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On this day in 1582, a lot of Europe woke up to October 15.
But the day before had been October 4.
Ten days were gone.
The cause went back to Julius Caesar.
In 46 BC, his calendar set the year at 365 days and 6 hours.
The real trip around the sun is about 11 minutes shorter.
Nobody felt that in a single year.
Over 1,600 years it added up until the calendar no longer matched the seasons, and Pope Gregory XIII reset it.
Small mismatches can compound until someone resets the system.
Marketing drifts the same way. You write your service description once, it works, and you stop looking at it. Meanwhile your clients keep changing what they care about.
What clients value
Scott Dunn surveyed its clients, and 88% rated seamless logistics as very valuable. That ranked above personal recommendations and curated experiences.
Think about what that means for your sales page. Many advisors lead with the hotel list and the insider access. This survey says clients place a high value on smooth logistics, and that’s worth showing on the page.
Scott Dunn’s own report also shows more planning ahead. Its U.S. median lead time rose 20%, and its global average booking value rose 7%. Three-generation trips are now a main reason to travel, and those trips come with a lot of moving parts.
Where luxury is shifting
Delta is expanding its Porsche tarmac transfers as part of a Delta One upgrade, with new long-haul menus and amenity kits. Premium air is competing on the whole trip, from the car to the gate.
easyJet holidays says its luxury collection is beating expectations, at about £2,800 a trip against roughly £800 for its regular product. When a mainstream operator moves up, “luxury” on a package label stops meaning much. Real custom planning is what sets you apart.
Two things to watch
Cruise and yacht: Scenic announced new river ships and yachts through 2028. Rhine and Danube water levels have hit record lows, so tell river clients about that risk before they book.
Experiences: Forbes points to “dead zoning” (full disconnection in remote places like the Maldives) and longevity wellness with results clients can measure. GetYourGuide reports birdwatching-experience bookings up 65% year over year.
A check for this week
Read how you describe your service. If it reads like a list of places, add one line about what you handle for the client: transfers, visas, dining, guides, and the backup plan when a flight changes.
A bigger-picture option
Over the past three months, I’ve developed M.A.P., the Marketing Advancement Program for Luxury Travel Businesses.
M.A.P. is an eight-week private program. We look closely at your business, find the marketing constraint that matters most, then build the strategy and assets and put them to work. You leave with a 90-day plan.
It’s a different kind of help from the services I built around individual requests. The aim is to work out what your marketing needs before deciding what to do more of.
If you’re curious, reply MAP and I’ll send you the program details document.
Your marketing should make it easier to grow your business.
Alex
The ice cream shop that makes money when it's cold
28 Wishes sells ice cream in Los Angeles. Below 70°F, sales fall about 20%. The weather is out of their hands. Rent isn't.
So the owners started putting about $20 a day into Kalshi weather markets, taking the cold side. The days that keep customers away now pay something back.
This is hedging. Big companies have done it for decades, buying protection against bad weather, fuel spikes and rising rates. It used to take a broker, a trading desk, and an order size no corner shop could meet.
Kalshi opens it up. Contracts on weather, fuel prices, inflation, tariffs and regulation, starting at a few dollars. Take a position on the outcome that would hurt you. If it hits, the payout softens it. If it doesn't, the contract expires and the good month was the point.
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