I recently attended the Beyond Luxury Awards at the Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol which we had sponsored, the event brought together luxury hoteliers from across Spain. Over good food and conversations, something struck me: there was barely any talk of technology or innovation. The main topic was people.
In an industry where the word “experience” is often overused, hearing so many professionals agree that luxury starts from within was revealing. Hospitality is about value and service, but above all, a passion for connecting.
When Luxury Comes from Within, my takeaways
- True luxury isn’t measured in stars. It’s felt in a smile, in attention to detail, in genuine care. But that only happens when there’s vocation behind it
- There’s a shortage of people with real passion for hospitality, and that directly impacts the guest experience. Many agreed that finding and retaining talent with a true sense of service is becoming increasingly difficult. Because if employees aren’t doing well, how can we expect them to smile sincerely?
- A simple but powerful truth: there is no luxury without internal well-being. Caring for your team isn’t an HR initiative; it’s a brand strategy. And when an employee feels valued, the guest can feel it too.
- Guest feedback confirms it: staff interactions have the greatest impact on guest satisfaction. Mentions of staff correlate with a 0.6-point increase in GRI and a 0.7-point rise in overall experience, compared to just 0.3 for cleanliness, F&B, or facilities. The final memory, the one that truly lasts, belongs to the person who served, listened, and anticipated a need before it was voiced.
- Luxury is built in that final moment, in the gesture that ends a stay with the feeling of having been genuinely cared for.
Technology: The Silent Enabler
Curiously (or not), there was little talk about technology. Yet its role was present in everything. Technology is the silent enabler, the invisible support that allows teams to shine. It’s not about replacing human attention; it’s about creating space for it.
When systems work well, they automate what doesn’t require empathy: repetitive tasks, admin processes, data management. And that gives teams time for what really matters. Looking guests in the eye, listening, connecting.
In a segment where guests tend to return and expectations keep rising, technology also plays a crucial role in loyalty. It helps capture and remember each guest’s preferences, allowing service to anticipate needs and feel ever more personal. Knowledge becomes connection, and the relationship between hotel and guest grows in continuity and coherence.
True technological success goes unnoticed, because when everything flows, what guests remember isn’t the system, but the person.
Personalization and Purpose: The New Luxury
So-called “hyper-personalization” has less to do with algorithms and more to do with empathy. In luxury, the details are human: remembering a guest’s name, how they like their coffee, or having their orange juice ready by day two. That can’t be programmed. It’s cultivated. And recognizing that a guest has never been there before thus giving them a personal introduction is luxury too. It is about treating every guest individually according to their situation.
For that kind of natural attentiveness to happen, the people providing it need motivation and purpose. Some luxury hotels already understand this and are building internal cultures as thoughtfully as their guest experiences. At Rosewood Villa Magna, for example, under the leadership of Friedrich von Schönburg, the focus is on team development and creating an environment where service stems from well-being, not pressure.
Similarly, La Residencia Belmond embodies a sense of coherence between what it promises and what its people live every day: hospitality that feels authentic because it starts from within.
Hotels with that mindset project a different kind of energy: warmer, more human, more sustainable over time. Because when employees feel good, guests do too.
Dignifying Hospitality
During the event, Virginia Irurita, founder of Made for Spain & Portugal, summed it up perfectly: “We need to dignify tourism.”
Dignifying tourism means restoring pride in the profession, improving working conditions, and recognizing that employee well-being isn’t a cost; it’s an investment. Because happy employees are the ones who make hotels shine, who create memorable experiences, and who elevate the reputation of the entire brand.
Several hoteliers, including Pascal Billard of Le Meurice (Paris), shared examples of internal programs, employee benefits, and well-being initiatives that clearly demonstrate how caring for the team has a direct impact on guest satisfaction and on results.
Luxury Starts Within
Technology will continue to be a key ally: the silent support that frees up time and energy for teams to focus on what truly creates value. The more agile and connected systems become, the more space there is for empathy, attention, and detail.
Because the future of luxury won’t be measured by technological sophistication, but by our human ability to make people feel.
The hotels that combine technological innovation with a genuine vocation for service will be the ones best prepared to meet the expectations of tomorrow’s travelers.
