Hotelier Perspectives

For those who have not followed our writing, the Mille Club refers to properties with rates over one thousand dollars, pounds or euros, with the ‘mille’ picked up from the Italian language. The Mille Club’s premise is that guests at this level are looking for an incredible experience rather than mere accommodations. Instead, hoteliers’ offerings compete for guests independent of location, making comp sets typically geographically derived moot. With great rate comes great expectations…

In a market flooded with promises, awards and endless vendor emails, one signal still cuts through the noise: what other hoteliers actually say.

Amazon has quietly started closing more of its Amazon Go physical stores. The idea was revolutionary: just walk in, grab what you need, and walk out—no checkout lines, no friction, all powered by sensors and AI. Per many studies, if you remove friction you increase consumption. But this didn’t work out.

What if a hotel operated less like a hotel, and more like software?

There are venues that host meetings.

It’s been a few years since l was overseas at an island resort, so I thought it was time to venture out and embrace the island life again. I chose a small cluster of islands off the mainland. Neither my wife or I have been there before and thought it might be a nice family adventure. So, with the chosen location, we delved into our different options of where to stay and what to do. Now, I’ve lived and worked in some of the most beautiful islands on the planet and the most remote parts of the world, so I know and understand the challenges that resorts face day in and out when it comes to maintaining levels of standards and service.

What if the key to better hospital care lies not only in medical excellence but in hospitality-inspired behaviors? This article lays out a strategic conversation that builds on years of research and cross-sector collaboration linking healthcare and hospitality. The hospitality industry, long focused on creating comfort and memorable experiences, offers valuable insights for hospitals seeking to increase the level of care for both patients and employees.

Travelers like to think they pick their hotel. In reality, a stack of algorithms shapes the decision long before a booking form appears: relevance and ranking algorithms define what is even “considered,” bidding algorithms elevate sponsored placements above organic results, and AI recommendation engines compress the shortlist into a single suggested option, all amplified by other people’s opinions. The cumulative effect is an algorithmic illusion of choice. Hotels that understand this architecture and design for felt autonomy can convert more directly, create stronger attachment, and reduce dependence on intermediaries.

In today’s hospitality landscape, a sleek, intuitive interface is no longer a differentiator. It’s a baseline for any property management system. Clean, minimal design helps staff learn quickly, streamline daily tasks, and reduce operational friction. But for hotels juggling complex workflows, multiple departments and interconnected systems, usability requires more than simple aesthetics. True efficiency comes from pairing simplicity with the depth needed to manage day-to-day realities of hotel operations.

When Harry Gordon Selfridge opened his revolutionary department store in London in 1909, he didn’t just bring American-style retail to the heart of Britain—he introduced a philosophy that would shape the customer experience for more than a century.