welcome to the “the luxury customer itb academy webinar or … · 2014-10-06 · itb academy...

© Maria-Puetz-Willems & Claudia Roth

Welcome to the

ITB Academy Webinar “The luxury customer

journey … a revolution

or back to the hospitality

roots?”


The Luxury Customer Journey –

A revolution or back

to the hospitality roots?

Maria Puetz-Willems & Claudia Roth

#Luxurywebinar, #ITBBerlinLuxury

Webinar 16th July 2014

initiated by

2


Your Hosts Today

• Maria Puetz-Willems

Editor in Chief -

hospitalityInside.com

• Claudia Roth –

Coach and advisor

for luxury brands &

Managing Partner,

Totally Indispensable

3


Professional Background

4

Maria Puetz-Willems

Founder of the international, bi-lingual, purely editorial-

focused online magazine hospitalityInside.com, targeting

top management only

Writing about hotels since 25 years. Organizer of the ITB

hotel conference “ITB Hospitality Day” since 2006 (and

other conferences & events)

http://hospitalityinside.com/


Professional Background

5

Claudia Roth

Extensive senior leadership experience (20+ years) in luxury hospitality Past decade Vice President EMEA for The Leading Hotels of the World In-depth sales, marketing knowledge of luxury hotels and extensive insights of the global luxury consumer


Today’s Session

• Is designed to challenge perspectives about

luxury, marketing & the luxury consumer

6


What is luxury?

"Modern-day travellers see luxury more and more

in the storytelling

of having an experience rather than in luxury items.

Buying an experience is much harder.”

Michael Tiedy, Senior Vice President Brand Design & Innovation,

Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Source: HVS)

7


Luxury Facts

• LUXURY GROWTH: In 2011, the German

luxury market grew by 16%, from 11.1 to 12.9

billion Euro (Source: Roland Berger Consulting)

• LUXURY BRANDS: The top 3 of 50 luxury

companies in Germany are Leica (cameras),

Dornbracht (taps) and Montblanc (stationary) (Source: Luxury Business Report 2013, Ernst & Young)

8


Luxury Facts cont.

• LUXURY USERS: 75% of the ‘heavy luxury

shoppers’ are extremely interested in fashion,

shoes, perfumes and accessories - to underline

his/her personality. (Source: Digital Luxury Study 2013 by WHITE Communication in coop with GFK nurafo)

• LUXURY EXTREMES: From a Luxury Perfume

Weekend in Berlin to offline holiday - it’s all about

experience, authenticity, premium brands and

inspiration.

9


Luxury Facts cont.

• LUXURY DIGITAL: Heavy luxury shoppers

prefer smartphones, tablets and internet-TV,

and they do read magazines regularly (Source: Digital Luxury

Study 2014 by the WHITE Communications in coop with GfK nurafo)

11


Technological luxury, classic luxury,

community luxury, exclusive luxury

(money, access) eco luxury, private

luxury, luxury by interest (food, drink,

travel, music, opera, arts), luxury of living a

holistic lifestyle, service luxury, emotional

luxury, experimental luxury, family time is

luxury, freedom is luxury, time is luxury …

12


Luxury is …

… multi-dimensial

It means different things to different

people.

Does Luxury need to be exclusive?

Luxury versus Exclusivity?

13


Question

What does luxury mean to you?

Think about it or share your thoughts

with us …

T

14


Question

How well do you know your clients:

What type of luxury do they expect

from your hotel (business)?

Please share your thoughts with us.s

15


Changing Needs

• Multi-generational travel

• 24/7 connectivity

• Personal enrichment

• Millennials ‘alone & together’ (Michael Tiedy)

• Mixing business and leisure = BLEISURE

• Ease of ‘seamless lifestyle’

• Community of like-minded people

• Non-intrusive, highly personalised service

16


C

Changing Behaviours

• Technology has lead to an explosion of

information (internet, mobile, etc)

• User-recommended feedback is increasingly

important

• Internet forums provide increased transparency

• People crave experiences over status symbols

(Source: HVS)

17


The 5-Step Journey

19


Step 1

Client Spotting

• Generation Y (Born 1980-1994) Entering into the workforce, grown up with technology

• Generation X (Born 1965-1980) Geeks, less brand loyal, seek experiences

• Baby Boomers (Born 1944-1964) Generation of exploration & achievements, had to adapt to

technology, brand loyal

20


Generation Characteristics

• Generation Y (Born 1980-1994) Give me context and meaning, make it fun, connect me with

everything

• Generation X (Born 1965-1980) Collaborative ‘peer to peer’, connect me to people

• Baby Boomers (Born 1944-1964) Lead me to information

21


Summary Luxury Traveller

Previous Travellers

Disconnected

Privacy

Personal space

Status

Separated outlets

Working desk (in room)

(Source: HVS)

New Breed of Traveller

Connected

Community

Being along together

Relationships

Shared open-spaces

Couches (in lobbies)

22


Who are your clients? 23


Summary Step 1

• Understand & cater for your clients’ needs and

essence of being (characteristics)

• Brand message must be clear

• Adapt writing styles and type of communication

• In-house operation and service offerings must

be aligned to your client type

24


Step 2

The Search for new Clients

Existing Clients – keep in touch:

• Personal relationships & interaction

• Monitor and engage in ongoing dialogue

25


Step 2

The Search for new Clients New Clients – go for an innovative approach:

• Expand your marketing department: Engage your staff to contribute to a ‘dynamic’ digital presence

• Continuously expand social media reach: Engage clients on social media, interactive hotel website, blogs written by staff, tweet ‘insider’ news

• Use your clients to be your brand influencer

26


A social media

engagement example

27


Reflective Question

What are some ideas for your hotel

to engage your clients on social media?

28


Summary Step 2

• In-house technology and skills must evolve

• Communication must be interactive i.e. multi-

dimensial

• Understand the ‘Art of Communication’

• Communicate your hotel’s ‘luxury sweet spot’

29


Step 3

From Commodities

to Emotional Connect

Create a ‘world’ in the minds of

your clients: Use colours, images,

descriptive words …

30


Luxury is about Emotions

USPs (Unique Selling Points) are out!

In are USEs - Unique Selling Emotions

What are your hotel’s USEs?

31


Eco-luxury

32


Summary Step 3

If you are not able to excite

your clients

somebody else will!


Question

Take a minute and write down your hotel’s

(company’s) USEs …

Please write your response in the box

provided for other participants to be inspired!

35


Step 4

24/7 Culture of Connectivity

• Connectivity empowers flexibility

• Not everybody wants to be connected anywhere

& anytime

• Understand personal lifestyles and personal

values of your guests

• Determine personalised approach

• Show respect … a new service offering?

36


Summary Step 4

OLD style

One-way communication

USP focused

Censored marketing language

Professional imagery

Hotel generated & controlled

content

Service centric

Clients

SHIFTING Paradigm

Multi-dimensial communication

USE focused

Authentic language

Everybody is a photographer

User generated content

Technology & experience

centric

Fans/brand advocates

37


Step 5

Create Brand Influencers

• Build on the USEs as part of your post

engagement strategy

• Encourage your ‘Fans’ to spread the USEs

• Develop a lifestyle marketing approach to

create a community of like minded travellers

• Triple E’s: Engage, Encourage & Enthuse

38


Changing Landscape of Luxury:

Emerging business models - a threat?

• Airbnb

• luxushuetten.com

• Ueber

39


RECOMMENDATIONS

• Hotels need to encourage in-house innovation

• Be clear about your USEs (Unique Selling Emotions)

• Understand your audience & communicate in their

listing

• Hire talent with new and relevant skills

• Invest in technological infrastructure

• Embrace change: Change is here to stay

40


Through which eyes do you see the

world changing? 41


We THANK YOU for your interest!

Maria Puetz-Willems

e: [email protected]

Claudia Roth

e: [email protected]

t: @crothburns

#Luxurywebinar, #ITBBerlinLuxury

42

mailto:[email protected]





ITB Academy

Jessica Varga

Tel.: + 49 (0)30 - 3038-2528

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.itb-berlin.de/academy

Thank you for

your attention!

welcome to the “the luxury customer itb academy webinar or … · 2014-10-06 · itb academy...

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