their values evolve, travelers who want authentic (but luxurious) experiences patron businesses that are clear about their local contributions--which is easily facilitated through design and sourcing.

Trend - Hotels in the United States are debuting retro-inspired aesthetics to offer mid-century nostalgia to patrons. These hotels leverage culture and history, without sacrificing modern comforts, to differentiate themselves from competitors, thus appealing to more senior patrons.

Insight - Individuals who frequently travel, be it for work or pleasure, are constantly tasked with finding comfortable and temporary living conditions. When traveling, these individuals often seek escapism and respite from their busy lives, gravitating towards those that resonate most with their interests, be it aesthetically or in terms of available amenities. In recognition of this, the U.S. hospitality industry is offering stays that prioritize escapism from daily stresses through nostalgia.

Trend - Ice cream manufacturers are drawing on the traditional Southeast Asian dishes made with pandan to inspire their recipes. These brands transform the original recipes with additional ingredients—such as coconut milk—that make them more fitting for the sweet, creamy flavor palates of ice cream.

Insight - Modern consumerism in Western countries has led to countless product, food, and flavor options. While many regional products have gained global popularity, some more traditional products face challenges in similarly expanding. However, Gen Z and millennial consumers in the West are continually searching for the next food trend to enjoy for themselves and share on social media. As such, brands are drawing inspiration from cultural roots to offer tried-and-true flavors to new consumers.

Trend - Airlines are now offering kits with high-quality travel essentials to passengers in premium cabins to enhance their in-flight experience. These kits include a selection of luxury items and travel necessities designed to make the flight more relaxing or comfortable.

Insight - High-income consumers seek an elevated experiences compared to standard or basic levels of service. These consumers want to feel as though their investments are justified--so they seek out brands that deliver elevated experiences, amenities or exclusive loyalty plans. Brands that can meet these expectations can build lasting relationships with high-income clients and ensure their continued loyalty.

Trend - Companies are debuting everyday carry (EDC) condiments to enable consumers to add flavors to any meal or snack. These bottles are durable and hold less than 2oz of topping, so as not to add weight to the consumers' bags. These products are aimed at foodies who want to enhance regular meals.

Insight - For foodies and health-minded consumers, the ability to ensure food is both flavorful and healthy is paramount. The need for specific combinations between flavor and function, as well as the desire to share flavors with companions, leads many foodies to prepare their own meals rather than ordering food while away from home. Brands are recognizing this diverse set of desires and are responding by launching more convenient on-the-go solutions for flavor or nutrient enhancement.