This year marked the debut season of Karryon’s podcast Luxury Unpacked hosted by Fiona Dalton, which explored everything from the best airline seats for long-haul travel to luxe-washing. Here’s a wrap of the first season, so you can choose your favourite episode for the perfect summer listening.
“My definition of lux-jacking is brands and companies that use the word as a marketing term and not delivery,” says Goldman Travel’s Anthony Goldman on Karry’s inaugural episode of luxury podcast Luxury Unpacked.
“That comes with a whole lot of issues. It creates disappointed customers and people get disenfranchised on the whole segment.
“It undervalues the brands that are delivering that superior, beautiful experience, and it causes a loss in client trust.”
Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises Senior VP Steve Odell, agrees, saying there’s no better example than cruise.
Chatting on the same episode, Odell says, “The word luxury is really abused in the cruise sector”.
“Is something that’s 3,500 people luxury or 100 to 200 luxury? I think it’s very hard to deliver to the kind of expectation with 3,500 people that it is to 200 to 500 people. And yet there are cruise lines that call themselves luxury when they shouldn’t be.
“It’s about making sure the right customer gets the right experience. It is a very broad term, and you have to make sure that you make the right recommendations.”
The best place to be on the pointy end of the plane
“Nothing compares to The Residence on Etihad – a multi-room suite with a private bedroom, shower, and living area”, Bunnik Tours CEO Dennis Bunnik tells host Fiona Dalton on episode 10.
But he says if you are sticking to first, “Emirates, Etihad and Singapore first class suites are very different to business and you have a separate bed”.
“It’s a spectacular amount of space, so the jump from business class is the same as if you were going from economy to business.”
And treat your flight like a hotel adds Savenio Managing Director David Brandon speaking on the same episode.
“You don’t always stay at the same hotel. It’s about picking the right seat on the right airline and the right aircraft.”
Bunnik Tours CEO Dennis Bunnik agrees, saying he’s all about variety as he seeks new experiences for his reviews on his highly rated airline review channel on YouTube.
“I’m trying to fly new routes and new airlines for my flight reviews, I look for the same as a hotel, as close as possible to where I need to be … it’s the same with flying, I’m based in Adelaide and we don’t have as many choices so what’s going to get me where I need to go?”
Is luxury cruising the most sustainable travel sector?
“Luxury cruising is and will continue to be sustainable,” says Ponant CEO Deb Corbett on episode nine.
“We are absolutely the most sustainable sector in travel today, and it’s because we do sustainable cultural management plans in every layer of our operators, especially in fragile regions,” says Corbett.
“That’s about using low-impact vessels that have strict bio-security plans and that are built in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
“We’re supporting local communities, and we’re building lasting partnerships and educating guests to become stewards. We’re not tourists visiting these places, we are guardians of the places we visit because you protect better what you know,” she adds.
“Cruising has been completely redefined,” says Corbett.
“I say to people, imagine a boutique hotel on water. We’re all seeing a transition of people going on a land safari, well, this is a boutique hotel that offers you a sea safari, and you’ll see things you won’t see on land.
“I love this idea of sea exploration because you’re not just seeing the world, you’re immersing yourself in it without mass tourism. It is exploration elevated.”
Can Australia remain a leader in luxury travel?
“We have lots of hotspots of popularity pain… everyone does sunrise or sunset at particular spots at Uluru. This may be controversial, but just because we’re remote and don’t have a big population doesn’t mean we don’t suffer from it,” says Luxury Lodges of Australia Executive Chair Penny Rafferty on episode five.
She says with an increasingly mobilised population, it’s an issue we need to take seriously.
“How do we normalise the concept of capacity and flow and access to place in a way that it isn’t elitist, but it means we are managing the incredible resources we have.
“Hotels do it, they tell you how many people you can have in a room, you can’t just turn up and have 10 people in a room for two, capacity management and the flow of people into special places is the challenge we have ahead.”
“Stop measuring the success of tours by numbers only and measure it on the value proposition for all stakeholders.”
Rafferty also discusses the importance of Indigenous storytelling,
“Australians want to have at least one real connection with story. There’s been a cultural awareness and awakening in Australia, we’ve shifted from Indigenous experiences being dots, dancing and didgeridoo to real people’s lives and stories and because of that ancient oral culture, and they are custodians of the environment, that desire to connect comes together.”
The value of personalisation
Travel Associates’ Top Advisor 2025 for Australia/New Zealand, Jo Kennedy of Kennedy & Turner Travel Associates talks personalisation on episode six, saying there has been no change more evident in the industry than the value of getting personal.
“In 1990, we were just booking takers. We rang airlines and went through what were these big booklets of flights were, and we flew by the seat of our pants.
“Now it’s such a different world. The power of the advisor is so important to our clients.
“In so many places around the world, Virtuoso has opened connections for us. It’s this very esteemed group of suppliers and consultants working together to create and form amazing bonds, so when I need a hotel, it’s not just a booking, it’s enhancing and elevating the client’s experience.”
Kennedy, who is also on Karryon’s Travel Advisor Board, says the key to success in the industry now comes down to one thing: relationships.
So what can we all take from these key insights into the world of luxury over the first season of Luxury Unpacked.
As host Fiona Dalton sums up, we all need to continue to discuss the idea that luxury isn’t about more, it’s about meaning.
“It’s not about how much something costs, but about how deeply it connects us. It’s about people, purpose and possibility.
“Luxury is nothing without the people who believe in it.”
Take a listen for yourself.
For more information, partnership opportunities, or to be a guest on the show, contact Karryon’s Partnership Manager Carolyn Nightingale at carolyn@karryon.com.au.
