In 2025, hospitality continues to follow the belief that we live in a world governed by rules, or “standards” as the industry calls them. These serve as guidelines for hotel employees and provide an element of downside protection, but ultimately they also shape the hotel guest experience and encourage compliance.
We also live in a world increasingly dominated by large international chains that impose their interpretation of luxury. That’s because most luxury hotel brands are evaluated by the same companies and operate to the same standards for a simplified and predictable customer experience. As a result of this strategy, these brands risk becoming increasingly standardized and ultimately unattractive as ‘me-too’ to guests.
Let’s be clear: applying flaws or inappropriate standards will inevitably lead to a monolithic and predictable experience, and ultimately mediocre results will prevail. You probably already are. Because duplicating your competitors is unlikely to produce results that differentiate you from any of your competitors.
Those who question the status quo and embrace change will ultimately be able to truly differentiate themselves and become leaders.
Today’s large number of largely marketing-driven ratings and rankings often flatter hoteliers, and often rely on what amounts to a random snapshot of performance to show that hoteliers are truly delivering quality. It gives the impression that there is. However, these do not necessarily result in consistency of performance based on fundamentally ingrained skills and standards.
The performance results of the best hotels in the late ’90s may be impressive, but do they really reflect reality? Hard to believe. In my decades of traveling the globe in search of excellence, I have experienced exactly once a perfect breakfast at The Goring and an impeccably moving dinner at Le Manoir aux Catheisons. did. My standards seem to be very different from those of organizations that do regular bulk evaluations. Probably because I don’t really rely on fixed criteria. I could never understand how a hotel’s rating, or even a luxury experience’s rating for that matter, could be reduced to any amount. For regular bookkeeping practice.
In addition to drawing on my own experiences and those of other luxury travelers, I wanted to know if some of the world’s top hoteliers shared my perspectives and observations.
In a recent study, 14 leading luxury hospitality brands including Aman, Bvlgari, Capella, Como, Corinthia, Dusit, Four Seasons, JW Marriott, Kempinski, Langham, Mandarin Oriental, Mondrian, Okura, Rosewood, W; of independent luxury hotels, 23 general managers and eight senior executive officers provided insight on the key theme of quality.
Respondents widely acknowledged using consistent industry standards to benchmark their hotel’s performance against competitors, while identifying improvements that might otherwise have been overlooked. was often emphasized.
On the other hand, the demands for a more individualized assessment reflecting the hotel’s unique location, cultural heritage, property characteristics, clientele and, ideally, the hotel’s DNA, would be expected with a standardized approach. Shortcomings were also expressed.
Some hoteliers are seeking more flexible, guest-centric technology that better aligns with evolving guest expectations and a hotel’s specific customer base, rather than current rigid processes that are perceived as disconnected. It argued in favor of a led audit process. Due to the dynamic nature of the industry.
Last but not least was the recurring theme of emotional intelligence. An overall concern was the need to better assess and manage the emotional aspects of the guest experience. Everything depends on the appropriateness of the emotions that hotel employees show during their interactions with guests. Sounds pretty easy, right?
Today, common approaches to assessing emotions often revolve around the expectation that “everyone should be happy.” But what about many other emotional states? For example, responding cheerfully to someone who is irritated, depressed, or elated can lead to undesirable outcomes. This includes a complete emotional disconnect between guests and employees.
In my opinion, the key to strengthening the emotional aspects of interactions between hotel employees and guests is to fully understand what emotional intelligence is and how to teach and train it. It’s about rethinking. We need to reframe our emotions as something that digs deep and approach them from the roots. Only then will hotel employees be equipped with all the necessary weapons to read, understand, and respond effectively and appropriately to any emotional state a guest may be experiencing. You can do that.
In addition to the quality issues outlined above, I identified two other areas that were severely underserved: the hotel’s website and vegetarian or vegan food options.
We all understand why a hotel website is important. Direct bookings allow hotels to “own” the customer relationship and are significantly more cost-effective than indirect bookings. A few years ago, most major hotel websites underwent a major makeover to become more emotionally and experientially oriented. Unfortunately, this change came at the expense of clear and understandable hotel descriptions, often leading users to abandon hotel websites in favor of content on third-party platforms. Despite the opportunity for immediate resolution, funds remain on the table.
But the impending rise of consumer-facing personal AI planning agents will ultimately force hotels to become AI-enabled. This means prioritizing facts over sales language in this context. Structured property information, a clear and factual description of the key aspects of your offering, such as the amenities and services offered, and accurate and detailed property attributes are essential. We have looked at every luxury hotel website and are confident that not one is ready to respond to the impending wave of consumers with personal AI planning and booking tools. I can say that.
Who will win the business if hotel websites fail to migrate to more fact-based, AI-readable content? Although this scenario is still in its infancy, experts believe it could become mainstream within the next two years. I predict that there will be. Go figure!
Food and Drinks—I would go again. Breakfast is not only a notorious source of incompleteness and frequent complaints from guests, but like other meals served in entertaining settings, it is also always a point of contention with a significant segment seeking vegetarian/vegan options. there is. Too many hotels still have an ignorant and sometimes even condescending attitude, hotel employees show little knowledge, and the quality of the kitchen is generally subpar and with little variety.
In summary, the glamorous world of perfect hotel stays filled with miraculous and unique experiences is mostly wishful thinking. But despite the vast scope for improvement, there is still room for improvement if smart hoteliers pay attention and challenge long-standing comfortable practices.
The way audits and training are conducted appears to be failing to achieve the desired result of reinforcing owners and operators’ desire to create a recognizable brand. Continuing down this path means compromising identity, lowering guest expectations and reducing pricing power. If the situation does not fundamentally change, my recommendation for price-sensitive consumers is to choose a 4-star hotel over a 5-star hotel, which offers significantly better value for money.
We need bold, visionary leaders to take the first step and break free from the “me too” and “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. You are perfect, change now!
The wonderful world of hospitality is full of opportunities, but someone needs to seize them early.
Jochen Erhard ((email protected)) is a highly insightful person who is driven by a deep passion for evaluating and improving products beyond 5 stars, with a special focus on the emotional side of relationships.
As the founder of TRUE 5 STARS, he provides the only online platform showcasing the world’s top 800 hotels. He has personally visited and inspected over 2,000 of the finest hotels around the world.
To learn more about Jochen Ehrhardt and his work, visit https://true5stars.com/advisory.
jochen erhard
International Modern Butler Institute
