Mr. Mankarios

Luxury Travel

Today's Luxury Customers: What do they know?

By Atef Mankarios, President, Mankarios Partnership

What seems like a long time ago - when people wanted to go on vacation or business trip, have a special-occasion dinner, or sought-out a top-tier culinary experience - they called their travel agent and asked for suggestions, ideas, and recommendations. A conversation might go something like this:

"But, Betsy, have you been there?"

"No, but Brad in our office heard from a client that it was super, really luxurious."

And so the booking would be made, usually based on a color brochure, the travel agent's recommendation, or the suggestion of someone who had actually visited a location. Bookings were often made thanks to word of mouth: A traveler had to trust someone's perception of elegance, luxury, comfort, or even location. Sometimes you put your faith in a guide book or a rating service: You read the Zagat's guides or browsed the Michelin guide and studied the Mobile or American Automobile Association ratings. Other times you might have read a copy of Conde Nast Traveler and scanned their Gold List in your dentist's waiting room.

The rules have changed: Today's traveler is well armed and dangerous! Observe the myriad sources of information and the avalanche of available details to which today's consumer are privy - or are buried under - depending on your prospective:

So, what does this all mean?

Are these things good or bad for the hotel business, and - particularly - the luxury and full service segments of it?

What does the evolution - nay, the revolution-in information purveyance to a very wide audience mean to the customer, the hotelier, and the restaurateur?

Let's start with the fact that information and knowledge create a much higher level of expectation and, more importantly, extensive points of comparison: This new and more informed customer wants at least as much - and usually more - of the big three, the three most important parts of the luxury experience:

One of the most memorable guest comments I received while managing a luxury hotel and resort company referenced a bellman. A guest informed me that he felt the bellman in question "took personal responsibility for their well being" and was referring to the fact that the bellman went well beyond his usual duties to take care of their needs. I couldn't teach this, and a manual certainly can't teach this.

So, let's reflect: Thanks to the existence of a well-informed new customer and the challenge to meet a much higher expectation, and thousands of points of comparisons, the hotelier must rise to the new challenges and place exceptional emphasis on creating a superior physical plant and on delivering a personalized, creative, consistent service style imbued with passion, intuition, grace, and personality. And then allow the service teams to take care of each customer's needs in a personal and personalized manner.

And that, my dear colleagues, is easier said than done. But herein lies the element that separates the truly great hotels from the merely mundane.

Over three decades Atef Mankarios has established a reputation as a pioneer, a visionary and a business leader. He has developed iconic brands and properties, as well as redefined the concepts of personal experience, personalized service, residential hospitality, elegance and sophistication and, "sense of place." He believes a hotel must embody and convey a unique character. Mr. Mankarios is head of Mankarios Partnership, a provider of asset management and technical services for independent hotels and resorts. Mr. Mankarios was President and CEO of St. Regis Hotels and Resorts. Mr. Mankarios can be contacted at atef@mankarios.com Extended Bio...

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