We All Need To Learn From The Best in Luxury Hospitality

with Guillaume Benezech

Author

Josiah Mackenzie
December 30, 2024

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If you want to know where travel is heading, you need to look at luxury hospitality. The more people I interview, the more I'm convinced of this.

Case in point: Guillaume Benezech was a GM for Ritz-Carlton and now is leading brand and marketing there. According to him:

  • The 2000s was about comfort and amenities

  • The 2010s was about the rise of experiential travel

  • The 2020s will be all about emotional connection through personalization

That stands out to me, given how many people are starting to talk about "experiential travel" now - something luxury hospitality was focused on 10+ years ago. 😅

If you missed it, Guillaume joined us on the Hospitality Daily Podcast for the past three days to talk about what he’s learned building a career in luxury hotel leadership, trends in luxury hospitality, and empowering people in hospitality today. I highly recommend listening if you’re looking for inspiration, but I wanted to share a bit more of what stood out to me from these episodes.

The future is boutique and bespoke

“I firmly believe that hospitality is more and more in small hotels where you are really taken care of, where the team has the time to create a relationship with you.”

Luxury guests are looking to disconnect

“Mobile phones are a nightmare when you want to relax. People are getting away from it.”

Implication: Offer digital guest services for those who want it, but don’t depend on it.

“Doing more with less” is the antithesis of luxury

“In luxury hospitality, it's about people. So have enough employees to engage with guests. The worst thing you can do for a hotel is combine positions that are crucial to interact with guests at every touchpoint of his stay. You cannot combine, for example, a guest relations coordinator with a front desk agent or a bellman with a doorman. I've seen it and that's the worst thing you can do. It destroys luxury.”

Be a little “crazy” if you want to stand out

“I think the best advice I could give is if you want to succeed, if you want to grow, you have to think like crazy people. You have to try. You have to take risks. You have to jump. You cannot care about what people say. Believe in what you believe for yourself. That’s the best advice I can give.”

❝

“Innovation is not an option anymore. It's mandatory. If you don't innovate, not only will your guests not be interested anymore, but you will totally lose the brand.”

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State of the Hotel Industry Survey

As we wrap up 2024 and head into 2025, I want to give you a clear, data-driven look at where the hotel industry stands today.

That’s why I'm reaching out to everyone in hospitality—from front-line workers at independent properties to C-suite executives at major brands, management companies, and ownership groups, as well as technology providers—to understand their biggest challenges and opportunities ahead.

This survey takes just three minutes to complete, and as a thank you, I'll send you the complete results to help inform your strategy for 2025.

This closes tomorrow, so participate here now to get these valuable insights.

A few final things:

  • If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, or suggestions for Hospitality Daily, please reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you!

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-Josiah