If you can remember rotary dial phones and fax machines, or when you had to go to the supermarket to buy your groceries, you may think of Marriott for its cookie cutter hotels in major cities and budget brands such as Courtyard or Residence Inn dotting the off ramps of America’s highways.
The W Nashville is one of 30 new Marriott International luxury hotels expected to open in 2020.
Marriott International
That of course was then. Today, Marriott International is the biggest player in the luxury hotel sector. After buying The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, then incubating the Bulgari brand, launching Reserve and Edition, and pushing its own JW Marriott flag back upmarket, its 2016 acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts brought St. Regis, W Hotels, and The Luxury Collection. This year, Marriott expects to open 30 luxury properties with 185 more in the pipeline.
During December’s International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes, France, we caught up with Tina Edmundson, Marriott International’s global brand officer to get her outlook on the luxury segment of the portfolio.
Will there be enough consumers to fill all the luxury hotels and resorts opening?
Global wealth is projected to rise by almost 26% over the next five years, reaching nearly $400 trillion by 2023. The number of millionaires has tripled since 2000, and the number of Ultra High Net Worth individuals has risen four-fold, making them the fastest growing group of wealth holders.
Forbes
The affluent make up less than 1% of the world’s population yet they now command over half the global wealth. And overall, the global luxury market grew 5% in 2018, to an estimated $1.4 trillion globally with no signs of slowing down. All of this means that we can confidently say luxury is big business.
How are luxury consumers and what they want changing?
They are a new breed of travelers who could be described as more proactive, progressive and looking to affect positive change, all while still delighting in the indulgence of global exploration. They want the comfort of luxury travel, but are looking for deeper meaning and more impactful experiences.
Who is this new breed of luxury travelers?
Research from American Express shows that 62% of Gen Z and Millennials want to make a positive difference in the world. Millennials in particular are saying that brands delivering purpose rather than status are the ones they increasingly value. This segment made up 47% of luxury consumers last year and contributed to virtually all of the market’s growth. Bain predicts that by 2025, Millennials’ spend will increase by 130%, surpassing all other generations. While Gen Z isn’t necessarily paying the bills just yet, they are heavily influencing family spending.
Is what they want similar or do you see differences?
We have identified three key focus areas with this group, we call the New Purposeful Luxurian. First, there is travel as a means to improve your physical and mental wellbeing, which we have dubbed Wellbeing 2.0. Then you have travel as a means to create an emotional relationship, which we called, Connection Reboot. Lastly, there is travel as a means to do good, which we coined Social Impact Travel.
Are these trends impacting hotel design?
Yes. For example, biophilic design movement incorporates natural materials, light and vegetation into physical spaces. It brings in a sense of nature to promote health and wellness, often in urban environments. When building its office spaces, Google has experimented with adding in skylights, more plants, and even using wallpaper and carpets with natural patterns in order to help its employees focus as well as be more creative and productive. Our newest Edition hotel in West Hollywood is a great example of this as well, as it features 56 species of indigenous plants on its exteriors.
How about Wellness? What’s the future there?
There is a real shift afoot in the wellness space. Where people used to seek out moments to be alone and disconnect now they look for social activities that focus on creating a feeling of belonging and inclusion. We are responding to this at our hotels. W’s Fuel Weekends bring like-minded people together for high energy fitness getaways. The new W Away Spa concept features a cocktail bar to encourage people to interact. And we are changing the spa arrival experience at both W and St. Regis hotels to resemble more casual, and home-like environments that break down the formal spa experience and help facilitate connection.
Is technology helping meet the needs of this new generation of luxury travelers?
While we’re already using consumer data to provide personalized content, we’re testing some interesting new things. This year, W London was the first hotel in the U.K. to embrace a new technology which allows our talent checking in guests to read their mood and adapt the lighting and music remotely before the guest gets to their room. It is this concept combining technology and empathy that will be important moving forward.
