Should Event Producers Mimic Luxury Retailers?

Luxury retail is dog-eat-dog. Unlike event producers, players in the business must stay ahead of audiences to survive. That's why they're hyper-focused on consumer trends.

Sabre identifies five of those trends in a new report, The Future of Luxury.

To survive in luxury retail, the report says, you must satisfy "individualized and transformative forms of luxury consumption" that deliver a cosmopolitan and existentialist jolt.

"More consumers are becoming aware of the isolating effect of social media ‘echo chambers.'" the report says. "This is accompanied by a growing desire to not only broaden personal horizons, but to find purpose and cultivate empathy for others while doing so."

Consumers' craving for self-actualization manifests itself in these five trends—five trends event producers would do well to acknowledge:

The Quintessential Self. Luxury brands that abet self-discovery are hot. For just $3,500, Maverick Helicopter’s Yoga in the Desert will whirl you by helicopter from Las Vegas to Valley of Fire State Park for a 75-minute yoga class.

No-Frills Chic. Luxury brands that shout "simple" are hot. For just $140,000, Airstream will sell you a camper trailer you can haul into the woods.

Premium Redeemed. Luxury brands that better the planet are hot. For just $2,125, you can stay a night in Nekupe, a posh resort in Nicaragua’s countryside that helps local farmers earn a living without the slash-and-burn technique.

Extravagance on Demand. Luxury brands that harness phones are hot. For just $3, Recharge lets you book a high-end hotel room in New York City by the minute.

Customized. Luxury brands that are personalized are hot. For just $169, DNA Unwrapped lets you plan vacation trips based on your chromosomes.