The other feature often misattributed to luxury is desirability, but people choose experiences based on flexible criteria, and this means they’ll often choose something that’s not necessarily luxurious like a Michelin-starred restaurant over a mom-and-pop noodle shop they like for the “homey” vibes. But the point is that they’ll spend their money one way or another on some experience, and that experience may not necessarily be luxurious or exclusive.

But note also that exclusive environments aren’t always for status symbol purposes, but sometimes a necessity for people who may desire not to be publicly exposed at all times. Circling back to airport lounges, there’s a lot that can be done to create stellar experiences which aren’t exactly luxurious but still money-makers for service providers. Complaining about people having too much money sounds really dumb to me.