Market Trends

🏠 London's Studio Est, founded in 2020 by Louise East, renovated an apartment inside the iconic Battersea Power Station, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott (1929-1955, decommissioned in 1975). The owner's vision was to mirror personal taste and the building's art deco heritage. Incorporating brutalist elements with softer textures, the design featured custom furnishings and vintage pieces like Mario Bellini leather chairs and a Charles Rennie Mackintosh Hill House Chair. The redevelopment added residential, office, and retail spaces; WilkinsonEyre and Foster + Partners contributed to the restoration and design, including an Apple office and store.

🚿 Dezeen's lookbook series showcases eight homes where bathtubs serve as centrepieces, offering visual inspiration from the archive. Featured homes include Art House in Greece by Kallos Turin, with veiny green marble, and a Versailles townhouse in France by RMGB, highlighting marble contrast. A Milan apartment by David/Nicolas sports a pink bathtub, while The Maker's Barn in the UK by Hutch Design offers a sunken tub with views. In London, Untitled House by Szczepaniak Astridge features a "concrete sculpture" bath, and an Upper West Side apartment in the US by General Assembly showcases terrazzo. G House in Spain by Gon Architects presents a large, white-tiled tub. Sunderland Road house in the UK by 2LG exhibits playful pastels. The lookbooks also include living rooms with giant sofas, room dividers with storage solutions, and wooden kitchens.

🏗️ In Dallas, Texas, CBRE revised its 2024 U.S. hotel performance forecast, now expecting a 1.2% increase in RevPAR, down from an earlier 2.0% projection. The company predicts 2% RevPAR growth in H2 2024 due to international tourism and elections, despite a slowdown in the first half at 0.5% year-over-year growth. The GDP is forecasted to grow by 2.3%, with an average inflation rate of 3.2%. CBRE suggests a potential RevPAR peak of $100.54, reaching 114.5% of 2019's pre-pandemic levels, assuming a 1.1% ADR growth and a 0.1% occupancy increase. Travel demand remains high, with TSA year-to-date throughput at nearly 549 million passengers, marking a 5.4% year-over-year rise. However, challenges include weakening consumer spending and alternative lodging options. CBRE also warns of a possible economic slowdown into 2025 and anticipates less than 1% annual growth in lodging supply over the next three years due to high financing and construction costs.

🏨 In Washington, from August 4-10, 2024, the U.S. hotel industry marked a year-over-year occupancy increase of 0.5% to 68.7%, ADR growth of 1.4% to $159.49, and RevPAR rise of 1.9% to $109.51, as reported by CoStar. Houston led with occupancy surging by 31.1% to 76.3% and RevPAR jumping by 47.2% to $93.89. Chicago experienced the biggest ADR boost of 13.8%, reaching $188.95. Conversely, Los Angeles and Dallas faced RevPAR drops of 12.2% to $161.66 and 11.3% to $66.30, respectively.

🏨 China's hotel construction pipeline in Q2 saw a 4% increase in projects and 3% in rooms YOY, reaching 3,815 projects with 699,786 rooms. Under construction: 2,743 projects with 498,551 rooms, up 3% in projects, 4% in rooms YOY. After pandemic recovery in 2023, leisure travel demand drove room rates up. Midrange and prime hotels in China rose 26.3% and 9.2% since 2019. Upcoming: 390 projects/70,520 rooms to start within 12 months, 9% and 10% increases YOY. Early planning stages: 682 projects/130,715 rooms, up 4% YOY. New announcements in Q2: 264 projects with 43,301 rooms, a 12% YOY increase. Renovation and conversion projects jumped 32% in projects, 47% in rooms YOY. By Q2's end, 341 new hotels with 47,084 rooms opened; 937 new hotels/139,673 rooms expected by year-end. Forecasts for 2025 and 2026 are 994 hotels/166,683 rooms and 759 hotels/146,894 rooms, respectively. Top cities: Chengdu (147 projects/29,951 rooms), Shanghai (126/24,340),

🌊 French Polynesia is spotlighted for summer travel, reachable from the US west coast in approx. 8 hours and 24 hours from Glion campus in Switzerland. Luxury resorts like St. Regis Bora Bora feature overwater villas, while Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea offers a fine-dining experience with a 5- or 7-course tasting menu. Conrad Bora Bora Nui includes cultural experiences, and The Brando showcases eco-friendly luxury with solar energy and seawater air-conditioning. Four Seasons Bora Bora provides extended stays with personalized plans for over 30-night guests. Activities include diving with manta rays, yacht charters, and cultural experiences at the Tiki Village Cultural Centre. 🌴

🎨 South Korea's contemporary art scene has been blossoming, with the Korean art market ranked 7th globally in 2022, boasting a market worth USD 782 million, reflecting a 32.2% year-on-year growth. Trailblazers like K-pop groups Big Bang and 2NE1 led the cultural export wave, followed by the global recognition of Korean monochrome painting (Dansaekwha) at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Notable art publications include Joan Kee's "Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of Method" (2013) and Phaidon's "Korean Art from 1953" (2020). Major luxury brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier have collaborated with Korean artists and artisans, amplifying Korea's cultural influence. President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a substantial investment of USD 3.7 billion in the arts in 2022, highlighting the government's dedication to promoting Korean culture.

📍 The travel industry is rebounding post-pandemic but faces high living costs impacting holidaymakers' budgets. Travel brands are advised to focus on personalized experiences over deals and promotions, leveraging consumer data to inform campaigns and enhance the customer journey. Collaborations, like an airline partnering with a luxury retail brand, can optimize re-targeting and enhance in-flight experiences. The first-party data held by travel companies is invaluable for understanding consumer behavior and facilitating data collaboration, enabling personalization and supporting media planning. Privacy concerns are addressed with privacy-by-design technologies and enhanced data clean rooms, allowing safe and effective data sharing. Travel marketers are encouraged to prioritize first-party data collection and collaboration to drive brand loyalty, customer engagement, and new revenue streams.

💰 In the UK, 69% of holidaymakers overspend on pre-holiday expenses, averaging £265. Main expenditures include new clothes (68% spend £121 on average) and travel insurance (60% purchase at £89 average). Beauty treatments also feature, with 40% getting a haircut (£44 average) and 20% opting for mani/pedis (£65 average). Overspending leads 22% to cut back on activities like dining out (38%) and excursions (25%). To cope, 35% use savings and 8% borrow money. Starling Bank's research highlights the impact of pre-holiday costs on budgets and enjoyment.