Jennifer Hawkins Tells Us About All Things Travel!
Our speaker for September 23, 2021, was Jennifer Hawkins, whose topic was “Getting Back on the Road.” Jennifer was introduced by Mark Campbell, who has known her for many years. Jennifer is the founder of Hawkins International, a public relations firm representing travel and recreation-related clients. Her firm has more than 60 major clients in the hospitality and travel fields, including lots of hotels, including major hotels such as Park Hyatt and smaller, indie boutique hotels, and travel organizations. She keeps her finger on the pulse of luxury travel and gave us some interesting and insightful information.
There is a renewed sense of hope in the travel industry. Resorts, tour operators, and sports and travel-recreation entities report thriving sales and interest in their offerings. The private jet industry is booming; there is so much demand that these companies have stopped offering packages to customers. The private aviation business is now a mainstream of the upper and upper middle “classes!” Jennifer also mentioned “Revenge travel,” which is apparently the desire to travel after all the recent travel restrictions. She also mentioned “trip stacking,” in which people buy 2 trips at the same time to increase the chances that they will get a trip at the desired time. They buy two and cancel one if necessary! People are also keeping it simple in travel; for example, if you go to Italy don’t try to hit a dozen or so famous cities; go to Rome and stay for the entire trip. You get to avoid all the questions and complications of Covid travelling while learning about Rome in depth.
Jennifer had a number of very interesting recommendations and suggestions, including: use a travel advisor for international travel (you have someone to call in an emergency), buy travel insurance (often required), “glamping” and tiny homes are cool and more fun than camping, you can now work from anywhere because many hotels and resorts offer good internet and online work amenities, and privacy is important so it can be preferable to rent out homes, small private resorts, and even RV’s! Jennifer also told us about “biophilia,” the sense of wanting to get outside to allow nature to restore one’s senses. In hospitality, designers are realizing that travelers want and need all of their senses to be aligned; for example, flowers, candles, crackling logs, fountains, and wood grain and stonework should be all designed to fit together. “Wellness” is a thing; people are craving it and professionals are working hard to provide it.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for the amazing insights and information. Now we just need private jets to take us to our favorite private resorts (or maybe a well-situated RV somewhere).
Click HERE to see Jennifer's talk. It will be viewable only for the next week or so.
