That was the headline of an October 29th online article in Travelmarket Report: Voice of the Travel Professional and it caught my eye.

The article was an interview with Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center. It is a quick read, but I’d like to pull out a few of the main points that Ron makes in the article:

• Most of the top 10% of the wealthy are self-made millionaires with little in common with the rich and famous seen on TV.
• Significant percentages of the affluent consumers are either ignorant of or scornful of luxury brands, including hotel brands.