At most hospitality conferences, the themes are familiar: guest experience, innovation, sustainability, design, technology. All are important. But at the Luxury Hospitality Conference in Milan this year, I wanted to look deeper, somewhere quieter, beneath the visible layers of our craft, to what truly defines it: emotion.
Around the world, hospitality is struggling with fatigue and disconnection. By 2035, global demand for tourism talent will exceed supply by more than forty million people. Behind that number lies something more profound: the loss of desire. When an industry built on care begins to lose its calling, something vital is at stake.
Hospitality has never been about architecture or branding. Its essence lives in the exchange between people. It’s in a glance that shows you understand, an unexpected gesture, a moment of recognition that makes someone feel valued. These moments don’t happen by chance. They arise from cultures that trust people to act with heart.
At Airelles and Aman, I’ve seen how structure can protect that heart. When the framework is clear, people are free to care. That understanding inspired the EMOTION Model™, our approach at Luxury Hospitality Consulting for helping leaders build what we call the human ecosystem. This is the emotional, cultural, and relational foundations that allow excellence to flourish.
Because when we take care of our people, they take care of our guests.
Today’s most discerning travellers are no longer looking for more; they are seeking meaning. They’ll forget the meal, but remember how it made them feel. The future of luxury will belong to those who design for emotion, not display.
True hospitality has always been an art. Its finest practitioners are the artisans of emotion who understand that care is not an act, but a culture.