Benchmark Hospitality International | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

A survey conducted amongst 20000 travel agents by Benchmark Hospitality International in the USA has culminated in the ‘Top Ten Travel Trends for 2014′. Good news is that travel bookings are on the up, and that beach holidays are on an upward trend too!

The results were as follows:

1. 80% of the travel agents were optimistic about travel growth, half of these expecting it to be ‘very strong’.

2. Most growth will come from leisure travel, and half of this from the luxury segment. However, leisure and business travel often is combined.

3. An increasing number of clients are booking directly, understandably of concern to travel agents.

4. Beach-related travel is showing the strongest growth, responsible for about half of all travel. The balance of Continue reading →

An American hospitality management company Benchmark Hospitality International has just released its ‘Top Dining Trends for 2013‘, based on observations by the chefs and culinary experts in its 39 hotels and restaurants. The bottom line is that diners look for ‘Fresh, local, and in season‘!

The trend to fresh and seasonal food is not new, the hospitality group says, ‘it’s what our grandmothers did day after day. They knew exactly what their family dined on as they had grown it in the garden and purchased it from the local butcher. It was fresh, in season, and bursting with flavor’. This is what diners want today as well, they conclude. These are the top dining trends they identify: Continue reading →