According to the 2027 Trends Report from Hilton, travelers next year will be focusing on “personal growth, flexibility and discovery” in the coming year.

The report, The Great Rebalance: How Travelers Are Expecting to Reset and Recalibrate in 2027, found that travelers jetsetters are prioritizing trips that help them reset, gain perspective and make the most of their time away.

“The report is grounded in real traveler behavior and reflects what we're seeing on property every day,” Jess Petitt, senior vice president, strategy, insights and full service brands, Hilton, told Hotel Management. “Its value comes from connecting individual experiences and instincts to broader trends, revealing that many travelers may be responding to similar needs.”

The report’s name “reflects a shift in what travelers value and how they are deciding to spend their time away,” Petitt continued. “They’re looking for the right balance between planning and spontaneity, digital convenience and human connection and adventure and restoration.”

“We're seeing that travelers are less interested in someone else’s definition of perfection and more focused on planning travel on their own terms,” Chris Nassetta, president and chief executive officer, Hilton, said in a statement. “This year’s report reinforces that people are looking for experiences that fit their lives, help them recharge, and create meaning that lasts long after they’ve returned home. As traveler expectations continue to evolve, it’s our phygital innovations, the seamless blending of physical environments and human touch with digital products, that will help guests make the most of their travel experience, while also building trust and loyalty.”

Hilton’s 2027 Trends Report found five key trends:

1. The Rise of ‘Ish’: Letting Go of the Perfect Vacation

Perfect-ish: Travelers often feel pressure to do what they think they should do on vacation, even if it’s not what they want to do. More than half of travelers (54 percent) report feeling some sort of pressure to have the perfect trip, and 24 percent try to accommodate a group and keep others happy.

Solo-ish: For many travelers, solo travel no longer means being completely alone. Nearly one-third of travelers (31 percent) have traveled solo to meet up with friends or family at their destination, reflecting a broader shift toward blending independence with connection. More than half of the Motto by Hilton brand’s worldwide reservations over the past year were for solo guests.

According to the report, 41 percent of travelers plan to take a solo trip in the next year. “For 92 percent of them, it will not be their first, so this is an established behavior rather than a new one,” Petitt said. To that end, Hilton is adapting its guestroom designs to serve solo travelers. “We don’t see solo travel as requiring a single, standardized prototype. The opportunity is to create flexible hotels that allow guests to choose how they want to experience a destination.”

Petitt also sees the “-ish” trend as an opportunity for hoteliers to offer “flexible, personalized experiences that can accommodate a range of travel behaviors and preferences.” Guests, he explained, are looking for “balance, between planning and spontaneity, adventure and restoration, technology and human connection.”

2. The Travel Trust Equation: Human Expertise Makes the Difference

With AI becoming ubiquitous in travel planning, the human touch is becoming the ultimate differentiator.

Mother Knows Best: Among travelers who trust their family the most, one in five nonparents say their mother is their most trusted source of travel advice, making them more than twice as likely as parents (8 percent) to turn to mom for guidance. Beyond family, travelers also place significant trust in hotel staff, with 70 percent of travelers trusting them as a travel planning resource.

Status Envy: Loyalty status increasingly influences who and what travelers trust. Half (50 percent) say they are more likely to trust recommendations from someone with loyalty status than someone without it, and nearly one in three (29 percent) say they are jealous of friends who have travel loyalty status greater than their own.

Climbing the Loyalty Ladder: As travelers place greater value on elite status, they're also becoming more motivated to earn it. Hilton adjusted its Honors program in January to facilitate earning status, and has reported double-digit growth compared to the year before.

3. Growth Getaways: Travel That Changes You

Travel is becoming more than a break from everyday life, as it is increasingly viewed as a catalyst for personal growth.

The Beforeglow: The benefits of travel often begin before the journey itself. Three in four travelers (76 percent) agree that having a trip on the calendar gives them a purpose to work toward.

Skillcations: Travel is increasingly becoming a pathway to personal growth, with 42 percent saying that travel helped discover new interests or passions. Gen Z travelers are nearly twice as likely than Baby Boomers to want to return home with a new hobby or interest they can continue to pursue.

“A generational finding that surprised me is Baby Boomers feel the least amount of pressure on vacation,” Petitt said. “More than half of Baby Boomers (51 percent) say they almost always do what they want on vacation, and of those Boomers, 53 percent say they never feel pressure to have the ‘perfect’ trip, the highest of any generation.

4. Wellness, Rewired: The New Balance of Wellbeing

Travelers are increasingly blending the digital and the analog to enhance wellbeing, support restoration and connect more deeply with themselves, their surroundings and others. As travelers seek greater balance in their lives, they're finding new ways to ground themselves through a blend of nature, technology and human connection.

Reset Mode: Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of travelers actively seek experiences that calm the body and reset the nervous system, and 76 percent say travel enables them to recharge mentally and physically in ways they can't easily achieve at home. “Wellness continues to play a critical role, but in a way that is restorative and allows travelers to disconnect from their day-to-day lives and have a true reset,” Petitt said.

Back to Nature: 79 percent say fresh air and the outdoors are essential to how they relax while traveling, and more than half (54 percent) spend more time immersed in nature while traveling than they do at home.

Connected to Place: Travelers are increasingly seeking wellness experiences that foster a deeper connection to destinations. At Conrad Orlando, guests can use the resort's hydrothermal outdoor Water Garden. Monthly outdoor bath treatments increasing 60 percent year over year.

5. The Micro-Travel Mindset: Small Trips, Big Impact

Time has become one of the most valuable —and limited —resources shaping how people travel. Rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity to get away, travelers are embracing shorter, more frequent trips that are easier to plan and fit into everyday life.

Making More of Less: 67 percent like to plan travel that allows them to experience a lot in a short amount of time, with 63 percent preferring to stay somewhere central with plenty to do nearby.

Defining the Short Stay: The definition of a short trip varies by region. 88 percent of U.S. travelers consider a trip of fewer than 3-4 days to be a "short trip," while Japan (86 percent) and South Korea (59 percent) define a short trip as less than 2 days. Saudi Arabia (29 percent) and Germany (26 percent) take a broader view, as the most likely of any market surveyed to say a short trip can stretch 5-6 days or longer.

“Travelers are placing greater value on experiences that fit their individual needs,” Petitt said. “For hoteliers, the opportunity is to create flexible experiences that respond to what each traveler is hoping to get from a trip, whether that’s rest, connection, personal growth or discovery.”