Comment: Can luxury be authentic?

With globalisation come great benefits. Hotel guests have the comfort of knowing that wherever they go, they will be taken care of in a way that meets their expectations. The standard of service, rooms and food are all the same anywhere in the world. They can rely on the brand to deliver a universal set of expectations that meets standards they anticipate from staying at any of that particular brand’s hotels, resorts or serviced residences.

The ability of the brand to deliver on these standards is a measure of its power and efficacy. In today’s world, all customers, consumers and guests expect these on tap anywhere and everywhere the brand has a presence.

However, can a global hospitality brand deliver on its service standards and protocols yet be truly authentic to individual places and experiences? How effectively can such a brand deliver a truly authentic ‘on-brand’ experience at any given place?

Will luxury and authenticity come well together and offer the perfect blend for all the types of visitors? There are several types of visitors that global hotel brands can expect. Modern executive business travellers are less likely to be interested in highly localised environments. Their priorities centre on the reason for their travel and their choice of hotel is based on a set of parameters linked to loyalty programmes and rewards, convenience, connectivity and familiarity with the product and service offering.

Modern mass luxury vacationers (families and individuals) are more likely to look for more immersive or localised experiences; however, in most cases this group will probably shy away from those that are highly localised or unfamiliar.

If we look at the other end of the scale, such as backpackers and young adventurers, the absolute opposite is true. These travellers actively immerse themselves in the place. These travellers do not look for standardised or branded experiences. They are not in any way interested in comforting service standards or protocols and will choose the authentic experience instead every time.

However, adventure is not exclusive to young backpacker types. Affluent explorers, adventurers and discoverers that look for off the beaten track experiences are extremely discerning. They will look for real experiences, not preconfigured ones. They will research and explore their options in advance and in most cases they already know where they want to go.

So what is luxury really? In a world where an outcome of globalisation is mass standardisation of luxury, competition and differentiation becomes more and more elusive. Exclusivity is more and more intangible. In any beachfront destination there can be tens if not more five-star luxury hotels or resorts. All would be offering versions of the same experience.

The real differentiators become the package price and to a certain extent a brand’s global positioning. The service, rooms, food and facilities can all be very comparable, effectively creating a shopping mall of resorts in any given place. However, global brands also have the power to resonate at a highly individual level. Their ability to augment the experience of a place through their distribution network and service standards enables them to develop sublime experiences that engage guests at very personal and genuine levels.

Knowing how to infuse location with brand goes beyond design aesthetics and cuisine. It embraces the true purpose of being at a place as the heart and soul of the existence of the property, and celebrates this at every touch point.

By doing this, the brand becomes a custodian of that spirit and nourishes it in a manner that is respectful and resonant. This is not a pastiche or act, it is understanding that luxury service brands also have a duty to be of service and benefit to the places they exist in.

Is luxury therefore the time, the place, the experience and the connection? Or is it the comfort and security that the brand offers as a standard? The opportunity for global brands is their ability to deliver on the expected brand standards as well as a real and authentic experience everywhere and every time.

About the Author: Habib Beaini is the managing director of Ninth Space, with more than 20 years of brand development expertise, acquired while working at some of the most reputable brand consultancies in the region. For any inquiries, email habib@ninthspace.com or visit https://ninthspace.com/