Most Important Travel Trends 2014

Find out what’s on the travel horizon, from updated planes to websites that get you closer to the action.

How will you be traveling in 2014? For our annual forecast of the trends that will define travel for the coming year, T+L looked at the big changes in store for air travel, hotels, websites, and gadgets.

Airports will become more enjoyable, we’re happy to report, thanks to better independent lounges and more intelligent architecture. Heathrow’s Queen’s Terminal (T2) will reset the bar for efficiency when it opens in June 2014 with its reconfigured checkpoints (circular conveyor belts!) and central courtyard layout, which puts all gates just a short walk away.

Tech gadgets will continue to shrink and get smarter: phalets (smartphone-tablet hybrids), smartwatches, and digitally enabled glasses from Google and other gear will top travelers’ Wish Lists next year.

New websites, such as the private dinner-party finder EatWith, will allow you to connect with destinations on a profoundly local level. At the same time, these peer-to-peer sites’ continued disruption of traditional booking methods will inspire local law enforcement to take aim. Airbnb’s current legal battles in New York are just the beginning, in other words.

Hotels, meanwhile, will ask you to be more independent, either by pulling back on expensive amenities such as room service or by adopting technologies (the smartphone as keycard) that allow us to bypass the check-in desk.

Airlines are also tweaking their models: British Airways by putting baggage check into travelers’ hands, and JetBlue by abandoning its single-class identity to introduce a new premium cabin, called Mint, in June 2014.

We have a sneak peek of the new JetBlue plane—and more glimpses of the year ahead in travel.

—Amy Farley

Reported by Nikki Ekstein, Amy Farley, Jennifer Flowers, Jacqueline Gifford, Brooke Porter Katz, Melanie Lieberman, Karrie Jacobs, and Nate Storey.

...that is, if you have $250,000 to spare. After years of anticipation, it’s here: Virgin Galactic is putting the final touches on its much-hyped space-travel program, with an expected launch as early as this year. More than 600 travelers have already lined up for the experience, which gets you three days of training at Spaceport America in New Mexico before you rocket into suborbital space. (You’ll hit speeds of up to 2,664 mph and float in zero gravity for several minutes before returning to earth.) Would-be astronauts also get access to Virgin Galactic events and parties hosted by Richard Branson himself. Ready to book? Consult one of Virgin Galactic’s 120 Accredited Space Agents (yes, there’s such a thing), such as Andrew Rocchio, from Strong Travel Services.

Domestic airlines are rushing to reconfigure their transcontinental cabins in an effort to lure high-paying passengers. The one to beat, though, is JetBlue, which debuts a new premium cabin, Mint, in July.

• The lie-flat seats—the country’s longest—are up to 22.3 inches wide.

• Seat cushions can be adjusted for firmness and come with massage options.

• Solo fliers can shut a sliding door for total privacy.

• The 15-inch personal flat-screen has access to more than 200 DirecTV channels and Sirius XM Radio stations.

• His-and-hers Birchbox amenity kits will include a rotating selection of travel-size products.

• Prices start at $599 (one way) from JFK to LAX—some $1,500 less than a business-class ticket with a legacy carrier.

• The tapas-style menu is curated by New York City’s Saxon & Parole restaurant, on the Bowery.

• The first in-flight Ka-band satellite Wi-Fi promises to be the fastest in the industry.

• A first for domestic carriers: an espresso machine. Plus, the marketplace area offers fliers of all classes unlimited access to drinks and snacks, including the beloved Terra Blues chips.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the TSA continue to innovate with automated passport kiosks and expanded pre-check coverage throughout domestic airports.

Airlines are embracing the next wave of mobile technology, this time with digital luggage tags. British Airways is testing an electronic version that lets fliers use a smartphone app to update a reusable tag with their flight information.

Also Noted: Airbus’s forthcoming RFID-embedded Bag2Go suitcases, developed with Rimowa and T-Systems; Qantas’s smart bag tags.

What you’ll find at Hertz’s new souped-up rental stations: kiosks for self-service, gadget-charging areas, play spaces for kids, and “Road Trip” concession stands with all your getaway essentials, from sunscreen to snacks.

As more domestic airline seats get roped off for premium fliers, families are finding themselves pushed to the back of the plane. Some airlines abroad are taking this more literally: both AirAsia X and Singapore’s Scoot airlines now have child-free zones on their planes.

The underground supper club is coming into the light. A slew of websites are enabling home cooks—amateurs and professionals alike—to invite out-of-towners into their private dining rooms. The best is EatWith, which has well-vetted hosts in 30 countries who serve everything from Spanish tapas in a Barcelona house ($62) to traditional Israeli breakfast at a stylish Tel Aviv apartment ($33).

Also Noted: The U.S.-focused Feastly site; Asia’s Traveling Spoon; Brussels-based Bookalokal, with host chefs across the globe.

Zimbabwe

Why Now: An expanded international airport across the border in Livingstone, Zambia, is making the Victoria Falls region more accessible.

Experience It: The Victoria Falls Hotel is freshly renovated; visit Hwange National Park and Mana Pools with Wilderness Safaris or African Bush Camps.Warsaw

Why Now: Affordable, rich in culture and history, and filled with emerging creative energy.

Experience It: Stay at the refurbished Hotel Bristol. (Coming in 2016: a Raffles hotel.) Don’t miss the expanded contemporary art gallery at the National Museum and the new Museum of the History of the Polish Jews.Bahamas

Why Now: The $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort complex is aiming to be the Vegas of the Caribbean when it debuts at the end of the year.

Experience It: Take your pick from more than 2,200 rooms spread across four hotel brands: Baha Mar, Grand Hyatt, Mondrian, and Rosewood.Nashville

Why Now: Enterprising chefs are the new country-music stars, bringing refined yet unfussy restaurants to emerging neighborhoods.

Experience It: Try Germantown’s Rolf & Daughters (pictured); Josephine, a new farm-to-table-style spot in the 12South area; and Pinewood Social, with a menu by local star Josh Habiger.

In cities across the country, urban planners are restoring industrial waterways. In Houston, the Buffalo Bayou is becoming a park (pictured), with bike paths weaving under freeway overpasses, a waterside café, and a performance space. Across the country, plans are moving forward to transform the concrete-encased Los Angeles River into a park.

Also Noted: Efforts to revive New York City’s Harlem River and Gowanus Canal; a new park on the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey.

Princess breakfasts and character-themed rooms get a sophisticated twist when Four Seasons opens in Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort this summer; there’s even a five-acre water park and play area, designed for discerning children.

See T+L's Disney Guide

Travel boycotts have long been used as a political tool, putting pressure on hard-line regimes such as Cuba’s. But with social media, grassroots campaigns targeting specific places and policies can become overnight movements. Witness the wildfire effort to boycott the Sochi games based on Russia’s stance on homosexuality. Effective? Not really. Attention-getting? Without a doubt.

Also Noted: The campaign against Florida’s Stand Your Ground law; boycotts against Arizona for its SB 1070 immigration law.

Aloft, the first hotel brand to enable check-in by text message, will soon let you use your mobile device to enter your room.

Glasses: Google Glass,which will be available by the end of 2014, is getting all the buzz. But at least a dozen other digitally enabled frames are in development. Expect some competition in the coming months.

Phablet: This smartphone-tablet hybrid combines the best of both worlds. Nokia and Samsung have models but our current favorite is the HTC One Max, with its 5.9-inch screen.

SmartWatch: Introducing the wrist-based device that lets you access apps, e-mail, and even phone calls. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is tops for now, but Sony and HTC are hot on its heels.

A wave of sleek new spaces is making waiting in airports more appealing: witness the Centurion Lounges by American Express (free to Platinum and Centurion cardholders, $50 for all other AmEx members). The Dallas/Fort Worth location (pictured) features dishes from Dean Fearing, a cocktail menu by Jim Meehan, and an Exhale Spa. Next up: a San Francisco outpost.

Also Noted: The new Airspace lounge at JFK T5 and Hartsfield-Jackson’s the Club at ATL; Plaza Premium’s upcoming space at Heathrow’s T2.

The Queen’s Terminal (a.k.a. T2), which begins accepting Star Alliance flights in June, is positioning itself as the terminal of the future, with high-tech improvements at every turn.

• Shared check-in machines let you print boarding passes and bag tags from any kiosk on the floor, regardless of airline.

• To reach the security checkpoint, fliers pass through electronic barriers that scan boarding passes automatically. Once there, circular lanes offer travelers extra space for loading and unloading bins.

• Gates are arranged around a central courtyard, ensuring that passengers are never more than a short walk from their plane.

• Restaurants such as Yo! Sushi let you tweet your order from the security line. It’ll be ready for pickup when you get to the other side.

• A glazed-glass façade protects against excess heat and glare and creates an open, airy environment.

• Ample outlets and free Wi-Fi make it easy to get online; oversize tablets offer another way to stay connected.

• Uniformed Passenger Ambassadors, who speak 70 different languages between them, help travelers navigate the airport.

See what the casualization of hotel restaurants has wrought: in 2014, your room service might not come on a tray; in fact, it might not come at all. Many hotels are rethinking this perk—most notably the New York Hilton Midtown, which now has a casual, grab-and-go dining outlet in the lobby (though staffers will still bring food up to you upon request). Others, such as the Public Chicago, are delivering it to you elementary-school-style: in a paper bag.

Also Noted: Brown-bag service at New York City’s Hudson Hotel.

Move over, millennials, and make way for the “working wealthy,” time-crunched and adventurous travelers with cash to spend. Cruise lines are already creating shorter trips to meet their demand.

As travel start-ups such as Airbnb increasingly disrupt established businesses (hotels; taxis; car rentals; restaurants), their opponents are digging in, using the courts to highlight the sometimes shaky legal underpinnings of these services. Airbnb, for one, is in a pitched battle with New York State. For the sharing economy to go mainstream, it’s going to have to lawyer up.

Also Noted: Car-sharing service Flightcar v. San Francisco; taxi-hailing app Uber’s fights with municipal taxi commissions; EatWith, which is skirting New York City restaurant regulators.