Conspicuous Leisure: A New Luxury Travel Trend?

by Susan Kime (RSS feed)
Nov 18th 2010 at 10:01AM

Affluent Americans today consider leisure-oriented pursuits to be more valuable than luxury goods, services and experiences, says Chris Fair, president of Resonance Consultancy, a strategic marketing organization. This trend was also underscored in the latest Luxury Institute Wealth Report newsletter of 11/15/10.

While conspicuous consumption may be on the wane, new research by the Luxury Institute, conducted in cooperation with Resonance Consultancy, suggests that conspicuous leisure is on the rise. A two-year study of affluent U.S. households' lifestyles and aspirations conducted in 2008 and again in 2010 by the Luxury Institute reveals aspirations that are in sharp contrast with popular conceptions of wealthy attitudes. The corporate titles, Ivy League educations, cars, boats, jewelry, large homes, chauffeurs, private jets, furs, art collections and wine cellars often associated with wealth were nowhere to be found near the top of wealthy Americans' most desired list. In fact, the top four of the top 10 list of the most desirable luxury items and experiences in 2010 are:

•Taking exotic vacations
•Vacation home in the mountains or at the beach
•Extended time off work
•Freedom to work from home

"The human need to seek approval through visible displays of our status is as primordial as ever. What may be changing, however, is how and what we choose to display. The top-rated goods and experiences are reflective of primarily private pleasures and point to a strong aspiration for leisure time, which can also be conspicuous. The shift away from conspicuous consumption from goods to services and experiences can also make luxury more exclusive," says Substance of Style author Virginia Postrel, who cites as an example the Sapling Foundation's TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) conferences, which attract an exclusive cut of intellectual luminaries. She says that anyone can decide they want to spend $6,000 on bags or watches, but for the same sum, you can register for the TED conference, which entitles you to spend four days in California hearing short talks by innovators like Frank Gehry, Amy Tan or Brian Greene. You mingle with smart, curious people, all of whom have $6,000 to spare, but to go to TED, you need more than cash. The conference directors have to deem you interesting enough to merit one of the 1,450 spots. It's the intellectual equivalent of a velvet rope.

The similarity between the results obtained before the recession in 2008 and after in 2010 suggests that conspicuous leisure will be a driving trend for years to come, according to The Luxury Institute.

For providers of high-end goods, services and experiences, the rise of conspicuous leisure will create both challenges and new opportunities for luxury brands, as the definition of luxury for U.S. households continues to evolve. And as example, the high end luxury destination club industry has seen its share of problems this year, including a recent bankruptcy. But, the remaining four large destination clubs have all reported substantial new membership numbers, as well as new properties acquired in the latter part of this year. In addition, news clubs, such as Demeure, Boundless Journeys, Second Home Destinations,and others, have moved into the space, further validating the possibility of conspicuous leisure as a new travel trend.

Tags: Boundless Journeys, Conspicuous Lesiure, Demeure Club, Luxury Institute, Luxury Institute Wealth Newsletter, New luxury trends, Resonance Consultancy, Second Home Destinations, Ted Conferences, Virginia Postrel