Travel Trend Reports – Embark Beyond

2026 New Hotel Openings

JANUARY 2026

What are we seeing now as we close out the year?  We are all still obsessed with staying relevant with AI progressing, people’s priorities changing and the perception of value shifting. The word on our mind now? Sustainability No, not the sustainability you are thinking. It’s more like, could we sustain the pace of 2025. While people ended 2024 with trepidation on what the year would bring, most were surprised it fared so well. Was it softer than years in the past? Yes, for many. Was there price pushback? Yes. Did people make decisions based on price, safety perception, and weather? Yes, yes, and yes. And while our business practically froze in April when Trump’s Tariffs took effect, it immediately bounced back and accelerated at pace directly in line with thriving stock market.

Q3, 2025- What’s Going On?

AUGUST 2025

The question everyone seems to be asking us: What’s going on? We said before it’s like a raging party has moved to a mellow dinner gathering. The thing is, our favorite kind of party is still raging in some places–think festive lunches on the French Riviera. But overall, it’s more a well-curated gathering with a tighter guest list. And yes, it’s a rollercoaster of uncertainty.

Q2, 2025- Staying Relevant Through Transformation

JUNE 2025

Our Q2 trends report looks at the broader luxury space for a reason. What happens in other verticals happens to us. We are all working with the same customer, and hospitality is, after all, at the crossroads of it all. And our word for this quarter, maybe even the year - RELEVANCE.

Q1, 2025: A Year Already in Overdrive

APRIL 2025

How many of us feel like we just closed the books on 2024—and yet here we are, already in early April? We actually delayed the release of this report for a few weeks to get a more accurate handle on what we were all fearing would be a reality – insane tariffs in the US market which would literally disrupt world commerce. Alas, it has become a reality and the prospects do not look good. Coming into the year, I believe we all braced ourselves for a new critical global landscape. A shifting political scene in the U.S. and across Europe, two wars presumably on the cusp of conclusion, and climate change undermining the reliability of almanacs (and travel plans).

2025 Hot Hotel Openings

DECEMBER 2024

Despite pushback we are very excited about 2025. It’s not just because of forecasted business. It is because of all the incredible destination development, the evolution of how people travel, the plethora of amazing festivals and events, and most of all, some of the most exciting hotel openings of the decade.

Q3, 2024- From Raging Party To Mellow Dinner Gathering

AUGUST 2024

The question everyone seems to be asking us: Is the Party Over? We think so. Well, not exactly. The “rage” is over, and the party has mellowed to more of a great dinner gathering. We’ve just entered the third quarter of 2024, which historically is our most lucrative for luxury travel. The year is still strong, but we are all seeing signs of a softening future. Clients are pushing back more and more on exorbitant pricing, overtourism, and intense heat.

The State of Luxury- Q2, 2024

APRIL 2024

In the inaugural State of Luxury, we are sharing personal insights from top Icons in the luxury arena and have distilled the most prevalent thoughts and trends that are transforming the luxury landscape. The new luxury consumer is seeking access to rare,, one-of-a-kind experiences and interactions that are as unique as they are. Luxury brands are responding, fast and furiously. The following pages examine the state of luxury today and the trends that are impacting how it might look in the future.

2024 Hot Hotel Openings

JANUARY 2024

We see 2024 as a year of equilibrium; the forecast looks promising, just not as insane as 2022 or 2023. In our mind (and our budgets) it is as great a year as 2019 was. That bodes well for far-flung destinations but maybe not as good for local, domestic destinations in any respective country. That, notwithstanding the war in the Middle East, has clouded the forecast and shifted destination preferences, that are beginning to look like more conservative, pandemic-time decisions.

Q2, 2023

JUNE 2023

This second quarter edition of our 2023 Luxury Travel Trends focuses on performance metrics. While it may seem a bit dull, we always find it enlightening in showcasing some hard-core trends, especially by destination. We will share EMBARK Beyond’ s actual production and top destinations for 2022 plus pace for 2023. We also examine booking patterns, micro-drivers by region, as well as by travel category. Lastly, we outline our trajectory of rate patterns and closure patterns which we thought may be insightful to you.

Q1, 2023

MARCH 2023

Are we dancing on the edge of a cliff? Indeed, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is what will 2023 bring? How are we preparing? What are we seeing? Will we be affected? Despite so many predictions of recession, there is little sign of anyone cutting back on spending, especially travel spending. Spending is at an all-time high and prices have obnoxiously ballooned far above any expectations. Aside from market decompression, will faltering economy affect RevPar?

2023 Hot Hotel Openings

DECEMBER 2022

What’s old is new and what’s new is combined with the old. Some destinations that opened late after Covid (like Japan) skyrocketed immediately. Others like Australia and New Zealand got off to a slower start but look promising for 2023. Destinations in Southeast Asia seem to be slower based on pace for us. South America continues to grow in popularity. For many familiar “return” destinations in Europe, the theme seems to be continuing where clients return to a favorite pre-Covid place and look to combine it with something new, pushing less popular regions into the forefront.

2021 Hot Hotel Openings

DECEMBER 2020

Compiling our list of Hot New Hotel Openings for 2021 has brought us a burst of optimism and refreshing excitement. Despite the tribulation of 2020, our world is set to be blessed with some incredible, game-changing hospitality experiences. If you are feeling a touch of déjà vu that’s because many of the hotels opening in 2021 were slated to open in 2020 but setback for obvious reasons. What is both impressive and daunting at the same time are the number of new hotels opening in struggling cities.

Outlook: 2021

DECEMBER 2020

As the infamous 2020 comes to a close we reflect on a year that has completely blindsided all of us and sent our industry into a tizzy with staggering loss on the human and economic side.

Destination Report

NOVEMBER 2019

This quarter we focus on hot destinations for 2020 as well as highlight new luxury hotel openings. We then set out Embark’s destination and travel metrics before closing with Opportunities and Predictions for 2020.

Luxury Market & Distribution Observation Report

JULY 2019

Many of the trends outlined in last year’s report are still very relevant and continue to amplify. This “issue” will focus less on specific travel trends and more on developments affecting luxury travel, though not necessarily directly in the travel space. First, we will look at market observations influencing our clients followed by distribution developments that are continuing to impact our relevancy. Lastly, we’ll present a brief update on some of the most exciting hotel openings this quarter. While some of these developments seem grim, they also present tremendous opportunity for those committed to innovating and elevating.