“The wealthy increasingly want to experience history with their heirs and offering all-expense-paid travel is one way for aging boomers to gather their extended family together and spend time with them,” Joe said.
It’s not just small children that are tagging along, but also in-laws, cousins and even ex-spouses.
For example, media mogul Russell Simmons reportedly travels to St. Barts during the holidays with his girlfriend, two daughters, ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons and her new husband and two children.
“Up until five years ago, the wealthy traveled as part of a couple, not with extended family, and vacations were not as thought out or pre-planned as they are today,” said Joe.
Another phenomenon contributing to the multigenerational travel trend among luxury travellers is the ambitious millennial who will let nothing get in his or her way.
“They aren't allowing parenthood to slow them down, but are instead incorporating kids into their lifestyle,” Vazquez said.
What appears to the outer world as a selfish impulse to kill two birds with one stone is in reality a way for millennials to bond with their kids and even their parents and grandparents.
“Millennials with limited vacation time want to maximize their time off so that rather than visiting grandma's house they are including the older generation in forays to global destinations,” said Vazquez.
As a result of the influx of family entourages, luxury hotels are having to adapt by offering activities, such as listening to a local story teller talk about how warships sank during a historical battle, attending a class with a local chef on how to cook a traditional dish, climbing a glacier in New Zealand, participating in a jungle walk with a tour guide or learning how to make cocktails with local distillery products, according to Schulze.
“There are increasingly huge selections of these unique and meaningful experiences to choose from at luxury hotels,” Schulze said. “Marble and chandeliers in a luxury hotel room are not enough to keep the rich engaged anymore. They want specific experiences that will connect them and their family members to the food, culture and history of the city or country they are visiting.”