by Five minutes after checking into the hilltop perch I had reserved for my family on the Greek island of Paros, I felt the inglorious sucker punch conned.
The so-called “luxury” villa certainly had the winning views promised online. But the edifice looked like an identikit house without the frills or charm (but plenty of ants) that one would expect from a property labeled as exclusive. Unfortunately, many are familiar with this anti-climatic situation. Here’s why: with the word “luxury” plastered on everything from condominiums and dog food to bottled water, consumers are aghast at something that’s really swanky or a pedestrian product that seems posh. Even seasoned reporters get duped.
Lack of regulation
When you buy a Dior bag or a Rolex watch, you know what you’re looking for because these brands have been known for years of high quality. Luxury travel, on the other hand, does not come with a certificate of authenticity. It is an unregulated market with no quick criteria for saturating marketing materials with some form of the word “luxury”, even when the product is an average product. This results in lumping hotels like the invincible 500-room W hotel in Times Square or the three-thousand-passenger Celebrity Edge cruise ship into the same category as La Réserve Paris, an actual five-star property.
STR, a global hospitality data and analytics company, counts 2,357 luxury hotels in the United States, 2,999 in Europe, and 540 in the UK. Their methodology? The average daily rate for the room (currently around £355). Not design. No excellent customer service.
“Anyone can declare themselves a luxury product. But people know true luxury when they experience it,” says Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of Indagare, a members-only tour operator known for custom itineraries. “It’s personalized and exclusive, with scrupulous attention to detail.”
Not too long ago, the big, marble-suffed hotels with white glove service were the benchmark for luxury.
Hotels carved on the way
The landscape changed with the emergence of “experiential” hotels such as the Mondrian and Delano in the nineties. “This is a phase we call self-expression, where hotels became less traditional and began to cater to a younger, fashion-forward crowd that prefers a low-key ‘intuitive’ style of service over formality,” says Federica Levato, said. headed Bain & Company’s luxury goods and fashion division. At the same time – and continuing well into the next decade – public jumbo chains added or acquired premium brands such as Andaz (Hyatt); Ritz-Carlton, Edition and St. Regis (Marriott); Conrad (Hilton); Kimpton and InterContinental (IHG). All operating with loyalty points and a franchise model. The result? homogeneity.
It’s the feel-good-anywhere design; the vast “intelligent technology” instead of skilled staff to the nine; the inconsistent household. “The core business of chains such as Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Accor and Hyatt are mainstream hotels,” says Richard Clarke, managing director of Global Hotels and Leisure at Bernstein Research. “The luxury properties create a halo effect around the entire brand, which feeds their loyalty programs.”
Staying at one of these spots can be great, especially if you’re not familiar with the alternative. But, more often than not, franchise hotels with strong loyalty point schemes deliver a version of superlatives, designed for the masses. And, thanks to the formula of using points, these chain hotels are always packed to the gills.
“The concept of mass luxury is an oxymoron,” explains Indagare’s Biggs Bradley. “Any feeling of being special, or taken care of, evaporates when you’re a guest of 400 with a cookie-cutter room”.
Stephanie Fisher, travel consultant with Local Foreigner agrees. “I’ve learned that the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t meet my clients’ expectations,” she said. These statements relate to me too. By definition, corporate hospitality is about return on investment, not blowing a guest’s mind.
Not all chains are generic. Smaller, luxury-oriented ones such as Rosewood, Belmond, Michel Reybier, Peninsula, Auberge, Mandarin Oriental and Rocco Forte curate old-world practices and hospitality. At Hotel de Russie in Rome (Rocco Forte), The Carlyle in Manhattan (Rosewood) and La Réserve in Paris (Michel Reybier), for example, guests are enchanted by anticipatory service (personalized greetings, thoughtful concierge reaching out to food customer. about a new restaurant), amenities that enhance the experience (birthday champagne, grooming products from local sources) and design that emphasizes the spirit of the destination.
And the market is still evolving. Luxury retail brands are expanding into hospitality, betting branded hotels will increase their relevance in customers’ lives. The Baccarat Hotel in Manhattan is festooned with Baccarat crystal chandeliers and vases, as well as the brand’s glassware in guest rooms. Cheval Blanc in Paris, a project owned by LVMH, represents brands in the company’s équipe, from Champagne Ruinart to lotions created by Dior perfumer François Demachy (there is also a Dior Spa). These hotels, along with the Armani and Bulgari ones, were popular for their refined and exclusive atmosphere.
So how can you distinguish serious luxury from posers?
Research the rating systems, but know that each country has its own methodology. The UK system is accredited by the Automobile Association, which has a 35-page breakdown of the criteria for the Hotel Recognition Scheme. Meanwhile, the EU has a non-profit organization called Hotelstars Union, which lists physical criteria but, unfortunately, its star system is not based on service. The United States relies on AAA and Forbes Travel Guide, an independent global rating agency.
As for reader-generated lists? Avoid. These are not based on research or standards, but mass surveys.
My Greek villa was a disappointment, but the experience taught me a lesson: moving forward, I will insist on a FaceTime tour of a rental property before booking to make sure the reality matches the online description.
