Does Luxury Travel Run Hot or Cold?

This is the somewhat surprising question put to Piers Schmidt by Skift in an article prompted by ‘Shivering for Status: When Cold Temperatures Increase Product Evaluation’ an academic research study that examines the link between high‐status consumer goods and temperature. The researchers set out to “propose and demonstrate that physical cold can indeed increase consumers’ perceptions of a product’s status signaling and luxuriousness.”

In ‘Cooler Temperatures Can Heighten Perception of Luxury’ Skift asks what are the implications of the report’s findings for travel marketing?

After all, when you think about travel advertising, it’s usually warmth — beaches, sunny skies — that is depicted. Travel “is almost defined by warmth,” according to Piers Schmidt, founder of consultancy Luxury Branding. And perhaps the fact that travel may emotionally be the antithesis to hard luxury goods is why the experience economy is having its moment in the sun.