Luxury Travelers Want Local Ties, Not Zip Codes
In interviews with luxury travelers, the strongest driver for choosing non-branded luxury hotels was their perceived tie to the local area—culture, history, and neighborhood immersion.
High-net-worth travelers are brand-fluid if it means more rooted experiences. To win their business, brands must go hyperlocal—not in geography alone, but in storytelling, materials, partnerships, and service design.
Quote from the Tribe:
“I’ll always choose an independent property over a big brand, unless the brand has somehow found a way to grab hold of the neighborhood it is in and the street it is on.”
Commercial Takeaway:
Audit your location content—are you just “in” the city, or “of” the city?
Refine brand.com, OTA listings, and travel advisor toolkits to include verifiable evidence of place: locally sourced design, neighborhood guide content, and partnerships with regional artisans or chefs.
Message us to discuss how your approach compares.
About the MODIV Tribes Series
Since 2022, MODIV’s always-on Mindset® study has engaged more than 48,000 frequent travelers across 25 countries. Our mission: decode the why behind traveler behavior—so travel and hospitality brands can act smarter, faster, and with greater commercial precision.
Our Tribes series distills what hospitality leaders need to know—direct from the source. Each quarter, we engage Business Travelers, Luxury Travelers, Zillennials, and Meeting Planners through our proprietary Mindset® study, then translate what we hear into strategic insights you can use.
This isn't one-and-done research. Each week, we go back to a tribe to test sharper questions based on what you tell us you need to know. Got a question you want answered? We invite you to add your voice in the comments or reach out directly.
About the Luxury Travel Tribe
This study reflects insights based on a blended qualitative and quantitative session with 87 travelers from 9 countries who are high-net-worth and prioritize luxury hotel brands and ADRs.