These are the top travel trends in 2026

The movement has since gone global, with a rise of boutique, independently-owned hotels that are banking on the power of nostalgia, Americana aesthetics, and the charm and simplicity of yesteryear’s style of travelling. 

In Australia, that's Sea Sea Hotel in Crescent Head. In this sleepy, sun-kissed surf town, hotelier George Gorrow and his wife, Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, opened the 25-room, “Seventies surf-inspired boutique hotel” housed in a restored building from the 1980s, just a short walk from what Gorrow swears is one of “Australia’s best surf spots”.

To give it a  modern touch, they’ve tapped some interesting designers and artists to put the devil in the details, like lighting fixtures handcrafted by sculptor Aleph Geddis, a 24-hour radio channel curated by Los Angeles-based Reverberation Radio, and works by renowned surf photographer Peter Crawford. 

Dialing back on Tech 

iPads that control your room’s environment, unnecessarily complicated lighting controls, in-house apps, AI-powered virtual assistants and robots that assist in everything from checking in to delivering room service—hotels have been going all out when it comes to incorporating tech into the guest experience. 

But not all guests are loving it. For many, the novelty quickly turns to frustration—with so much drenched in tech, in hotels and in life in general, the pendulum has swung and the  premium is now placed on unplugging, all things analogue and the human touch. 

While some hotels are moving towards incorporating more tech into the guest experience, many hotels are, refreshingly, moving in the opposite direction. Whether that means no TVs in the room, children’s clubs that encourage being outdoors and interacting with nature and even wellness programmes that wean guests off their dependence on all things digital. Including Digital Detox stays where devices are confiscated on arrival.  

According to the 2025 Hilton Trends Report, 27 per cent  of adults planning to travel say they intend to reduce their social media use whilst on  holiday, while global luxury home-rental platform Plum Guide saw a 17 per cent rise in searches for unplugged, tech-lite properties. There has also been an upsurge of interest in non-Wi-Fi stays, like Unplugged, which offers over 40 internet-free cabins across the U.K. and Spain.

Love a Lounge 

Lounges are no longer waiting rooms with a buffet. They are about giving the final impression of a city or country to the passenger, whether that’s in the details of the design, sensory elements like smell or  light and of course, the food—how many more posts of wonton meen and dandan noodles from Cathay Pacific’s iconic noodle bar will we see in 2026? 

Recently, it’s become more competitive than ever, with lounges constantly trying to one-up themselves—and each other—when it comes to luxurious offerings. 

“When I look at the Airport ecosystem, lounges are the most visible, exciting and fastest growing non-aeronautical driver.” says Victor Chan, vice president of global airline lounges in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa for Sodexo Live—which operates over 100 airport lounges, including for airlines like Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Emirates. 

“The best lounges in the world consider the guest experience from the moment you check in to the last sip of champagne,” says Chan. “We are not going up against the airport’s food court, but rather some of the best five star hotels in the world, which our guests have just checked out of.”

More lounges are also investing in travellers’ wellbeing. Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Clubhouse at London Heathrow is a chic space where travellers can access Peloton bikes and a beautifully designed, garden-like relaxation corner; Finnair’s The Platinum Wing in Helsinki has a private, mixed-gender sauna with lockers, showers, and a relaxation area; and Qantas Lounges at Changi International Airport in Singapore feature  Coelux skylights installed in the bathroom suites and VIP area to mimic natural daylight and help regulate body clocks.

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