#Trending This Week - What's Threatening Business Travel For 2023, Hotels Get Spiritual To Lure Group Business, RVs Are Still Cool, And Have You Tried This Cocktail Yet?
Issue 114 • October 18, 2022
It’s no secret that big hotels suffered during the pandemic when corporate group business and meetings of all kinds went away overnight. With so much chatter about mental wellness for employees, many properties are jumping on the wellbeing bandwagon and creating programs focused on health, calm, and nature. There are concerns about the numbers for travel in 2023 and it’s got nothing to do with COVID. This pandemic travel option seems to have staying power. And a new cocktail is popping up all over the world. Check it all out in our three-minute read below.
Hotels Try To Lure Corporate Groups Back With Wellness
Corporate meetings are big business for hotels, so marketers are leveraging the rising trend for work wellbeing by incorporating a variety of spiritual and nature-based activities in a bid to steer those group dollars their way. Intravenous drips, sound healing, forest bathing, yoga, and even rescuing horseshoe crabs are just some of the activities hotels are offering to entice businesses to hold their corporate retreats with them. Read more in Skift here.
Economy, Not COVID, Is Chief Threat To 2023 Travel
A Global Business Travel Association poll now points to the economy, not COVID, as the chief threat to 2023 travel volume. Only 4% of travel suppliers in the survey said COVID-19 would be the most likely culprit in reduced business travel bookings, compared with 80% who were more concerned about tighter or frozen travel budgets due to high inflation or a recession. Read more in Travel Weekly here.
RV Travel Is Holding Steady Post Pandemic
Interest in recreational vehicle accommodations soared amid the pandemic as travelers sought out safer modes of travel and were also limited with where they could go due to lockdowns. And now, almost three years in, RV travel is showing little indication of slowing down. Consumers like the fact they have more freedom and control with an RV, and with the recent downturn in the economy, RV travel is quite often an affordable option. Read more in PhocusWire here.
It’s A Thing: The Popcorn Cocktail
It’s apparently showing up in bars all over the world from Barcelona to Manhattan — a modern version of a cocktail with edibles on it, much like the martini with olives or the loaded Bloody Mary with bacon, shrimp, celery stick, and more. Some cocktails literally have popcorn attached to them while others simply infuse popcorn flavor into the alcohol. Read more in PunchDrink here. Photo Credit: Lizzie Munro.