1) Personalized exclusive experiences
With the prevalence of social media, visitors are better anticipating their travel experiences, making it more difficult to surprise guests with memorable stays.
The recent opening of Soneva Secret in the Maldives illustrates this effort. With just 14 villas, the exclusive resort features accommodations with roofs that open to the stars, dedicated assistants (a “barefoot guardian,” a “barefoot assistant,” and a private chef for each villa), and a staff-to-room ratio well above average for the luxury hotel sector. The level of privacy is also unique: the resort is built on a remote, mostly untouched atoll, where dolphins and whales often swim by. When snorkeling or scuba diving, guests can be among the first to discover the reefs, far away from crowded sites elsewhere in the Maldives.
Luxury boutique hotels also focus on customized, authentic experiences. For example, a chef comes at breakfast time and asks what you would like for dinner, then sends you photos of fresh fish at the market or invites you to join him or her.
In addition, luxury hospitality and brands are working together to engage customers in personal and memorable ways. Four Seasons for instance has started including luxury watches and bags that guests can borrow during their stay, and Mandarin Oriental Jumeira has reintroduced the Vacheron Constantin Suite in Dubai.
2) Wellness & well-being offerings
Luxury travelers are paying more attention to their health and well-being, a trend fueled by the pandemic and the explosion in wearable fitness technology. Luxury hotels are responding with a range of innovative solutions to enhance guest wellness, including exclusive yoga retreats, advanced sleep offerings (e.g. smart beds, sleep trackers to adjust body temperature, and smart curtains connected to an alarm clock), and new spa treatments like hyperbaric chambers and cryotherapy.
Ultra-luxury wellness retreat Sensei Porcupine Creek in Palm Springs, California, organizes an exclusive three-night tennis program for guests in partnership with the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The program, with rates beginning at $8,950 per guest, is led by Tommy Haas, who competed on the ATP Tour for more than 20 years and earned 15 titles.
Program guests have access to Sensei’s world-class wellness and tennis offerings, paired with specialty experiences such as court time with Haas. They also enjoy exclusive behind-the-scenes access at the renowned Indian Wells Tennis Garden and a chance to play where the pros play (the 16,100-seat Stadium 1).
Luxury brands such as Dior have expanded their chain of branded spas in luxury hotels worldwide, allowing guests to experience “Dioriginel” beauty rituals, which bring to life the brand’s stories and values.
3) Sustainable offerings
Sustainable luxury hotels are carving out a welcome niche in the hospitality industry, striking a balance between elegance and responsibility. They prioritize reducing their environmental impact with fine linens made from organic cotton and farm-to-table dining options using locally sourced ingredients. Hotels like the Six Senses Southern Dunes in Saudia Arabia and the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea (Hawaii) offer ecotourism packages and regenerative tourism so guests can immerse themselves in local customs and contribute to environmental-preservation efforts.
Sustainable luxury hotels focus on preserving the environment and local culture and/or reducing their carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources and effective waste management systems tailored to their locations.
For example, Soneva Fushi in the Maldives uses solar power and turns waste into valuable resources; 1 Hotel Central Park in New York City combined responsible construction with an environmentally friendly design that uses reclaimed woods and recycled materials; and the Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda in Italy used thoughtful construction as part of its clear commitment to preserve the natural beauty of Lake Garda.
4) Unique culinary journeys
The range of dining experiences in ultra-luxury hotels is enormous. You can have a bespoke lunch created by your private chef in your villa or anywhere around the atoll. Or perhaps you prefer to dine barefoot on a virgin beach or picnic on a deserted shore. Other luxury hotels work to surprise guests with totally unexpected culinary experiences.
For instance, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, a legendary hotel in the heart of St. Moritz, offers a Peruvian restaurant to guests despite outside winter temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius. Badrutt’s is known for inviting in Michelin-starred chefs and creating pop-up food and beverage concepts, in addition to its existing deluxe food menus.
5) Culture of excellence
A culture of excellence has become the most powerful differentiator in the luxury hotel sector. This is powered by staff that anticipate customers’ moods and needs, seek to exceed expectations, and help create cherished memories. Guests say the top factor influencing customer loyalty is “an experience worth paying more for.”
In other words, the experience, not the product, is most important in the luxury segment. Every touchpoint with the guest is relevant, no matter how insignificant. For example, doormen are crucial to creating an impression, since they are the first people guests interact with when they arrive and the last people they see when they leave.
Setting the scene is fundamental to creating unforgettable experiences for guests. Staff understand that they are “on stage” and that whenever they are near a guest, it is “show time.” Employees must also expect the unexpected: since luxury hotels are a “home away from home” for guests, they should be able to change their minds and preferences without the level of service being affected.
Luxury hotels excel in the art of anticipation, leaving no stone unturned to ensure a seamless and delightful guest experience. From arranging chauffeur-driven transfers and providing personal butlers to preselecting preferred room amenities, they strive to anticipate guests’ needs before guests articulate them.
Some hotels even bring the standard of excellence to the next level; the General Manager of a luxury hotel once shared that when a guest lost her wedding ring while swimming, he hired a metal detector service to look for it, returning the ring to the client at dinner – creating unique memories for their guests.
This type of service only happens when staffers have a deep understand of who they are serving. Customer relationship management systems with large volumes of data can help track repeat customers’ preferences and distribute this information to staff in a timely, efficient manner, setting the stage for an extraordinary hotel stay.
The luxury hospitality sector
According to data from CoStar, the number of available global luxury rooms could reach 1.9 million in 2030, up from 1.6 million in 2023. Key drivers include: an increase in both affluent travelers and the aspirational segment of the middle class who desire to more frequently travel through unique experiences for birthdays, destination weddings, honeymoons, and so forth.
Business travel is pushing demand for luxury rooms as well: mid-level and senior managers are splurging on plush retreats as a way to reinforce corporate culture and reward employees.
Throughout the 2023-2028 period, the demand for luxury hotel rooms will outstrip supply, leading to increased average daily rates (ADR) far above $3,000 USD at exclusive ultra-luxury hotels.