Luxury hotels are currently and foreseeably facing situations where their guest are seeking more exceptional and original experiences. This stems from the movement from luxury consumer goods to luxury lifestyles. Bridges are appearing between luxury goods and luxury tourism & hospitality outlets such as designer hotels, the recruitment of famous chefs for resort restaurants, renowned architects and designers for rooms and suites, high-end cosmetic and beauty products in hotel spas, and collaborations between name-brand wines and spirits in food and beverage outlets.
If you look back to reasons for this one of them stems from social media creating experiential ownership. One can’t ‘own’ an experience but because of the internet and social media you can share luxury experiences with your friends which creates a feeling of ownership. The experiences that guests capture and share live on through the images and videos with the result that this has lead to a shift in ‘experiencing luxury’ instead of outright owning it in the form of a good.
The question now for luxury hotels throughout the Caribbean is how to enhance your guests’ luxury experience by creating unique moments of experiential ownership.
As previously mentioned, one way to enhance guest experience is by seeking avenues for luxury collaboration. Looking beyond F&B or spa collaborations luxury hotels can seek new associations for their guests in arts and culture (examine the sculptures and artworks in your lobbies and suites, consider bringing in a local artist for a meet and greet etc), technology, interior designers, nature, sports, your gym etc. There are countless ways to enrich your guest experience in ways that are relevant to your target markets and it’s all about going beyond the expected, beyond the traditional.
Luxury hotel brands can rarely master everything in-house. In order to participate in the increasing demand for luxury lifestyle experiences Caribbean resorts need to develop collaborations and make them visible to the customer in such a way as to where the fusion of two names is a source of added value. It’s time to start thinking in 360-degrees.
Thinking this way will create opportunities for experiential ownership that today’s luxury consumers are seeking in the Caribbean.
Looking for collaboration opportunities and ways to create experiential ownership at your hotel? Get in touch here or at hello@coralrange.com.
