This Could Be One Of The Biggest Travel Trends Of 2024
An intimate dance night organized by Embark Beyond for
20 friends in Marrakech at the private riad ... [+] in Royal Mansour.
Embark Beyond
Private group travel may be one of the biggest travel
trends of 2024. A recent survey by luxury travel advisors at Embark Beyond
found that 61% of Americans are interested in traveling with extended families
or a small group of friends next year.
I asked Jack Ezon, Embark's founder, to explain this
shift to group travel among American travelers and how it might affect your
next trip. Ezon recently coined the term "grand gatherings" to
describe these small, private trips.
Singita Castleton, a six-room resort near Kruger
National Park in South Africa. It's been the site ... [+] of many grand
gatherings.
Embark Beyond
Why do people want to travel together?
We've seen a shift in the purpose of travel after the
pandemic. It's much more about connection.
What kind of connection?
People are starting to realize the importance of
reconnecting with the people they really care about. Travel is the best way to
connect to others, since it takes you out of the inertia of your regular
routine. It allows you to focus on the now, the present — on where you are and
who you're with.
How does travel allow you to do that?
Traveling opens you up to so many things that you just
can’t focus on between carpools, commuting and preparing dinner. The drive for
connection has generated more demand for multigenerational families to be
proactive in trying to program experiences that bring people closer together.
So is this trend going beyond just renting a vacation
home for the week?
Yes, people aren't just hanging out anymore. They're
having a Glow-themed party by the pool one night, a beach Olympics where the
whole family gets involved, and even a "Chopped"-style cooking
contest.
At Embark, we're calling these groups grand
gatherings. It's a new category that we define as groups of travelers ranging
from 10 to 50 guests. With the exception of multigenerational families, it is a
category with little comparative history.
That sounds like more of a team-building exercise for
a corporation.
We're actually retrofitting corporate team-building
experiences for families now. We're finding that concepts that take ordinary
people out of their comfort zones and push them back together help transform
them. Fulfilling experiences build stronger connections.
Who's traveling together?
The concept of the multigenerational group trip has
extended into general social affinity groups. We're now seeing groups made up
of five or six couples, four or five unrelated families, and even small groups
of friends with a common interest.
Why are they doing this?
People want to create connections like families do,
even if they don’t share the same DNA. What’s even more interesting is that the
types of affinity groups seem to reinvent themselves every day. They can
literally be a group of people interested in food, art or fashion.
What percentage of your business are these group
trips?
Multigenerational travel is still the biggest growth
area for us, and has been consistently growing for years. In 2019 multigen
experiences grew by 22% and now account for 32% of our transactions and 43% of
our overall revenue.
When you factor in all of the other new small social
group segments that have sprung up, it's about 25% of our business. It has
become so significant that we actually created a new division called Embark
Together to proactively help program and address the needs of this growing
market.
If I'm reading this now and thinking, "I should
do a group trip" — what would you tell me?
We're finding that these groups need a lot more
programming and hand-holding because there are so many people involved. It's
not like a family of five or six where you can just wing it.
So you shouldn't try planning this alone?
Probably not. The biggest challenge is that a villa
lacks service, and most hotels don’t know what to do with these small groups.
They are too big for a hotel concierge and too small for a meeting or catering
manager to handle. For each trip, we now assign what we call a Memory Maker,
who is not only in charge of the logistics of booking the trip but also filling
it with experiences and managing everyone’s individual needs.
What's the key to a successful grand gathering?
One of the most important things is the venue. You
see, for these groups, it is not about the destination. Remember, it's all
about connection, and the destination is just the platform to orchestrate the
connection.
In other words, you have to set up the right
environment.
Exactly. It can be a private villa or the takeover of
a small 10- to 15-room hotel. Sometimes we need to get creative in a larger
hotel and imitate the private villa concept.
For example, we may take a whole building of a larger
hotel or a floor so that everyone can be close. And in all these groups,
there’s a need for shared private spaces in which everyone can gather to bond
and connect.
One of the great things about sharing a villa is that
everyone can leave their doors unlocked and have coffee in their PJs in the
morning. We try to emulate that by, say, renting a suite and making it the
common club lounge – perhaps it has bean bags and games for the kids, constant
snacks and some meals for the adults, and this is the central gathering point
for activities, where they can play games like Family Feud night or karaoke
wars.
Your client survey also had some interesting information
about where these large groups are going. Can you talk about that?
That’s very interesting. Five or six years ago, I
would say 70% to 80% was a local beach destination with an easy nonstop flight.
Now it may be a private lodge on safari, a private island in Thailand or even a
ski chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, or even Niseko, Japan.
We’ve chartered ships in the Galapagos for friends who
love nature and rented an island in the Maldives for six couples who love to
dive. We’ve done birthday parties in the Palace of Versailles and a four-day
bachelorette party in the middle of the Utah canyonlands, complete with nightly
themed parties and world-class entertainers.
Do you have any favorite recent grand gathering trips
that you've planned?
We did an amazing birthday party for eight couples on
a private island off the coast of Cannes. One of the highlights was flying in
Michelin-star chefs to star in group cooking competitions with the guests.
We had an “Amazing Race” through the island that
incorporated helicopters, boats, bikes and sidecars. Each dinner had a
different theme. We did a visit to the lavender fields with an opportunity for
everyone to create a joint perfume scent for the group. We did a karaoke war
contest one night that was amazing, a Glow-themed party in the pool with a
local DJ, and even recreated the Newlywed Game for the group one night.
Where’s the best place to host a private group trip?
We love places you can take over, with full staff so
that you can do what you want, when you want, without worries about other
people.
In the Caribbean and Mexico, Jumby Bay’s six- to
nine-bedroom estates are virtually their own resorts with private beach, tennis
and pool. We also love Grace Bay Club homes and Beach Enclave for a great
value.
We adore Africa for these kinds of trips. It is almost
surely to be transformational. Singita Castleton or Serengeti House are perfect
private game resorts while the eight-bedroom Africa House at Royal Malewane is
unique, in that everyone can be under one room. Cheetah Plains is built for
gatherings with just three four-bedroom villas on the whole property.
In Europe, Ultima resorts are our first go-to options
as they are literally hotels built only for exclusive takeovers. We are
obsessed with the Le Logis estate in Cognac as it is choc full of facilities,
and love Keythorp Hall in the UK or Ballyfin in Ireland for a great countryside
setting.
In the USA, Brush Creek Ranch is dreamy as is Dunton
Hot Springs. Amangiri’s Camp Sirika is the ultimate, over-the-top glamping experience.
How do you plan a grand gathering for 2024?
The first thing I would do is outline your goals or
common interests. Then call someone who can pair that interest with the best
destination. Remember, focus on what you want to walk away with, not just where
you want to go.
But this isn't like a family vacation or a multigen
trip. We're talking about a much larger group, potentially. How do you get
everyone on the same page?
I think it's important to let everyone express their
visions but appoint one leader. You need one person to call the shots.
What about the schedule itself?
You need to give people options. Don’t require
everyone to be on the same schedule every day. If your agenda is too intense,
there will be anxiety, burnout and meltdown moments by someone along the way.
How about meals and activities?
Try to get all meals together and at least one
activity a day for everyone to be together. Meals are the most important.
I've heard you talk about branding these grand
gatherings. What does that mean?
It means having someone make a cool logo for the trip.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but invest in some swag like hats, bag
tags or other meaningful merch. Every time you use them later in life, it will
bring back amazing memories.
How involved should you be in managing all of this
once you're at your destination?
You shouldn't be involved at all. Bring someone to
handle it all so you can enjoy yourself. You need to be a guest at your own
party. You should not be the one making sure everyone gets in the van or knows
what time dinner is.
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