Dear guest,
and happy 900 subscribers to this little newsletter!
I feel like the growth has happened way quicker than I imagined - so much so that I don’t feel like I’ve had the time to recalibrate. But maybe that’s a good thing, as I keep writing with the thought that there is only a boutique hotelful of you.
Since the last edition of the Lobby (tPH’s hospitality news and curiosities roundup), I have noted down more miscellaneous pieces of news and signals happening in the industry.
Enjoy!
Welcome to The Lobby, a roundup of what’s happening in hospitality, served with a point of view.
In this letter: the dangers of AI in hospitality, Novotel’s approachable take on longevity, Hyatt’s first creative director, Gen Z and status, and a possible Soho House redemption arc.
I’m working on yet another industry report (here’s the latest one), this time on human-centric innovation and how hospitality and other service industries fare in that. What I’ve come to notice so far in the interviewing process is that many equate innovation with AI. But is that all there is? And could this be a borderline dangerous thing to do?
The hospitality industry gets a bad rap for being slow to innovate, but this hesitance to adopt the newest tech could also end up benefiting the industry. One of my interviewees who works as an AI and digitalization project manager for Swiss hotels says that his foremost advice to hotels wanting to jump on the AI bandwagon is to just wait. Paraphrasing, he said AI is losing money, but that won’t be the case much longer, leaving businesses that build their operations around these tools screwed. This is of course not only a risk for the hospitality industry but for society in general. AI apocalypse incoming 🙂↕️
Call for interviewees: if you work with innovation or are a leader in the hospitality industry or another service industry, please reach out and let’s chat!
Novotel hosted a longevity-themed week at over 600 of its hotels, and it’s a tell-tale sign that lifespan-extending-focused wellness has hit the mainstream. Owned by Accor, Novotel is considered a midscale hotel brand, and their approach the hot topic of longevity reflects just that. In their own words, their approach is based on consistency and “choosing simple, positive actions and repeating them day after day”.
The longevity week featured online talks from athletes, food creators, experts and so on, plus ‘in-hotel experiences’ that varied based on property, but most related to behavior change and educating the guest specifically.
In my opinion this is a great way to answer the demand for longevity because a) it fits the level of the brand and b) addresses the topic in a responsible way. Physician Joe Giessinger wrote this piece about Four Seasons’ recent announcement that they will be offering a personalized and ‘highly-specialized’ longevity program on their transatlantic cruise in collaboration with the Swiss medical wellness clinic Lanserhof. Joe emphasized the heightened responsibility and also guest expectations that come with offering results-driven wellness. Notable figures in the wellbeing space such as Andrew Huberman (notable, I said, not uncontroversial) are already calling out how longevity has become a buzzword and there is little to no regulation on the claims made around it.
This is something Novotel completely avoids by making longevity as approachable and practical a topic as possible - something that is in your own hands, that you can learn about and take with you beyond your stay. Interesting times!
Hyatt has hired its first creative director, which shows that the big boys of the industry have heard that people don’t want their hotel experiences to be too generic. Appointed for the role is Amar Lalvani, who you may know from his work for W Hotels and the Standard, and he was also interestingly an early investor and board member of Peloton.
Global chain brands have suffered in the current climate, at least on the coolness factor, as flattened, palatable design is often the byproduct of scale and standardization (I have my own beef with the lifestyle category specifically).
I think taking steps towards dedicated creative guidance is not only one in the right direction but also necessary for global chains. Sanchita did a fantastic analysis on the topic, read it here. Like she said, “it’s about time we rethink what we mean by a ‘chain hotel’”.
What I’m reading, watching, or listening to; hospitality-related or not. Consider it a peek into what’s influencing my thinking.
My to-be-read stack is growing as I’ve actually spent more time lately writing than leisurely picking up books or magazines or even ‘stacks, aside from the few I read religiously every week, which I think has been a very nice change of pace.
That said, there’s one white paper that I was eagerly waiting to read, namely the hospitality edition of Highsnobiety’s The Status Economy report series (anyone else getting fatigue with the word ‘economy’???).
The main finding of the report in short: Gen Z values curated experiences as a form of status and self-expression, and especially find fulfillment in choosing their experiences based on personal enjoyment (vs. social media or peer validation).
But even if Gen Z finds more personal fulfillment from not broadcasting their stays and other hospitality experiences to others, it doesn’t mean that they don’t do it.
The performance is part of the deal, as cultural relevance is becoming one of the generation’s main goals. As many of you know, I’m Gen Z myself, and I can totally see myself and the people around me in what’s presented in the report. So stamp of approval from here, go take a look.
A hotel that has been on my radar.
I have conflicted feelings about private members’ clubs, and wrote a piece recently about how Soho House has been under fire for not living up to member expectations.
I may have to adjust my feelings after being stopped in my tracks by this launch video of theirs:
The Soho River House is set to open in 2027 and looks like adult summer camp and like so much fun!!
I could see a Soho House redemption arc if they move away from promising a curated membership pool and ‘interesting’ people (which is what has caused the bulk of the discontent) and toward showing what the programming and space can add to a person’s life in the city where they spend most of their time.
That’s all for this edition of The Lobby. So happy for 900 of you and feel like this is just the beginning!
Please share your thoughts below:
See you next week,
🔑 Emma
A goodie!!! Such parallels between AI becoming the default way for companies to claim innovation and longevity/wellness becoming the default way to position something as culturally relevant
Really interesting contrast with Novotel. I think that difference in the size of the promise is exactly where the standard starts to change. Thank you for including my piece here!