- 1. ACCOMMODATION: HOMEWARE HOTELS
A number of homeware companies are opening their own hotels – it’s a smart move as guests will be able to buy many of the products they see inside. MADE.com kick-started the trend – it launched its first MADE hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad district two years ago, followed by floating boutique hotel the Boathouse in London in summer 2018. At the beginning of 2018, Japanese brand Muji opened two ‘anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap’ properties in Shenzhen and Beijing, to be proceeded by one in Tokyo’s Ginza in the spring of 2019. Goods for sale include oak chairs, toothbrush stands, duvets, feather pillows and clear plastic shampoo bottles. In the USA, West Elm will debut a hotel in Indianapolis in 2020 (after which will come openings in Oakland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Savannah and Portland). Meanwhile, Danish brand Vipp has been launching unique one-bedroom design hotels, where you can ‘test drive your kitchen before you buy it’, across Copenhagen and Lake Immeln. Soho House recently opened an outpost in Mumbai with 38 rooms; although the members’ club came first, the company’s spin-off Soho Home site now sells everything from bathrobes to cut crystal glassware.
Read more about Soho House Mumbai (pictured) in our exclusive review
Soho House Mumbai review: First In 
FIRST IN
Soho House Mumbai review: First In
2. FAMILY TRAVEL: NOMADIC SABBATICALSWhile most families are struggling with avoiding late pick-up fees at nursery and planning the odd Greek island holiday during half term (God forbid your child misses any lessons) a growing minority are shunning convention to embark on round-the-world adventures, living, learning and exploring together for extended periods of time. Instagram is proving a tantalising window into the possibilities of ‘nomadic sabbaticals’, as demonstrated by the likes of @thebucketlisfamily, @byjetpack, @travelling_family, @courtneyadamo, @nappy_nomad_ and @ohdeardrea, whose kids are frequently pictured jumping off boats and posing by temples. Given that by 2020 it’s estimated that roughly half the UK and American workforce will be freelance and that 40 per cent more children were being home-schooled in 2017 than in 2014 (48,000 in total), it’s no surprise that parents will be embracing the freedom this gives. As modern nomadism gains momentum, in 2019 we will hear a lot more about ‘unschooling’, ‘edventure’ and family gap years.
Read more about Instagram parents who travel
Why most of us are not destined to be travel influencers 
STYLE & CULTURE
Why most of us are not destined to be travel influencers
3. GROUP TRAVEL: EXCLUSIVE HOME RENTAL
Groups of friends and family have been clubbing together to rent holiday villas and chalets for a while now, but in 2019 a new luxury alternative will come in the form of Beyond by Airbnb, which curates high-end homes and ‘custom experiences’. An additional layer of exclusivity comes from Stay One Degree, which describes itself as the ‘first social network for luxury vacation rentals’, only letting people who are vetted members stay in each other’s homes, be it a seven-bedroom castle in Kent or a six-bedroom beach pad in Costa Rica. The network currently lists more than 1,000 properties in 50-plus countries and has more than 10,000 members. For those looking to micro crowdfund their next group escape, Marriott International’s new ‘handpicked’ Tribute Portfolio includes homes in London, Lisbon, Paris and Rome, and the Oetker Collection’s Masterpiece Estates (both debuted in 2018) ensure the high standards associated with global hotel brands. The latter offers the chance to move into ‘exemplary private homes’ (just three so far), including a Victorian hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands and the beautifully restored Farleigh House in England.
4. COUPLE’S TRAVEL: INTREPID JOURNEYSAlthough the desire for a romantic getaway somewhere warm and sultry is never going to dwindle, there is increasing demand among couples for more challenging adventures that bring them closer together. Embracing fears, experiencing discomfort and taking on ambitious physical activities can inspire respect and a new-found intimacy between individuals. What’s on the menu for 2019? Specialist travel agent AITO highlights new tours such as Oasis Overland’s ‘Karakorum Highway’ in northern Pakistan, ‘Norway’s Arctic Wilderness’ from Scandinavia Only, a 15-day trip around Iran with Wild Frontiers Travel, and a drive from Xian to Kathmandu with Dragoman, which will include wild camping on the Tibetan Plateau. Black Tomato says it is ‘developing experiences in Djibouti (pictured), the Congo and lesser-travelled parts of the Middle East in 2019’, ideal for duos looking to satisfy their wanderlust. Experiential travel experts Pelorus is also a great resource for private adventures, whether it is infiltrating tribal communities in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea or tracking pumas in Patagonia.
Read about more epic adventures, or about a road trip through one of the least explored corners of the world: Patagonia, Chile
The world’s greatest road trip: Patagonia, Chile 
EPIC ADVENTURES
The world’s greatest road trip: Patagonia, Chile
5. SOLO TRAVEL: CO-LIVINGTravelling alone can be lonely when you’re not a student backpacker as hotels aren’t the easiest places to make friends, hostels can be a little rough around the edges and Airbnbs can be isolating as guests often find themselves in residential neighbourhoods rather than city centres. The solution is co-living – essentially a form of modern commune for young professionals – which is generating a following both among locals and out-of-towners. One of the co-living leaders, WeLive (sister company to WeWork), now has apartment complexes with trendy shared social spaces, events programmes, yoga classes and even hot tubs in New York and Crystal City. People can stay for a few days or a few months. Roam is present in Bali, Miami, Tokyo and San Francisco and is opening in New York and London soon. Lyf by Ascott, which is ‘designed by millennials for millennials’ will have three properties in Singapore, one in Cebu City and one in Shenzhen between now and 2021. In London there is The Collective, which is also expanding into Brooklyn. In New York’s Financial District is The Assemblage St John Street hotel, which features Meyer Davis-designed studio apartments, free laundry, housekeeping and an Ayurvedic café.
Find more of the best solo travel destinations
The best solo travel destinations 
SOLO TRAVEL
The best solo travel destinations
6. SPA: CBD TREATMENTSCannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound derived from marijuana plants, is becoming wildly popular for its perceived medicinal and healing powers. And as green becomes legalised in ever-more countries – in autumn 2018 Canada legalised the recreational use of cannabis, while about a dozen American states have done the same – it’s not just smokers who are celebrating. About 20 American states allow the use of marijuana for medical use, as does the UK (since November 2018), and in places where laws are most lenient, spas are incorporating CBD into therapeutic treatments. Just a few months ago, the Ritz-Carlton Spa in Los Angeles(pictured) began using hemp-based tinctures and oils to reduce muscle soreness and tension, as well as anxiety and stress. And at the Spa at St Julien Colorado the ‘Ultimate Colorado Bliss CBD Experience’ costs US$295 and includes a CBD infused body butter wrap, a full-body massage with CBD oil and CDB tea.
7. ECO: ZERO LEFTOVERSDid you know that the UK throws away £20billion worth of food every year? Zero- and low-waste restaurants such as Silo in Brighton and Cub in London have been doing their part to reduce this, but there are signs the approach is now entering the mainstream. For anyone slightly appalled by the sight of a lavish hotel buffet and how much must go in the bin as a consequence, it’s great news that Marriott International, for example, wants to cut food waste by 50 per cent by 2025. Luxury hotel the Langham London has become the first in Europe to introduce a ‘rapid composting’ system that can turn 2,400lbs of leftovers into water every 24 hours. And the Armani hotel in Dubai is trying to cut kitchen waste by 80 per cent, with the scraps it does generate being turned into soil nutrients. This year, the new Salt of Palmar hotel in Mauritius is launching a hydroponic fruit and vegetable farm to help it be more self-self-sufficient. Hopefully, initiatives like these will soon become standard.
8. TECH: CRYPTOCURRENCY BOOKINGS
Whether you are withdrawing money at an overseas ATM or exchanging cash in advance, travellers always lose some of their funds to foreign exchange rates and commission. According to UK Finance, British people are collectively losing more than £1million a day to ‘dynamic pricing’ alone (when your credit card is charged in pounds sterling rather than the local currency). Although the average holidaymaker is unlikely to have a virtual wallet full of Bitcoins just yet, cryptocurrencies do promise a highly secure, universal payment system with no associated fees. From 2019, using cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, LiteCoin and Bitcoin to book trips will begin to gain traction. Today, 450,000 hotels around the world (including the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo) accept Ethereum payments through an app called Tripio, although it’s target market is Asia. A handful of other companies such as Cheapair, Peach Air, Surf Air, Air Baltic have also built in capability to process such transactions.
9. ACCESSORIES: LOW-FOOTPRINT TRAINERSA good pair of trainers has always been a suitcase essential but their carbon footprint is significant – it’s been reported that just one pair of running shoes can generate 13kg of carbon dioxide in the production of the plastics, synthetic rubber and nylon they require. While it certainly doesn’t compare to the harmful emissions from flying, travellers can leave a little bit less of an impact by choosing ethically made footwear. There are lots of brands to choose from now, ranging from Portuguese start-up Wado, which plants two trees for every pair bought, to France’s fashionable Veja, which sources organic, fair trade materials. San Francisco’s Allbirds are made from New Zealand merino wool, while ‘eco-hip’ The People’s Movement makes trainers out of upcycled plastic that would otherwise be polluting our seas. Also check out Adidas x Parley, Ecoalf, Baabuk and Vivobarefoot.
10. TRANSPORT: BIOMETRIC AIRPORTS
Thanks to recent iPhone models, most consumers are familiar with using fingerprint and facial recognition to bypass entering passwords. It won’t be long until this kind of technology will be commonly employed to bypass queues at check-in, boarding and immigration, replacing laborious manual checks of boarding passes and passports. For the last year or so, British Airways has been trialling biometric gates at American airports including Orlando, New York and Miami, and in 2019, London Heathrow will debut ‘the world’s largest deployment of biometrically enabled products including bag drops and self-boarding gates’ at a cost of £50million. The idea is that passengers will be able to walk through every check point from arrival to plane without showing any documentation, reducing journey time by a third. According to SITA, 77 per cent of airports and 71 per cent of airlines are planning major programmes or research and design into biometric ID management during the next five years. Over in Dubai, Emirates has launched a new ‘biometric path’ at Dubai International, while Delta Air Lines has introduced fingerprint entry at domestic Delta Sky Club lounge.
