Colin Nagy travel tips

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 4. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

One of the best definitions of high-end hospitality I saw this year suggested: “Luxury is when the standard operating procedure isn’t showing.” This hit the nail on the head for the products and experiences that transcend good into great. The guest feels a sense of detail, thoughtful anticipation, and comfort but the gears and machinations to deliver it remains hidden.

Dr. Wendy Panaino spends her time in the vast, red-hued Kalahari desert, researching and documenting a mythological animal that few of us will ever see in real life. This animal is the pangolin, a solitary, primarily nocturnal creature that looks like something out of a fairytale. It is covered in scales and can roll up into a ball to protect itself, with a spiky tail that can fend off predators. The animal makes its home in the dry, arid climate of the Kalahari, and is currently critically endangered from poaching, owing to the demand for its meat and scales from Asia.

Luxury hospitality is in the middle of a boom. As well-heeled travelers return to the road, five-star hotels are reaping the benefits and making up for lost time with expensive rates. But what is becoming very apparent is a new group of ultra-luxury players pushing the industry to previously unseen limits while catering to a mobile class of one percenters that don’t tend to look at the bill. 

Sales and marketing has been a long established role in the core teams of hotels around the world. There’s a lot to it, but the role generally entails driving demand for a property, liaising with trade partners, and strategically positioning the hotel in the market and with press.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, March 3. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Many have a passing familiarity with frankincense given its role in the Bible and symbolic role in religion. In Oman, where some of the world’s best frankincense is produced, it is pervasive in all areas of society: from health and wellness, to hospitality and hosting, where the aromatic fragrance is burned to create a welcoming ambience. It is even burned during a woman’s pregnancy and after birth to protect the newborn and create a purified atmosphere.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, May 23, and we’re back after a short holiday. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

We’ve seen the flood of LinkedIn posts and professionals making confident proclamations about the future of AI. Truth is, this is a stage of learning, observing, and asking a lot of questions. There is not a lot of certainty, which means it is a fruitful time for travel brands to experiment and see what sticks.

“Glamping” is an unfortunate term that somehow has stuck. At first, it meant an elevated, non-austere form of camping in nature, characterized by not only hospitality projects but brands like Japan’s Snow Peak.

Despite the wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on various sectors, the travel industry emerged as one of the hardest hit. 

In today’s travel landscape, travelers are seeking more than just a place to rest their heads; they are craving experiences that leave a lasting impression, with wellness and sustainability at the forefront of their minds.

For many of us, souvenirs play an integral part of the travel experience, allowing us to bring back physical mementos from our journeys. However it’s common for these keepsakes to end up forgotten on shelves or stored away in boxes.

El Cosmico, in Marfa, Texas, has been synonymous with a free-form lodging experience and a place where art and counterculture combine with high desert hospitality. A campground-meets-hotel, the property has grown from the imaginative vision of Texas-based hotelier Liz Lambert. Through the years, it has attracted wanderers seeking a confluence of the extraordinary and the rustic, the real and the surreal.

Whether we are embarking on a personal adventure or jetting off on business, boarding an aircraft has become a common occurrence for most of us. However, no matter how familiar we become with stepping through those aircraft doors, the experience never fails to evoke a sense of wonder within us – even for a pilot.

I’ve been doing these best-of columns for several years now. In addition to highlighting interesting and innovative brands, experiences, and hoteliers, it serves as a barometer for the industry as a whole.