Pioneering Payment 2.0

The growing adoption of digital payment tokens amongst luxury travellers means hotels must evolve to stay ahead. Capella's CRISTIANO RINALDI shares how the group is leading the way.

- AUDREY PHOON

In a world where luxury travel is hitting fresh peaks in spending, propelled by an increasingly wealthy and younger audience, hotels are having to rework old practices to capture the market. “Luxury brands must rethink the way they build their value proposition to prioritise trust and connection with consumers,” Bain & Company noted recently in a press release on brand relevance in luxury travel.

The management consultancy also highlighted that by 2030, tech-savvy Gen Z will account for the bulk of luxury purchases, or about 25 to 30 per cent – a big shift from the market’s current state, where spending is dominated by baby boomers.

So where does one begin when it comes to changing things up to cater to this new consumer generation? More luxury companies are accepting cryptocurrency payments in a bid to shift perceptions that they are “a stuffy old brand that’s only selling to the boomers,”

S&P Global Ratings digital assets lead analyst Andrew O’Neill told Reuters in a December 2024 report. This also comes as bitcoin’s value hit record highs, bolstered by Donald Trump’s win in the United States elections.