While most Americans cut their holiday travel budgets by 18% this year, luxury travelers are booking $400-per-night hotels and first-class flights. The gap between how the middle class and wealthy celebrate Christmas has never been wider—or more visible.
The Numbers Tell Two Different Stories
Holiday travel budgets dropped 18% in 2024. But one in four travelers now qualifies as “luxury travelers”—booking $400+ per night hotels on at least two leisure trips annually. They’re twice as likely to book first-class tickets. Millennials lead with an average holiday travel budget of $2,602.
The luxury travel market reached $1.48 trillion in 2024 and is projected to hit $2.36 trillion by 2030.
Translation: The middle is shrinking. The top is spending more.
The Ralph Lauren Christmas Phenomenon
This spending divide shows up in unexpected places. Searches for “Ralph Lauren Christmas” spiked right after Halloween 2024, racking up millions of TikTok views. Etsy searches for this aesthetic jumped 180% year-over-year.
This isn’t about Ralph Lauren the brand. It’s about what the aesthetic represents: navy, burgundy, hunter green. Tartan patterns. Velvet everywhere. Old-money refinement meets cabin warmth.
After years of beige minimalism, people want richness again.
Luxury Brands Bet Big on Maximalism
At Tiffany’s December 2024 holiday party, guests viewed a supersized version of Jean Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock—nearly 50,000 micro-LED lights and giant ruby eyes that rival the Rockefeller Center tree in brightness.
Banana Republic transformed their SoHo store with red velvet booths and fringe-covered ceiling lamps. These aren’t marketing stunts. They’re bets on which consumers have money to spend.
The bet appears correct. Lavish holiday celebrations cluster in specific demographics. High-income consumers lean into tradition, nostalgia, and visible abundance.
What This Means
If you’re in luxury goods, hospitality, or event planning: Your customer isn’t pulling back. They’re reallocating toward experiences that signal warmth, tradition, and abundance.
Burgundy, velvet, and tartan are psychological anchors—security through tradition during uncertain times. After years of minimalist beige, the wealthy want visible richness again.
The middle market tightens budgets. The luxury market doubles down.
This isn’t a temporary holiday spike. The luxury travel market is projected to grow another 60% by 2030. The question isn’t whether this divide will continue—it’s how wide it will get.