WTTC Report: The New Fundamentals of Luxury Are the Old Fundamentals of Luxury

The fundamentals have not changed. That’s the key takeaway from the panelists discussing luxury at the recent World Travel and Tourism Council Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to Clement Kwok, Managing Director & CEO, Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels, while the luxury traveler still expects service, personalization, and pampering, “This idea of people wanting to be pampered, we don’t think will change very much. However, the channels through which you do your pampering or the trends and styles of how people want to be pampered may change.”

For example, he cites increasing use of technology as a way for guests to interact with staff. Even so, Deepak Ohri, CEO, lebua Hotels & Resorts notes that “emotional connection trumps technology.” Ohri continues, “Luxury is actually proportional to the mass. If the whole mass is going toward technology, luxury is going completely different…” In other words, toward high-touch.

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Source: Skift