Luxury is a word that in today’s world is suffering a lot of use and abuse.
It has become so popular that you have things like luxury candy bars, luxury sport shoes and absurdities such as luxury car wash!
It seems that the word “luxury” means expensive.
I find that luxury is far more complex than simply being expensive or something made from expensive materials.
The Hospitality industry also emphasizes this word often.
I could book the most expensive suite in the world on top of the tallest building in the world.
Once I am in the suite I could sit on the sofa in the living room, look out the window, see nothing but sky and realize, if all the components don’t fit together, I am sitting on a couch in the most expensive suite in the world and all I feel is that I spent a lot of money!
This is because we consciously and subconsciously grade everything according to emotions and if the correct triggers aren’t there then the experience becomes flawed.
Luxury is something that makes you feel a variety of emotions and puts a smile on your face and not only creates but embeds memories into your head of the particular experience that will last a lifetime.
This is something extremely important especially to brands as it makes the difference between one time visitors and repeat clientele.
Luxury is 100% emotional.
It is made of a combination of factors that come together to form your experience of exclusivity, comfort, service, happiness and even a feeling of achievement.
Sadly nowadays it is so overused that it seems that luxury means outdoing, outspending and overshadowing the person next to you in order to gloat in one’s own perceived superiority.
When everything fits together perfectly form the service, the décor, the ambience, the aromas in the air, the presentation (of everything ranging from food to staff uniforms and their smiles) a 5 star hotel can truly transcend the 5 star status and become the definition of “Luxury”.
I take my hat off to the companies, brands and people that are the true “experience providers” and that truly appeal to a person’s emotions in order to create an unforgettable experience. These are the Dream Makers of this amazing industry and they need to be not only recognized and applauded but also rewarded.