Laura Powell

At Skift New Luxury, we frequently write about cross-branding efforts between high-end brands. Hotels are especially well-positioned to provide a showcase for niche products and deepen the relationship with their guests in the process.

All over the world, once-derelict areas in cities are still drawing hotels because the price is right. How long will that last?

When your destination is considered the ultimate hotbed of overtourism, what do you do to reduce crowding? For Amsterdam, the answer lies in luxury.

Whether it's hanging on the walls or blanketing chairs and sofas, fabric plays a starring role at The St. Regis New York. That's why the hotel employs a full-time upholsterer, who is constantly canvassing the premises to keep material in tip-top shape.

We’ve been reporting on alternative luxury accommodations like glamping, yurts, and tiny homes for the past couple of years. But now the hotel-less caravansary is going one step beyond, offering a variety of alternative accommodations all in one location.

The talk at the Destinations International annual conference in St. Louis was all about how destination marketing organizations need to transform themselves into destination management organizations. The shift is starting to take place. Progressive destinations that have a head-start on this strategy will take a bigger slice of the pie.

As we frequently report in Skift New Luxury, five-star accommodation is no longer confined to the hotel sector. Shipping containers, tiny homes, and tents are all being tricked out to satisfy the high-end traveler's need for novelty. And now, cowboy wannabes can even go posh by renting out a ranch.

With new hotel brands popping up every day, it can be a challenge to establish name recognition among consumers. That's one challenge InterContinental Hotels Group doesn't have to deal with as it works to revive the Regent brand.

In the effort to attract high-spending tourists, states often look overseas. That's a good idea — international visitors typically spend more than domestic travelers. But certain international markets present a more complicated consumer landscape than others. That's what Visit California has discovered as it starts wooing more travelers from the Middle East.

An expected drop in Chinese tourism to the United States won’t just impact hotels and restaurants. In fact retail may take the biggest hit.