To get our planning process started, please fill out the contact form below so we can get to know you and your trip a little bit better. Once we receive your request form, we’ll be in touch to schedule a call to and learn about your goals and vision for your trip. Planning fees apply. We look forward to working together!
Each year, as summer winds down stateside, we look ahead through the lens of our travel advisors to chart the trends shaping the future of luxury hospitality.
As we set our sights on 2027 travel trends, we’re looking not only at where discerning clients are traveling, but why—and how—they choose to move through the world. Several themes have emerged that are poised to define our year ahead. The prevalence of AI is swinging the pendulum back toward the power of human expertise. Wellness is becoming more clinical than spiritual. A return to analogue experiences is emerging as the antidote to our always-on world. Emerging air routes are reshaping where people want to go. And above all, taste is supplanting algorithmic suggestions as the ultimate arbiter of aspiration. Let’s dive in.
Having an Original Thought is Modern Life’s Greatest Luxury
In a world where talking about the pros and woes of AI in seemingly equal measure has become a part of everyday discourse, it’d be expected for a travel company powered by human insights to take the bait. In fact, in our 2025 Travel Trends Report, we’ve delved into just how much more the recommendations of a real person matter in the face of increased AI adoption. Two years later, we still believe that.
But the reality is, in our current landscape as it relates to 2027 travel trends, even the savviest travel advisors are using AI;in a recent survey of our SmartFlyer travel advisor community, six in ten advisors have incorporated it into their workflow. Fittingly, on a recentpanel discussionat the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Summit, Dr. Richie Karaburun, Clinical Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism at the NYU School of Professional Studies, said, “AI isn’t going to take your job. Someone who knows AI will.” And the most strategic travel advisors are taking note, choosing to incorporate AI not for recommendations, but to streamline otherwise tedious back-office tasks. Which leads us to our starting point for this 2027 travel trends report: the intrinsic value of an original thought.
…we’re of the mindset that it’s the trips that go against the grain that often leave the most outsized impact.
While it can be tempting to follow the droves of well-heeled travelers towards St. Barth’s over New Year’s, Aspen for February break, or Sardinia in the peak summer months, we’re of the mindset that it’s the trips that go against the grain that often leave the most outsized impact. Working with a creative travel advisor means you’ll be privy to personalized recommendations that go beyond the expected—certainly beyond what AI could come up with. If you’re active, maybe that means a surfing trip in Indonesia at the new Nihi Roté. If you’re looking for a science-based health reset, perhaps it means going to Lanserhof Sylton the Wadden Sea in Germany for a weeklong Neuro Sleep Reset. If you’re looking to reignite a romantic connection, maybe that means a wine-fueled trip down to Awasi Mendoza, weaving through its vineyards. No matter where an advisor-provided suggestion finds you, we’re certain it’s one that AI wouldn’t have come up with. And that just might be the biggest flex of all in 2027.
The word “wellness” has been on the lips of hoteliers for what feels like forever. In fact, entire resorts and even hospitality brands like SHA Wellness (notably launching its third location coming halfway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai soon) have been constructed to serve the growing demand for longevity. But the 2027 travel trend we’re charting tied to wellness is distinctly different than years past. With GLP1s and peptides abound, we’re living in a culture obsessed with results. In fact, in a recent survey by Strategic Vision, 39% of travel advisors say clients are showing more interest in measurable wellness outcomes such as sleep, fitness, and stress reduction.
Take The Emory in London. Under the umbrella of Maybourne Hotels and sister hotel to the iconic Claridge’s and The Connaught, their approach to wellness is anything but stuffy. In The Emory’s Surrene Belgravia facility, treatments like its “City Circadian Reset” offer personalized treatments that go far beyond your standard massage. Think: consults with Surrenne’s medical lead, daily Tracy Anderson classes, complimentary gym wear laundry service, daily red-light therapy, and 30 days’ worth of personalized supplements. It’s not just about feeling better, but looking better, too. And increasingly, wellness is moving beyond hands-on treatments toward technology-driven, touchless therapies rooted in these sought-after measurable outcomes. For instance, at 1 Hotel Hanaeli Bay, guests can enjoy the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Somadome Meditation Pods, and sensory-deprivation float experiences.
This science-based approach is reflective of a broader shift in longevity care. ZEM is moving beyond biomarkers alone to consider resilience, mental clarity, and overall quality of life.
Results-backed wellness isn’t about fluff; it’s about diagnostics. After a recent trip to ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea in Spain, SmartFlyer Founder and CEO Michael Holtz remarked on how innovative the property’s technology was, noting, “ZEM is the only destination in Europe to offer all seven Metawell multisensory systems. They combine vibration, light, and frequency to support nervous-system recovery, emotional balance, and cognitive performance. This science-based approach is reflective of a broader shift in longevity care. ZEM is moving beyond biomarkers alone to consider resilience, mental clarity, and overall quality of life.” ZEM is infusing its science-backed philosophy in all it does, including offering therapies like Pro-Ageing Performance IV Therapy, which reduces fatigue and boosts energy; O₃ Vitalage Ozone Therapy, which improves circulation and reduces inflammation; and Hypoxia–Hyperoxia Therapy, which improves your capacity for exercise and reduces blood pressure. All in all, it’s about walking away from your stay not just more balanced, but looking better than ever.
It’s about so much more than a massage at ZEM Wellness
A Return to Analogue
For years, luxury travel in the traditional sense has been defined by offering more: more amenities, more dining outlets, more square footage, and more experiences packed into seemingly fewer days. However, as a part of our 2027 travel trends, we see there being a notable shift away from “more” as we instead ask, what happens if it’s actually “less” that empowers you to get closer to yourself? In stripping back to the essentials, travelers are able to dig deeper into one of the rarest luxuries of all: presence.
Increasingly, we’re seeing that the most memorable moments don’t happen inside a suite, but outside. And often, tech-free. At Singita Lebombo and Singita Sweni in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, guests can opt to trade their four walls for a night spent sleeping beneath the stars, instead camped out on an elevated platform in the bush with the sounds of the wildlife connecting them to nature. Similar thinking applies in New Zealand at Minaret Station, where guests are helicoptered into the Southern Alps to stay at one of the world’s most remote lodges with just four rooms. Or, in the highlands north of Ubud, Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape offers a unique “no walls, no doors” concept across its sixteen private villas featuring open-air views to the jungle and nearby mountains. In these environments, luxury isn’t measured by how much is added, but by how much comes into focus when the fluff falls away.
Perhaps the greatest luxury isn’t having more distractions or more to do, but having the space to notice more.
This gravitation towards analogue extends far beyond where travelers sleep. It’s not a more-is-more mentality, but a growing desire to go back to basics in order to be brought back to yourself. According to WGSN’s Future Consumer forecast, these behaviors are connected to “The Great Exhaustion,” or a growing desire to slow down, disconnect from constant stimulation, and instead seek human, tactile experiences. Whether it’s a real room key over a digital one like at Passalacqua in Lake Como or immersing yourself in the vinyl culture of Patina Osaka‘s Listening Room (a space outfitted with over 6,000 records), ultimately, this 2027 travel trend of returning to analogue is about rejecting our culture of hyper-optimization. Because today perhaps the greatest luxury isn’t having more distractions or more to do, but having the space to notice more.
Just when you thought we’d finished talking about the shift away from the more-is-more mentality, there’s one final piece to the puzzle: the choice itself. For too long, luxury has been equated with an abundance of options—a concierge guide with endless dining recommendations, an in-room pillow menu with seven choices, or an in-room electric panel so “advanced” you can’t figure out how to make the lights turn off. To us, this optionality isn’t comforting—it’s distracting. In reality, it’s ritual and the elimination of decision fatigue that creates a sound stay. This is where travel advisors become indispensable, editing the infinite possibilities into a handful of personalized picks before a trip even begins—and where the very best hotels, villas, and cruise or yacht operators elevate an experience by remembering those preferences upon your arrival.
This symbiotic relationship comes most naturally in the realm of repeat stays. On a recent check-in at COMO The Treasury, Perth, the team told us about a guest they’d welcomed over one hundred times. Now, upon her arrival, she’s provided a special key outfitted with a leather tassel in her favorite color (yellow), and led to her favorite room (a Studio Suite facing Elizabeth Quay), which is set to her exact preferred temperature (21°C). It’s a ritual. And the property’s recognition of her loyalty is what takes hospitality from feeling transactional to relational. Because few sentiments resonate quite like feeling known and remembered.
…the brands and advisors that earn lasting loyalty won’t be the ones offering the most options, but the ones that make clients feel like the choice was crystal clear all along.
Increasingly, this is what affluent travelers are actually paying for: not more options, but fewer decisions. In a world where access to information about every place can be surfaced in seconds, luxury isn’t endless intel—it’s being spared from having to sift through it. Every preference remembered in an effort to return something to you more valuable than money: your time. And as travel becomes increasingly frictionless, the brands and advisors that will earn lasting loyalty won’t be the ones offering the most options, but the ones that make clients feel like the choice was crystal clear all along.
Literary-Inspired Travel is Entering the Luxury Space
The idea of a beach read has long held universal appeal for its promise of fleetingly euphoric conditions: a page turner paired with the sun hanging above at high noon, and hopefully (if executed properly) a cold beverage beside your lounger. But in today’s hyperconnected world, the notion of packing a few paperbacks and hoping for the best isn’t quite cutting it for avid readers. Bibliophiles are seeking not just an itinerary that carves out time for reading, but one that creates connection to place and forges friendships with fellow readers.
Maryland-based SmartFlyer travel advisor Mackenzie Peyserlaunched Luxury Reading Retreats in spring 2026 after seeing a void of reading retreats that called luxury hotels home. Mackenzie hosted her first retreat in Middleburg, Virginia—a locale that not only allowed the group to stay at Salamander Resort & Spa, but most importantly, take a trip to Middleburg Books. Preferring to keep group sizes to about twelve, she’s equally mindful about the place she chooses to host each retreat as she is the people who partake; participants must submit an application of interest, and Mackenzie carefully curates attendees. Looking to next year, she’ll host retreats in Nantucket, Napa, and Nashville, each of which sold out within hours of launch.
Luxury reading retreats are merely one expression of a broader shift toward literary travel. This summer, The New York Times declared that “book-cations” are having a moment, noting that books give travelers an emotional connection to a destination before they ever arrive. World of Hyatt’s partnership with Reese’s Book Club is only further proof of the appetite for a vacation to be connected to story. And in its best form, not as a solitary act, but as a means to connect to community.
The pursuit of novelty is at the heart of what has made travel appealing for centuries. But the ultimate irony of our reliance on social media is that so little today actually remains novel. A vista we’ve long seen posted on our feeds when finally seen in person can turn out to be overly contrived—it’s only once getting to places like Zakynthos that you discover the hike overlooking Shipwreck Beach is strewn with metal gates and barriers surreptitiously cropped out of said Instagram posts. A café serving ice cream and wine in Paris gets so popular that they command a line down the block, at the same time putting up “No TikTokers” signs, making its original allure of cozy, calming vibes all but negligible. We could go on and on, citing examples of something special turned into an experience devoid of enjoyment, all because too many have flocked to performative posts and tell the world: I’ve been here.
…for once, you don’t know what you’re walking into because it’s never been posted about.
But the pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction. If the “No influencers” sign hanging in Nantucket’s Four Winds Craft Guild antique stores sparking spirited online debate has taught us anything, it’s that where content creation is welcome is becoming more limited. Restaurants and hotels are responding in droves. At FORESTIS in the Dolomites, photos are most certainly not allowed in its series of textile-free saunas and cold plunges; but more interestingly, in one select restaurant, your phone is actually confiscated at the door. After being collected at the entryway of the hotel, guests are guided to the entrance of its mountain cave restaurant, Yera, by torch before being presented with a wooden box to place your phone in for the duration of the twelve-course tasting. Walking into the moody space surrounding its open fire kitchen is one of true novelty: for once, you don’t know what you’re walking into because it’s never been posted about.
On a smaller scale, properties around New York are looking to create an equally impactful sense of privacy. In Soho at The Mercer, the lobby is reserved for guests only, and photos are discouraged given its high-profile clientele. At Faena New York in Chelsea, upon entering its popular Living Room social space, you’ll be met with a sign sharing, “In keeping with the intimate, artistic atmosphere of Faena New York, and to preserve the privacy and comfort of our guests, photography, videography, and audio recording are not permitted.” Across the pond at Heckfield Place, they’re all but assuring there are no photos of its spa facilities by confiscating your phone at the door. And just about an hour away at Beaverbrook, discretion is taken a step further with its four-bedroom secret residence, The Dower House, which is marketed with no more than one photo. It turns out, you have to go to know.
Greece has never gone out of style. But like all destinations, demand ebbs and flows. We’re predicting 2027 to be a peak year for travel to Greece thanks to an amalgamation of cultural sway and increased hotel inventory. On the note of arts and culture, this summer, headlines were dominated by coverage of The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s newest masterpiece shot on 70mm. And the conversation is predicted to be continually pulled toward the Aegean’s turquoise waters with the release of the sixth and final season of Emily In Paris, set to hit Netflix just before the holidays with early episodes filmed in Greece.
Film and TV storylines aside, the country has never been more ready for high-end travelers. This year, we saw two newcomers to Mykonos that turned heads in the Cyclades and beyond: Four Seasons Hotel Mykonos and Fouquet’s Mykonos. Next year will see the opening of several new properties across mainland Greece as well as the islands, including Rosewood Crete, Kenshō Paros, and Conrad Corfu. These properties will join the ranks of an existing hotel landscape that’s already earning international recognition: in the latest Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, THE DOLLI at Acropolis was voted number five city hotel in Europe, while Canaves Epitome was voted number one resort in Greece. In keeping with travelers who’ve “been everywhere,” this combination of newness and a track record of excellence is reason enough to pivot Euro summer plans to Greece.
The investment in new hard product isn’t just strategic for hoteliers and travelers; it reflects the outsized role tourism plays across the country at large. According to a recent report from the World Travel & Tourism Council, Tourism represents roughly 20% of Greece’s GDP, the largest share among the countries reported and nearly double Italy’s 10.4%. But Greece’s relationship to hospitality stretches back far longer than any traditional tourism boom. If you were one of the hundreds of thousands who ran to the nearest IMAX to see The Odyssey, you’ll recall Zeus’s Law: the ancient obligation to welcome and care for strangers. The Greeks have been perfecting the art of hospitality for centuries. In 2027, travelers will simply have more ways to experience the Grecian touch.
…longer direct flights—whether domestic or international—have gained share over more complex itineraries.
Ask any seasoned traveler how they choose their next destination, and they’re likely to point to a new hotel opening, a cultural reference that swayed them, or a recommendation from a trusted travel advisor or friend. But increasingly, one of the strongest influences on where clients are choosing to go is new airline routes. According to the 2026 Deloitte Summer Travel Survey, longer direct flights—whether domestic or international—have gained share over more complex itineraries. And notably, there’s a 10% increase amongst travelers willing to upgrade to business or first class for a more comfortable flying experience.
For our SmartFlyer Air Team, every new nonstop flight redraws the map. A destination that once required two connections and a full day of travel suddenly can be unlocked with the introduction of routes like Delta’s new nonstop to Olbia, which we’ve seen further drive demand for Sardinia. Looking ahead to 2027, the long-awaited nonstop flight between New York and Sydney—also known as Qantas’ Project Sunrise—will do more than replace New York to Singapore as the longest flight in the world. It will open up a route and destination to many who hadn’t previously considered visiting Australia.
In 2027, we’ll also see American Airlines launch a route between Chicago and Tokyo. El Al is launching Tel Aviv to Seoul, making it the first nonstop between Israel and South Korea. SAS will launch Copenhagen to Krabi and Phuket, offering more options for the continued demand for premium product to Thailand. More than ever, watching which airline routes are being invested in may prove just as pivotal as new hotel openings, and your SmartFlyer travel advisor remains your trusted resource to connect all the dots.
For years, headlines have been swirling that travel advisors are “so back,” citing how Millennials and Gen Z are turning to agents for advice. So, it’s no surprise that in this year’s LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise Report, “Travel Advisor” sits at number eighteen as the top growing job title. Does more mean better? Not necessarily. But what can’t be ignored is how those outside the travel industry are increasingly being influenced by travel advisors more than traditional influencers.
In itsJuly 2026 Trends Report, London-based agency Perowne Internationaldraws a notable parallel between who they refer to as “Super Agents” and the trust inherent in their recommendations. The report goes on to describe how the most strategic travel advisors use their social platforms to showcase not just pretty destinations, but a peek behind the curtain in how they approach scouting. Jules Perowne describes it as flexing the same editorial muscles as a journalist, in turn reassuring existing clients that they know their stuff.
But ultimately, the idea of a travel advisor supplanting a traditional influencer in terms of drumming up demand for a place or property comes down to taste.
From our vantage point, increasingly, travelers are craving certainty. They want to know that their advisor has been to the hotel, tested the restaurant, slept in the bed, and can speak to the size of the gym first-hand. It’s not scalable to expect your agent to have been everywhere, but the power of a network like SmartFlyer means that even if they haven’t been, someone in the collective has. But ultimately, the idea of a travel advisor supplanting a traditional influencer in terms of drumming up demand for a place or property comes down to taste. Lots of hotels have highly rated hard product; but following and engaging with an agent who shares your taste level is where the real influence comes in.
In our final trend, we return to the idea that luxury is no longer defined simply by access to what has traditionally been considered desirable. Instead, it is increasingly shaped by the judgment, filtration, and taste required to decide what is worth desiring in the first place. In a world where everyone can generate an itinerary with AI, purchase convincing handbag dupes, or discover the latest “hidden gem” online, true discernment has become infinitely more valuable than access itself. For travel advisors, taste functions as a filtration system. One client may seek complete privacy while another wants to be at the center of the scene, but in every case, the advisor’s role is the same: to distinguish what is genuinely exceptional from what is simply new, popular, or algorithmically amplified.
Luxury isn’t becoming less exclusive; instead, it is becoming more informed.
That same shift is reshaping how we think about provenance. Historically, value was rooted in where something came from. Today, when a lab-grown diamond can be visually indistinguishable from a mined one, or a meticulously crafted Birkin dupe can challenge the original, authenticity is becoming less about what something is and more about the judgment behind choosing it. We believe an eye for quality will always outlast status signaling. Luxury isn’t becoming less exclusive; instead, it is becoming more informed.
Consider UK-based jeweler Astrea London, a brand built around recycled gold and D- and E-color lab-grown diamonds. This summer, it opened its flagship boutique inside Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, Paris, the storied Left Bank hotel that has welcomed guests since 1910, just steps from Hermès’ original flagship. The juxtaposition is telling: one of hospitality’s great heritage institutions is embracing a brand that challenges long-held assumptions about value and craftsmanship. The old guard is changing, and with it, so too, are signals of wealth. Erina Pindar, SmartFlyer COO and Managing Partner, weighs in, sharing, “Ultimately, the question is no longer whether a lab-grown diamond is better than a mined one, or whether a heritage house is more valuable than a newcomer. In a world where almost anything can be replicated, what cannot be copied is judgment. A honed eye and taste, the ability to recognize lasting quality amid limitless choice—that has become the rarest luxury of all.”
Kayla Douglas 
