Art of Hospitality: Is Your Luxury Hotel “True Luxury”?

Core Problem: The “Luxury” Label

I’ve spent my career working with brands like Raffles, Six Senses, Alila, Taj, Autograph Collection, Oberoi Hotels; where luxury is not a feature. It is an ethos. When operating at this level; you quickly realize the word “luxury” has been overused, it is becoming a vague and diluted term. I have seen, heard and understood this from some of my young industry colleagues, the word “Luxury” is confusing for them. We talking about sustainability, isn’t “Luxury” should be part of sustainability where an “Art of hospitality” is preserved for our future generation. So how do we do that? I suggest to start from clearly defining the term “Luxury”. My attempt is to bring that clarity as you read more.

For Indian hospitality market, this ambiguity is a significant strategic and financial problem. As market continues to boom, with India’s wealthy population expected to surge by 60% in next five years, nearly 70% of ultra-luxury clientele are now domestic traveler’s. This domestic boom means that every high-end property from a city hotel to a remote resort is fighting for the same sophisticated guest. (Not Talking about Big Weddings and Events)  

The core issue is, conventional hotels have successfully adopted the physical trappings of opulence: marble bathrooms, high-end fixtures, high-end mattresses, and the latest technology. When a guest walks into a standard “five-star” property and sees a rainfall shower head, they check off the box for “luxury.” They have effectively commoditized the product, and this is what our young colleagues carry the perception of Luxury.   

Hotel cannot command a premium price (a higher ADR) simply by offering expensive things. The true competitive difference, the one that drives deep loyalty and asset resilience is the Transformative Experience your property delivers. It is the human performance, not just the physical stage that matters.

To resolve this confusion and strategic drift, a clear naming convention must be adopted:   

• Premier Luxury (PL): This replaces; ‘Conventional Luxury’ or ‘Upper-Upscale’; It is about efficient service, standardized quality and high-end amenities, a high-quality transaction.
• Transformative Hospitality (TH): This replaces ‘True Luxury’ or ‘Ultra-Luxury.’ It is about the bespoke, the personal, the authentic, and the deeply memorable experience.

Defining the Difference—The Two Kinds of Luxury

Luxury market can be segmented based on its approach on service delivery.

Premier Luxury (PL): The Transactional Service

Focuses on efficient exchange of high-quality goods for money. The goal is speed, standardization, and convenience, quick, automated check-ins, guaranteed room standards and swift service completion. The experience is reliably excellent, yet often forgettable. It’s the highest quality transaction, but it rarely builds deep, emotional loyalty. It satisfies the need, but it doesn’t feed the soul.   

Transformative Hospitality (TH): The Experiential Service

Goes far beyond the transaction. Its purpose is to create a unique, deeply meaningful, and memorable experience. The interaction is intensely personal, staff actively take time to understand and cater to unique, individual preferences. The offering includes exclusive local tours, customised culinary journeys, or personalised wellness programs. Service is about evoking a lasting positive emotion, transforming a purchase into a cherished memory.   

Guest seeking Transformative Hospitality (TH) is not just wealthy; they are discerning. They are highly sensitive to anything that feels inauthentic or transactional.   

Their expectations are less about the material things they receive and more about how they are recognized, understood, and valued as unique individuals. They are prioritizing “mindful travel,” seeking genuine heritage, nature immersion, and moments of introspection over sheer opulence.   

A failure in TH service often stems from a lack of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Team must be trained to detect the unspoken concerns of these sophisticated guest, anxieties about appearing uninformed or simply being “managed”. When rigidity or a lack of genuine interest occurs, it is perceived as a significant service failure. The highest determinant of loyalty for this client is an experience “worth paying more for”. Reactive service in this model has no place, even when executed efficiently (such as a maintenance engineer assisting a guest only after they struggle with a door) is deemed insufficient because the customer still had to signal the need.

Stay tuned for more after this…… Art of Hospitality, Transformative Hospitality.

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