How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics
How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel/our-insights/how-premium-leisure-travel-is-rewriting-airline-economics?
Steve Saxon is a partner in McKinsey’s London office and co-leads McKinsey’s Travel Practice. Lucia Rahilly is the global editorial director and deputy publisher of McKinsey Global Publishing and is based in the New York office, and Roberta Fusaro is an editorial director in the Boston office.
Business class isn’t just for corporate travelers anymore. Affluent vacationers are splurging on premium cabins—and becoming one of the biggest drivers of airline profitability.
Window or aisle? These days, if you’re at the front of the plane, you don’t have to choose: “Everything is about having direct aisle access from every seat,” says Steve Saxon, coleader of McKinsey’s Travel Practice. And that’s just one of the many ways airlines are reinventing the premium experience for a burgeoning customer segment: the affluent vacationers now occupying seats once dominated by corporate road warriors. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Saxon talks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about why premium leisure travel is on the rise, what that means for airline economics, and how it’s prompting carriers to rethink everything from pricing to service to cabin design and product innovation.
The McKinsey Podcast is co-hosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Healthy demand, fragile economics
Lucia Rahilly: I’d like to start with a tough question that is the topic of much debate among my children. It’s going to draw on your more than two decades of consulting work with our Travel Practice at McKinsey. Steve, when you fly, are you a window or an aisle man?
Steve Saxon: I’m definitely a window man.
Lucia Rahilly: You’re a window man?
Steve Saxon: You’ve got to look out and see the world below you! But these days, in the premium classes, window and aisle are the same. Everything is about having aisle access at every seat.
Lucia Rahilly: You and your colleagues have published an annual review of airline economics for something like two decades. Any trends that you see emerging overall in the latest research?
Steve Saxon: The airline industry currently is relatively healthy. Many airlines are reporting good profits. However, the airline sector is still not quite returning its cost of capital. Even in its most successful years, the industry is not quite earning the returns its shareholders and investors would expect.
Lucia Rahilly: We’re recording this in high summer, when vacation travel is probably at its peak. Lots of folks are flying, but fewer, I would imagine, really understand the economics of how airlines make money when we buy a plane ticket. Give us your best quick and dirty on what most travelers misunderstand here.
Steve Saxon: The key thing people don’t understand is how thin the margins are for airlines. Yes, you’re paying hundreds of dollars for your ticket, or maybe thousands if you’re in the premium classes. But all that money gets spent—on the fuel, the aircraft, maintenance, and the crew. The actual margins of airlines are very thin. The average profit per passenger is barely more than a cup of coffee.
Lucia Rahilly: If airlines are becoming more profitable, why is the industry struggling to earn its cost of capital consistently?
Steve Saxon: Some airlines have become consistently more profitable. The large US carriers and some of the leading European carriers are earning healthy profit margins, which hasn’t been true historically. However, the global average is being dragged down by losses in other areas. For example, most recently, many Asian carriers have not been returning their cost of capital.
The actual margins of airlines are very thin. The average profit per passenger is barely more than a cup of coffee.
Airlines are a uniquely challenging industry. The ticket prices are highly transparent. You can go to an online travel agency to see pricing, and people are choosing among airlines with only a few dollars difference between them.
At the same time, the power of suppliers in the industry is high. This could be because there’s really only two aircraft manufacturers, or because the power of labor is strong, or because many airlines are highly unionized. As soon as airlines start to generate profits, the suppliers try to take that away from them.
It’s also an industry with relatively low barriers to entry—you can start a new airline with only a few million dollars—and quite high barriers to exit as well. Many governments will support national carriers in times of challenge. It’s a competitive market; its suppliers have strong bargaining power, and customers switch for only a few dollars. All that leads to low returns.
Lucia Rahilly: How does seasonality affect airline economics, and what do airlines do to plan for those kinds of dynamics and trends?
Steve Saxon: Summer is when airlines make a large share of their profits. Many airlines are unprofitable through the winter. With leisure travel growing in popularity, this is even more emphasized. Business travel is reasonably consistent throughout the year and provides a good base load. With leisure travel growing faster, we actually see the airline industry overall becoming more seasonal, and therefore more airlines make their profits in the summer.
Lucia Rahilly: Have the changing geopolitical dynamics affected travel at all? For example, has demand changed?
Steve Saxon: People still want to take vacations, but destinations for those vacations have somewhat shifted. We are also seeing where passengers want to transit. A growing category has been people not flying directly to their destination but stopping over somewhere on the way. This is especially true for premium travel as well.
Lucia Rahilly: It’s probably an understatement to say that many industries have undergone disruptions in recent years. How has the airline business been affected? Has it fundamentally changed over the past decade, or are the economics largely the same?
Steve Saxon: The industry has always been subject to shocks. I think airlines are unique in how many different types of shocks hit them. Pandemics, terrorism, volcanoes, weather effects—all these have hit the airline sector at some point. But there have been some changes over time, and one of those changes is the increasing importance of premium travel.
The premium pivot
Lucia Rahilly: You and your colleagues spend a lot of time studying airline profitability, and as you just mentioned, a theme that keeps emerging is the growing importance of premium cabins. Why are they becoming so central to airline economics?
Steve Saxon: For some airlines, premium cabins are making up more than half of the total revenue of the aircraft. That didn’t use to be true. Obviously, premium cabins are a smaller proportion of the number of seats. But those cabins have been expanding, their ticket prices have been increasing, and for several carriers, premium cabins are now more important than economy class cabins.
Lucia Rahilly: Who’s flying in these cabins? Business class is called business class for a reason, obviously—people have historically used business class when traveling for work. Is that changing?
Steve Saxon: Yes. That has been changing consistently over the past 20 years. Business travel is relatively flat. Premium business travel is not really growing, but premium cabins are growing, and it’s because nonbusiness travelers are paying for themselves. It’s because of premium leisure travel.
Customers are deciding that they want to spend more money to make their vacations enjoyable. They’re spending their own money to fly business class, first class, or some version of premium economy class as well, which many airlines have now introduced because of this trend.
There has also been a long-term trend of people wanting to spend more money on experiences over physical goods.
Lucia Rahilly: What do you think is driving that? It’s interesting because we know from our State of the Consumer research that folks are growing increasingly cost-conscious in this uncertain macroeconomic environment. How does the rise in leisure travelers among premium fliers square with that trend?
Steve Saxon: While large segments of the population are cutting back and are price sensitive, some segments of the population have been doing quite well. There has also been a long-term trend of people wanting to spend more money on experiences over physical goods. We saw this trend emerge post-COVID. We thought it was revenge travel, but it has continued.
So today, while some segments of the population are cost-conscious, there is an affluent segment that is increasingly willing to spend. They’re spending on themselves, and on better experiences.
Lucia Rahilly: When travelers pay for premium, what are they primarily after? The better seat? A lower-friction journey end to end, curb to destination?
Steve Saxon: It’s everything. It starts with the ability to have premium check-in and not have to stand in a long line to get through security. If you’re paying for your own ticket, you want to enjoy the lounge, have a glass of wine before you get on board, and have some food.
They’re paying for a nicer experience. They are paying for the luxury of nobody sitting next to them, direct access to the aisle, a seat that extends to lay completely flat, a swifter arrival experience through immigration, and better treatment on board with higher service. We are seeing that customers are willing to pay for all these things.
Lucia Rahilly: Within premium cabins, what kind of product innovation is happening that might make travelers want to splurge?
Steve Saxon: Because growth is being driven by leisure travel, we see a lot of innovation. For example, many airlines are now introducing private cabins for first-class seats, which can convert into double beds on board. In the business cabin, aisle access is now common. There are innovations in catering being introduced where there’s no fixed menu, but you can dine on demand. Some airlines have put a chef on board the aircraft.
We’ve seen better lounges than ever before, with spas and other treatment areas in them. We’ve seen innovations like private terminals or a private car to take you directly to the aircraft. When people are spending their own money, they’re willing to spend on these kinds of experiences.
Because growth is being driven by leisure travel, we see a lot of innovation.
Lucia Rahilly: How do airlines decide how to allocate capital toward those innovations?
Steve Saxon: There’s a lot of experimentation. People can come up with endless ideas. Of course, all these ideas cost money, so airlines will introduce them to trial. You’ll see them double down on some of the things that work and quietly withdraw some that don’t. For example, maybe the massages on board didn’t work, and so the airlines removed them. I do see a lot of investment now going into premium catering, which the leisure customer is willing to pay for.
Lucia Rahilly: Presumably business travelers and leisure travelers might have different preferences within the same cabin. How does that affect the way airlines think about service?
Steve Saxon: It’s a big challenge. Hypothetically, you’ve got people who are looking to get some work done and get some rest versus others who want to have a great experience and enjoy luxury, all in the same cabin. They might have brought their children as well. There are more children than ever in the business and premium classes.
And what should the cabin crew do if somebody is sleeping at breakfast time? Wake them up, because of the premium luxury experience of the breakfast? Or let them sleep to get their rest? This is one of the challenges of service. The crew needs to understand their customers and what they’re expecting.
Lucia Rahilly: I’m just thinking about traveling with my own kids when they were babies. They were high maintenance on flights. What does the crew do if there is a fussy baby in first or business class?
Steve Saxon: They need to do the best they can. Unfortunately, babies do interrupt business class, and there are more babies than ever in the business class cabin. For example, I was on a flight with my family, from Melbourne to Shanghai. My wife and I were both incredibly sick on board the plane with food poisoning, and it was the cabin crew who looked after our kids.
Lucia Rahilly: That’s incredible! And I’m so sorry to hear. It sounds very unpleasant to be trapped on a flight during an illness.
Steve Saxon: I don’t often write after a flight to thank the crew, but that was one of the times I did.
Optimizing for value, not volume
Lucia Rahilly: Let’s turn to the implications for airlines. What does the rise in premium leisure travel translate into for them? Has it changed the assumptions airlines historically have made about their customers?
Steve Saxon: Part of this is what we were talking about: innovations in the product. Airlines are refocusing on service and on the food and wines on board, which are more loved and paid for by leisure travelers than by business travelers. We’ve seen investments in new lounges because the leisure customer arrives at the airport earlier. Airlines have had to upgrade internally as well. If more of your customers are premium travelers, you need to make sure that seats are being priced correctly and that you’re managing the inventory of those seats correctly.
Lucia Rahilly: And if premium demand remains strong, what are the implications for the future structure of airline business models?
Steve Saxon: Airlines respond to demand, and that’s why we see the increasing size of premium cabins in many aircraft. Some airlines have reintroduced first class, which was seen as a dying product, because there is a segment of people willing to pay significantly more for a differentiated experience.
We see business cabins taking up more of the plane, so more of the square footage of the aircraft is dedicated to premium seats. And we see airlines introducing premium economy class as well. People who maybe can’t quite afford business, but who are willing to pay a bit more than the standard coach seat, can now take advantage of premium economy.
Lucia Rahilly: Is it fair to say that if one premium seat can earn several times the revenue of an economy seat, maximizing seat count will become less important than maximizing customer mix?
Steve Saxon: Yes. Airlines will approach this by thinking about how many economy class seats a single business seat will take up. It’s usually somewhere between three and four seats, so you need to make sure that the revenue for that business class seat is three to four times that of the economy seat. If it is, you want to add more business class seats to the aircraft.
Lucia Rahilly: What are the implications for economy travelers when the number of premium seats increases? Is it fair to say that premium travelers help make the economics of the whole flight work, which in turn helps economy travelers?
Steve Saxon: Yes, it helps make the economics of the whole flight work. The more revenue the airline is getting from premium, the less it needs to make from the economy cabin. A healthy premium demand can help reduce fares in economy class, and that’s especially true on routes which are very premium heavy. On flights where the premium cabin is always full and the airline is flying to meet premium demand, you can find some very cheap economy class fares.
Lucia Rahilly: When a relatively small cluster of premium seats can generate a disproportionate share of profits, how do airlines decide how much space to allocate to those products?
Steve Saxon: The space on board the aircraft is the limiting factor. As we discussed, if a premium seat takes the space of three or four economy class seats, the airline must weigh how much revenue it can make from an economy seat versus a business seat. However, an aircraft doesn’t fly just one route. Airlines are ordering aircraft, and they need that same aircraft to fly lots of routes on the network. They’re looking at an average as well, and so for some routes there aren’t quite enough premium seats whereas for other routes there are too many.
Lucia Rahilly: How do airlines address that issue?
Steve Saxon: They address it through pricing, and that’s why sometimes you can get great value prices in business and premium classes.
Lucia Rahilly: I tried to upgrade to business on a flight a couple of weeks ago, and business was sold out, so I upgraded to premium economy. There must have been room there because it didn’t cost me very much to upgrade.
Steve Saxon: If you look at the profit per square foot of the aircraft, premium economy is usually the highest. A premium economy seat takes up maybe 1.5 times the space of a standard economy seat, but the fare is often at least double.
Lucia Rahilly: It’s interesting, because years ago the trend was toward really densifying airline cabins.
Steve Saxon: That’s still the case in economy class, because there’s a segment of travelers flying purely based on the lowest price. That’s why we’ve seen airlines introduce things like a basic economy class—a stripped-back version of economy that doesn’t include seat selection, a bag, or in some cases, a meal. For people choosing only on price, you’ve got economy and basic economy classes. For those willing to spend a bit more, you’ve got premium economy. For those willing to spend to fly in luxury, you have business and first class. They’re further differentiating the product to meet different ranges of customer needs.
The challenge for airlines is how to keep the high revenue from those business customers while also attracting leisure customers.
Lucia Rahilly: Many airline revenue management systems were built around very predictable customer segments and booking behavior. If today’s premium customer might as easily be a vacation traveler as a corporate road warrior, what are the implications for how airlines should forecast demand?
Steve Saxon: This is a particular challenge for airlines. Typically, business customers book relatively late and are reasonably price insensitive. They might pay $6,000 to $7,000 for a one-way transatlantic flight because, in many cases, they were spending their company’s money, not their own. Leisure customers are typically spending their own money, and so what we see is an increasing sensitivity to price.
The challenge for airlines is how to keep the high revenue from those business customers while also attracting leisure customers. They do that through various methods, like lower-cost tickets if you book your flight earlier. It might be cheaper if two people travel together than if one person travels alone. They might charge less for a connecting flight than for a direct flight. Airlines call these pricing factors “fences,” where they determine how to charge the business customer more while keeping fares competitive for the premium leisure customer.
Who owns the customer?
Lucia Rahilly: Let’s shift to a question on AI, which is obviously top of mind for many leaders. Is AI affecting airline decision-making in any meaningful way? Has AI enabled anything that would have been difficult or impossible just a few years ago?
Steve Saxon: First, AI isn’t going to change that people want to travel, but the way people book their flights is changing. Instead of going to the airline website and choosing some drop-down list boxes, maybe you go to an AI agent or go to the LLMs [large language models] to explore destinations. Currently, the LLMs can’t book your travel for you, but it’s only a matter of time until they’re able to. Airlines are now worried about losing the direct relationship with the customer because people go through agents and LLMs instead of visiting the airline directly.
The second change is internal. Airlines can do a lot to improve their internal efficiency, whether it’s great chatbots to improve customer service, or agents bringing in more data sources to improve revenue management, or advanced models to better predict flight routes for aircraft turnaround. There’s lots of analytics being used to improve airline efficiency as well.
Lucia Rahilly: On that first point, do you see airlines acting to increase visibility on LLMs? How are airlines responding to the fact that folks are no longer coming to their website or working through a traditional online travel agent, for example?
Steve Saxon: Airlines are absolutely working with LLMs. Ideally, they would like the LLMs to pass the customer through to them directly. For example, if somebody says, “I want to book a flight,” the agent would say, “Great, a good way to do that is to go to airline.com,” or even “I, the agent, can help you book on airline.com.” Airlines are working with LLMs to enable that.
Some airlines are also making their prices transparent, by making them easily discoverable. If someone goes on an LLM and searches for a particular flight or schedule, the agent can come back and give you the pricing and availability through the model.
Lucia Rahilly: Steve, what did you find most surprising about the latest research on premium cabins and airlines?
Steve Saxon: The biggest insight was how airlines need to think differently internally, since the majority of growth is coming from leisure customers and not business customers. That growth factor has implications for how they develop and price their product. It has implications for how they distribute their product as well. Airlines are going through an internal transformation to focus more on these premium leisure customers.
Lucia Rahilly: Before we close, what’s your favorite packing or travel hack?
Steve Saxon: You can travel on any length of vacation with a carry-on suitcase.
Why hotel complexing offers a path to greater operational flexibility and results
https://hotelsmag.com/news/why-hotel-complexing-offers-a-path-to-greater-operational-flexibility-and-results/
Story contributed by Bryan Williams, senior director, hospitality, Bradford Allen.
As hotel operators look for ways to control costs and drive greater value across their portfolios, many are reconsidering how talent is deployed. That effort is leading more companies to complexing, a model that allows individual hotels to share specialized employees and resources while maintaining distinct operations.
A natural starting point is often sales. A single team can represent several hotels, spread payroll costs across a broader revenue base, match group leads with the best-fit asset and pursue business that an individual limited- or select-service property might struggle to support on its own.
In a complexed operating model, the properties remain distinct businesses, often with different brands, guest profiles and operating needs. While a sales team can often operate remotely, those based on the properties are better equipped for daily contact with hotel staff, meeting/travel planners and guests.
At smaller hotels that historically depend on transient demand, group business may represent a modest portion of the mix, making it difficult to justify a dedicated sales team due to the limited return on that investment. Group leads and negotiated corporate rates can take significant time and effort to prospect, develop and convert and new opportunities often appear through indirect means like repeat stays, a simple conversation that may happen in the lobby or a conversation outside of the hotel entirely. As a result, the payoff is often gradual and not always easy to quantify, but the right team and approach will produce measurable results over time.
Complexing allows a sales team to serve several nearby hotels, giving each property access to focused expertise, a greater sales funnel, and the ability to share payroll costs. With a wider range of inventory to sell, the sales team also increases the odds of matching a prospect with the right room, rate and amenities for their needs. This opens opportunities for a hotel to be considered when it otherwise might not be, allows it to pursue business it couldn’t secure on its own and helps generate repeat or rotational bookings.
Bradford Allen owns two hotels in Glendale, Ariz., that share sales capabilities. While both are Marriott-branded hotels in or adjacent to the Westgate Sports & Entertainment District, home to the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium, the assets have different profiles, target different customers and complement each other.
The 100-key Aloft Glendale at Westgate is a lifestyle-oriented, select service asset while TownePlace Suites Glendale is a 92-key extended-stay hotel that specializes in longer bookings for corporate and group guests. Each hotel features its own aesthetic, room configurations and amenity offerings, allowing the shared sales team to better approach the market with two distinct products. With the ability to tailor offers to different group budgets and needs, they can serve a broader pool of guests without forcing every type of lead into the same operating model.
This flexibility supports more strategic revenue management. If one hotel is nearing capacity, the sales team can shift demand to the property with more inventory, maximizing occupancy across the portfolio. This protects rate integrity, avoids unnecessary discounts simply to fill rooms and enables the ability to drive additional rate through effective revenue management.
The team’s on-property presence provides direct, day-to-day knowledge of both hotels, while regular communication between them ensures insights are shared and are present for important touch points. This hands-on approach allows the team to recognize repeat guests and help operations deliver seemingly small but memorable touches that matter to guests, decision-makers, and key contacts alike. Those actions strengthen the guest experience and improve the chances of sourcing and securing new business as well as renewals.
Leveraging F&B
Sales may be the most visible use case, but engineering and food and beverage are also strong candidates for complexing. At a smaller hotel, a lone engineer can spend so much time responding to immediate work orders that preventive maintenance becomes an afterthought. A broader engineering team can tackle urgent repairs without losing sight of scheduled inspections, create better coverage during vacations and emergencies and build a more robust preventive maintenance program.
For F&B, shared resources can lead to stronger purchasing power, broader menus and staff scheduling flexibility. These advantages are often greatest for smaller properties that could not (or struggle to) support those roles independently. As F&B margins continue to shrink, complexing arrangements can help operators create efficiencies that enhance execution while improving cost control and providing more opportunities for the staff.
Complexing can also deepen the pool of prospective employees, improving attraction and retention. With many specialized functions at a small property amounting to part-time work, combining those hours across two or more hotels can create a full-time position with a reliable schedule and stronger career path. This is particularly important given the industry’s current workforce challenges; more than half of respondents to a recent American Hotel & Lodging Association survey said their properties were somewhat or severely understaffed.
One caveat to complexing is that success depends on scaling the team alongside the portfolio. While shared resources can create efficiencies, operators must ensure employees are not stretched too thin, and that each role remains properly supported and focused on key priorities and initiatives. We continually evaluate opportunities to complex operations across assets and departments, but only when the strategy aligns with the unique needs of each property and market.
While not a new concept, complexing has been and will likely continue to be an increasingly important part of the hotel operating toolkit as labor pressures and rising costs reshape the industry. Operators that evaluate where resources can be shared—deliberately scaling those teams alongside the portfolio—will be better positioned to protect margins, compete for talent, and improve the guest experience, all of which are critical and foundational pieces in ensuring long-term success.
This Seattle Suburb Has Quietly Become a Food and Design Destination
Zac Gudakov/Unsplash
https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/washington/seattle/experiences/news/this-seattle-suburb-has-quietly-become-a-food-and-design-destination
Going to this Seattle suburb might not be the obvious choice, but once you visit, you'll be glad you did.
Mention Bellevue, Washington, and most people think one thing: shopping.
The wealthy Seattle suburb is best known for Bellevue and Lincoln Squares—a retail destination, full stop. But that reputation—while not wrong—is incomplete. I lived in Seattle 25 years ago, and let’s just say that Bellevue has spent the past couple of decades building an identity distinct from its big-box image—one rooted in green space, lakefront, and an increasingly acclaimed dining scene.
A City With a Past
The story starts in Old Bellevue, the city’s all-original downtown. Long before the high-rises arrived, this was Bellevue—tree-lined streets, independent boutiques, and patio cafes. It’s a small-town feel in the middle of all the glass towers a few blocks away.
The Bellevue Botanical Garden offers fifty-three acres of free, public green space, including a perennial showcase and a canopy walk that lifts visitors above the forest floor. And, for some waterfront calm, Meydenbauer Bay Park is Bellevue’s stake of land on Lake Washington: still water, mountain views, and a noticeably slower pace than the commercial streets nearby.
Wellness and a Rising Culinary Trail
Weary travelers looking to unwind can stop at Yuan Spa, where quiet treatment rooms and a hydrotherapy experience offer a reset. But the bigger story may be Bellevue’s food scene.
Bellevue’s culinary trail has earned real recognition in recent years, anchored by a handful of standout names. Farine Bakery turns out Belgian pastries, and The Dolar Shop offers Korean-style hot pot with tableside flair. (Get the geoduck for a truly local experience!) Monsoon blends French technique with Vietnamese flavor. Browne Family Vineyards Tasting Room brings Walla Walla wine into the heart of downtown. And Ascend Prime Steak and Sushi close the experience with steak, sushi, and skyline views.
Where Design Meets Hospitality
For accommodations, the InterContinental Seattle Bellevue stands out as a deliberate architectural statement. Infused with Feng Shui Grand Master Huang Dao, the property’s design extends well beyond aesthetics into the layout and flow of the space itself.
Guests can have a drink and some eats at LE BAR and breakfast at Fresco. Perhaps most notably, the property is served by one of only three Les Clefs d’Or concierge teams in the entire state of Washington—a distinction reserved for an elite tier of hospitality professionals.
Bellevue’s malls aren’t going anywhere, and there’s no reason they should. But the city’s older streets, public gardens, lakefront parks, and a culinary trail earning regional acclaim suggest a place that has grown well beyond its shopping-suburb reputation—one worth visiting for reasons that have nothing to do with retail at all.
Most Visitors Miss This Side of Philadelphia — And It’s the City’s Most Important Story
Christian Carollo/Shutterstock
https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/pennsylvania/philadelphia/experiences/news/the-best-black-history-tour-of-philadelphia
A Black history walking tour in Philadelphia reveals the stories, landmarks, and hidden truths often left out of America's founding narrative.
Philadelphia will always be front and center when it comes to our nation’s history (they don’t call it the “Birthplace of America” for nothing), and with the country celebrating its semiquincentennial, there’s never been a better time to visit. Yes, major events like the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 took place here, but Philadelphia also has an incredibly rich Black heritage—and one of the best ways to learn more about it is by taking a historical walking tour.
The Original Black History Tour is one of several guided walks offered by The Black Journey, a Black-owned company founded in 2019 by Raina Yancey, a Philadelphia-born lawyer whose mother was a ranger at Independence National Historical Park. The lead guide, Mijuel K. Johnson, is a native Philadelphian who holds a degree in history and political science from La Salle University. In addition to scholarly knowledge, Johnson is known for his passion, humor, and engaging storytelling. Each tour typically lasts around two hours and takes place primarily in Old City and the surrounding neighborhoods.
One of the stops on this tour—the company’s flagship offering—is Mother Bethel AME Church. It’s located in Society Hill, which was the epicenter of Black culture when it was once part of the 7th Ward. This church, founded by Rev. Richard Allen in 1794, sits on the oldest parcel of continuously Black-owned land not only in Philadelphia but in the United States. Today, it’s a National Historic Landmark, and Allen, who died in 1831, is buried in the church’s basement crypt.
The Black Journey Walking Tour©Visit Philadelphia
A few blocks away is Washington Square, formerly known as Congo Square. In the 18th century, it was a popular gathering spot for both free and enslaved people. It also served as a place to celebrate the traditions of their homelands during festivals (vendors would often sell food like pepper pot stew, a mix of meat and vegetables in a spicy pepper sauce). A portion of the park was also used as a potter’s field for free and enslaved Blacks, as well as those who perished in the 1793 yellow fever epidemic.
Steps from the square is Independence Hall, where the country’s most important founding documents were debated and signed, but what many may not know is that on the second floor of the building (called the Pennsylvania State House in colonial times) was a courtroom where recaptured enslaved people were put on trial. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed (an amended and more aggressive form of the 1793 law), which allowed for enslaved people who had crossed state lines to be brought back to face trial. The majority of the cases resulted in escapees being sent back to enslavement.
The tour also includes a visit to Independence Mall, the four-block plaza that’s home to the Liberty Bell. You’ll learn about prominent Black Philadelphians such as James Forten, born a free citizen in 1766 and who was a wealthy sailmaker, Revolutionary War veteran, and one of the leaders of the free Black community.
Johnson House Historic Site Photo by R. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia®
The walk concludes on the mall at the President’s House (foundations from what was once George Washington’s home during his presidency). Illustrated panels of an open-air slavery exhibit tell the story of one of Washington’s slaves, Ona Judge (a maid to Martha Washington brought from Mount Vernon), who escaped in the 1790s and made it to freedom in New Hampshire. (Note: After many of the panels were removed due to an executive order, the city sued the federal government to get them reinstated. On June 18, 2026, an appeals court ruled that the city lacks authority to control exhibits at the site. It’s unclear if the city will pursue further legal options.)
The Black Journey’s tour offers a fascinating glimpse into the myriad contributions of Black people before, during, and after our nation’s founding. For more Black history, take a half-day trip to Germantown, 20 minutes from Old City (Uber’s your best bet to get there and back). In addition to a Revolutionary War battle fought here in 1777, there’s fascinating history to be found at the Johnson House Historic Site, a stop on the Underground Railroad (it was owned by the Johnson family, anti-slavery Quakers). Abolitionist William Still attended meetings here, and it’s believed Harriet Tubman did as well. During tours, guides point out the third-floor attic where escaped slaves hid from federal marshals.
A few blocks away is the Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, the site of the first written anti-slavery petition in the New World in 1688, and across the street is Wyck, a historic Quaker home with one of the country’s oldest rose gardens—the perfect (and fragrant) way to cap off a visit here before heading back to Philly.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USAF11photo/Shutterstock
Where to Stay
Overlooking Logan Circle’s Swann Memorial Fountain, The Logan Philadelphia Hotel is a stylish 391-room property. Amenities include a café serving La Colombe coffee and the Assembly Rooftop bar with sweeping views (especially scenic at sunset) of the skyline and the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Spend a night in New Hope, an artsy Bucks County town less than an hour’s drive. After a stroll on Main Street, lined with galleries and shops, dine al fresco in the charming courtyard at Zoubi. Stay at the trendy, centrally located 38-room Login Inn. For history buffs, it’s a quick drive to Washington Crossing, where Washington famously crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776.
Where to Eat
For a one-of-a-kind culinary experience, book a table at Elwood, an intimate BYOB spot in Fishtown. The cuisine, courtesy of chef Adam Diltz, features modern takes on colonial-era dishes such as pepper pot soup, turtle soup, catfish and cornmeal waffles, and chicken fricassee with an heirloom bean salad (be sure to try the delicious cornbread with apple butter).
The Red Owl Tavern at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco, directly across from Independence Hall, is an ideal lunch or dinner spot. The two-story space has a fun vibe and an eclectic menu. Appetizers include smoked pork belly and fried mushrooms, while the entrees range from Arctic char to a classic burger.
Looking for a splurge-worthy meal? Vernick Fish from James Beard Award-winning chef Greg Vernick ticks all the boxes. The soaring space, with an open kitchen and top-notch service, is located within the Four Seasons hotel. Standouts include fresh oysters, yellowtail crudo, crispy octopus, and sea scallops in a beurre blanc sauce.
The President’s House Photo by M. Kennedy for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®
While You’re in Town
On view until the end of 2026, the Museum of the American Revolution‘s The Declaration’s Journey exhibit chronicles the Declaration of Independence’s history and legacy (it’s said to have inspired over 100 independence movements worldwide). The museum also tells Black stories, including those of William Lee, Washington’s enslaved valet, and Phillis Wheatley, America’s first published female Black poet.
The Penn Museum on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus focuses on anthropology and archaeology. Check out the recently opened Native North American Gallery, created in partnership with eight Indigenous consulting curators. The 2,000-square-foot space has more than 250 artifacts culled from the museum’s outstanding collections, including weapons, tools, woven items, and intricate beadwork.
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