Skift Take

True luxury doesn't come from glitz. It is generated by the 10% extra effort a team delivers beyond already high standards.

Series: On Experience

On Experience

Colin Nagy, a marketing strategist, writes this opinion column for Skift on hospitality and business travel. On Experience dissects customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. He also covers the convergence of conservation and hospitality.

You can read all of his writing here.

Travel blogger Ben Schlappig recently shared details of a mediocre stay at a luxury property that charges $3,000 a night during ski season. I find Ben to be a consistently objective reviewer, and the issues he outlines would be egregious at any property, let alone such a pricey one.

It wasn't just the broken fireplace. Or that there was no hot water. And no Advil. It was that there was no one to take ownership and address the issues, either with creative solutions or a reasonable make-good.

His experience highlights the tension between luxury pricing and the reality of the service these brands provide. It comes down to the quality of service culture and training.

This has been a recurring theme in this column: The bedding, design and wine program may exude luxury, but a true luxury experience is about the service – the 10% more