their worldview and break down walls.
The affluent traveler appreciates it
all. The concierge with the Brooklyn
accent. The baby grand piano player
replaced by a steel guitar. The more
you project the reality of your
community, the more relevant you
are to the modern traveler.
Today, one of the highest occupancy
hotels in the country isn’t the St.
Regis in New York or W in Miami,
rather it’s Jimmy Buffett’s Ocean Key
Resort & Spa in Key West. Granted
they have weather on their side,
but they also exude an unapologetic
campy island spirit and the breezy
Buffett mindset. They don’t aspire to
be buttoned down. They are what they
are, and their community is reflected
throughout the property. That’s the
New Local, the sense of authenticity
and the extent to which great luxury
brands must go to capitalize on the
macro-trends of the future.
MACRO-TREND 3:
INSTAGRAM-WORTHY
MOMENTS
The standard has been raised. What
was once a personal experience is
now a public exercise in how travelers
brand themselves. They want their
experience to project their own self-
images in today’s virtualized world.
The “Instagrammable” moment now
defines design. If it’s not worthy
of making the feed, it needs to be
reconsidered and replaced. Test the
hypothesis by going to Instagram and
typing in #plazaatheneeparis. You
see firsthand how an affluent traveler
views and defines themselves through
the froth on their cappuccino, the
orchid that frames a balcony view or
the iconic red geraniums that accent
the marble entry. It all tells their story
to their audience in a way that’s more
authentic than an image on the hotel’s
website. Smart hoteliers must start
from this perspective. By creating
84 ILHA
those Instagrammable moments and
building them into design, amenities,
food, and service, they fulfill an
expectation while also leveraging their
guests’ own self-promotion.
MACRO-TREND 4:
THE SEARCH FOR
IMMORTALITY
Fitness today is more about avoiding
mortality than building muscle mass.
As baby boomers age, they see
healthy living as a means to turn back
time and add years to their lives as
the clock starts to run out. Luxury
hotels need to understand the affluent
traveler’s deeper commitment to
health and fitness. Yoga is more than
a workout, it’s a lifestyle. Spinning
defines a customer’s higher sense
of their own ability to still perform.
With affluence comes the insight and
appreciation of healthy lifestyles.
Westin recently introduced the
Peloton Room, where guests can
book a room with their own personal
Peloton spinning cycle and enjoy
streaming classes direct from
Peloton’s New York spinning studios.
It’s a brilliant recognition of the new
meaning of fitness, where community
and self-realization trumps dumbbells
and treadmills resigned to a small,
fluorescently-lit room past the pool.
MACRO-TREND 5:
FEMININE SENSUAL SPACES
Masculinity is dead. The new
aesthetic in hotel design is in
feminine sensuality. It is used to
draw consumers into retail spaces,
lounges, and work spaces through
the undeniable power of an intimate
experience. The female aesthetic
is seen in rounded shapes and
furnishings as well as upholstery,
fabrics, and surfaces outfitted in
ultra-luxe materials that beg to be
engaged with. Warm and comforting,
yet sophisticated, color schemes
complete the look. This mix of hard
and soft feminine design elements is
revolutionizing retail and hospitality.
It is seen in the lush sensual design
palettes of Sketch, the food, drink,
art and music venue in Mayfair,
London. The Gallery, Sketch’s modern
European Gastro-Brasserie, is
designed by celebrated British artist
David Shrigley. He transformed the
space into a luscious, rounded, pastel-
infused eatery that screams sensuality
through an ingenious mix of hard and
soft materials. Study it closely, it’s
where luxury interior design is headed.
THE MACRO-TREND
CHALLENGE
With an improving global economy,
luxury hotels now face a once in a
lifetime opportunity to capitalize on
the evolving trends impacting the
desires and expectations of their
coveted affluent clientele. Those
brands that can embrace the meaning
and implications of today’s trends
stand the greatest chances of success
in this new world.
About the author
Lilly Berelovich, Co-founder, Chief
Innovation Officer of Fashion Snoops,
is the visionary force behind Fashion
Snoops, the technology-driven global
online trend forecasting service and
consultancy whose data, research and
insights have powered the creative
process of the fashion, accessories,
home décor, beauty, consumer products,
hospitality and media and advertising
industries for 17 years. Additionally,
Fashion Snoops offers FS White Space, a
first-of-its-kind, cloud-based workflow
platform for creatives to optimize and
automate the creative process.
For more information about Fashion
Snoops and FS White Space, visit www.
fashionsnoops.com