Since the pandemic, we have seen a tremendous increase in travelers who are more concerned with their well-being, with sustainability, with inclusive and accessible travel, and much more. To accommodate these travelers, luxury travel advisors have, at minimum, spent time learning more about each of these travel segments to better serve their clients, while some have fully dived into these niches, gearing their entire business towards these select types of travel. But what are hotels doing to meet these growing wants and needs from consumers?
At Luxury Travel Advisor’s recent Ultra Summit, Enrique Vela, principal and director of strategy of V Starr, an interior design firm owned by tennis star Venus Williams, spoke to just that. His experience has included the design of several W Hotels, as well as the renovations of the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago and Conrad Washington, DC, not to mention the interior design of Viking River Cruises—all of which enabled him to share insights on the behind-the-scenes workings of hotel design, consumer trends and a bit more.
Not surprisingly, as general lifestyle trends change, so do the designs of the spaces around us—be it our homes, our offices or the business we frequent, including hotels and resorts. Vela noted the transition over time in the early 2000s of the trend W Hotels popularized (that being a “loud” design, one focused on “bringing a lot of energy, a lot of youthful vibrance to the design”) to the way Four Seasons currently operates, shifting from its white-glove service to a more transparent and personable level of servicing guests. “They understand that it is the next generation that’s coming in and what they value is perhaps not necessarily that type of white-glove service, but a level of authenticity,” said Vela.
In fact, “authenticity” is driving the design of many new and renovated hotel properties. If you’re in Chicago, for instance, how can the design immerse you in the city’s essence? In a separate panel earlier in the day focused on “Hidden Gems & Insider Secrets,” several advisors spoke about living and eating like a local. That point was echoed by Vela, who said these concepts are “always going to be something that’s going to be important moving forward”—be it in the form of a local restaurant outpost, locally sourced ingredients or a regionally driven menu. “The experiences that you want [now] are not the experiences that you wanted 10 years ago. It’s not about being flashy; it’s about knowing and about engaging with community and spaces.” And this goes for urban hotels the same as a resort, he added.
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