WE ALL KNOW THAT GUEST
EXPERIENCE HAS BECOME
CENTRAL TO BRAND IDENTITY.
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON HOW
THIS WORKS IN PRACTICE?
Luxury hoteliers tend to think we
understand guest experience because
we’ve always relied on guest journeys
and service standards – however, we
can no longer ignore that today’s
luxury consumer is demanding a
deeper, more personal connection.
Guest experience represents a holistic
approach to creating memorable
moments by combining psychology,
technology, marketing and design
to tap into higher-level needs like a
sense of belonging, local engagement
and personal fulfillment. In a way,
our goals have become simpler but
deeper – we’re trying to create a
transformative emotional connection
rather than just educate guests about
breakfast or quickly check them in and
out. The tools and channels we use to
break through -- from service training
to social media to digital campaigns
– are becoming more sophisticated
44 ILHA
and nuanced to ensure that these
interactions feel highly personal.
WHAT DOES THIS NEW GUEST
EXPERIENCE APPROACH MEAN
FOR BOUTIQUE HOTELS AND
LUXURY BRANDS?
Revenue in luxury hospitality is largely
driven by loyalty, recommendations
and aspirations, which means that
our core product is the creation
of memorable, highly personal,
transformative experiences. It
doesn’t matter if you check all the
boxes for a five-star stay if the guest
doesn’t notice; the experience has
to connect on a human level. And
I’m not talking about scripts or
SOPs here – I’m talking about real
moments of hospitality, where guests
feel seen, understood and cared
for in a highly personal way, either
through a kind word, an unexpected
design element, or an artfully made
cocktail. It’s important to remember
that hospitality at its best is both
comforting and eye-opening, but it’s
always deeply personal.
HOW CAN BRANDS CREATE
THESE EMOTIONAL, INTUITIVE
EXPERIENCES?
First, you have to honestly decode
the heart and soul of the brand. A
lot of companies think their brands
are highly differentiated when they
really aren’t – if an average guest
can’t remember what makes you
special, then your brand hasn’t
connected. Once you know who
you are, it is essential to build a
guest journey around emotional
checkpoints: elements like creating
a sense of welcome, rather than
delivering a dozen points on a robotic
check-in script. Finally, you have
to invest in building a culture and
creating intuitive training programs
to engineer experiences in a way that
feels personal. I’m energized by both
the difficulty and the importance
of this challenge, and I’m excited to
share more of the thinking and tools
to build an emotionally intelligent
guest journey at INSPIRE’19 this
December.