suzanne godfrey
Creating Memorable Guest Experiences: Personalization With Storytelling
Dr. Suzanne Godfrey | May 9, 2024
By Dr. Suzanne Godfrey In the world of hospitality, experiences play a crucial role in creating lasting memories for guests. While everyone may talk about the ideal guest experience, it's essential to recognize that not all experiences are created equal. What truly sets a guest experience apart and makes it unforgettable? Personalization is obviously key. Tailoring each interaction to the individual guest's preferences and needs can elevate a stay from ordinary to extraordinary and as a result, be highly memorable. But there is more than just understanding preferences and meeting needs... This article helps hoteliers to understand h...
Luxury Hospitality: What Makes a Luxury Hotel Today
Dr Suzanne Godfrey | July 5, 2023
By Dr. Suzanne Godfrey Luxury hospitality: what makes a luxury hotel? A palace or a 5-star hotel? Hotels around the world are often referred to as palaces or ‘grand dames’ – vestiges of a bygone era when grand hotels were associated with luxury and glamour. But the concept in its true sense is quintessentially French and in 2010 the French Tourism Office bestowed the title on establishments that met certain specific criteria. So what makes a palace different from a 5-star hotel today – or, for that matter, a 6- or 7-star establishment, although there is no official category as such? Luxury can be defined rationally based on hi...
Innovation in Luxury Hospitality
Suzanne Godfrey | August 30, 2017
By Suzanne Godfrey In the final article of our series of pieces on luxury hospitality based on interviews with leading hoteliers in Paris, Suzanne Godfrey argues that luxury has always been about innovation. True luxury has always been at the forefront of innovation. It doesn't depend on the wants or needs of "consumers", nor is it limited by the traditional concept of utilitarian value and competitiveness that can stifle creativity. Luxury brands are leaders, not followers. They deliver the ultimate in craftsmanship and innovative design, at the leading edge of creativity and technological innovation. Luxury seeks to give pleasure and ...
Key Pillars of Luxury Hospitality: The Soul
Suzanne Godfrey | August 1, 2017
By Suzanne Godfrey In a series of pieces on luxury hospitality based on interviews with leading hoteliers in Paris, Suzanne Godfrey examines key pillars that define the luxury hotel, or more specially, the Palace. Here she explores the need for the soul – the tangible and intangible, something that's not wholly definable. So far we've examined two key pillars of luxury hospitality: quality and consistency; and service and the emotional connection. Here we turn our attention to the third and final pillar: the soul of the luxury hotel or Palace. It's a concept that's hard to define, a confluence of elements that uniquely come togeth...
THE LONG READ Key Pillars of Luxury Hospitality: Service and the Emotional Connection
June 29, 2017
by Suzanne Godfrey In a series of pieces on luxury hospitality based on interviews with leading hoteliers in Paris, Suzanne Godfrey examines the key pillars that define the luxury hotel, or more specially, the Palace. Here she explores the need for service that goes over and beyond … to create an emotional connection. "That's when you win in services, making you feel at home" - Aaron Kaupp, General Manager, Le Royal Monceau Raffles, Paris "We want to have a private home feeling" - Jean-Pierre Trevisan, Director of Operations, Ritz Paris Around three-quarters of the 526 standards that the influential Forbes Travel Guide u...
Key Pillars of Luxury Hospitality: Quality and Consistency
Dr. Suzanne Godfrey | June 7, 2017
By Suzanne Godfrey It's no longer about the best quality furnishings, facilities and technology. Many people, especially those who can afford to stay at high-end hotels, already have these in their homes. These are expected. But still quality matters. It has to be the "best", in fact the very best. Quality products, in all of the hotel's "products": the facilities, the fixtures and fittings, the service and in the delivery of it. From the best crystal (Baccarat) to the finest china and table linen. Quality craftsmanship and the attention to detail is a dimension of luxury itself. It is on display in the dining room, in the choice of fab...
THE LONG READ: Redefining Luxury in Hospitality
May 4, 2017
by Suzanne Godfrey If you ask friends and colleagues who appreciate the finer things in life 'what defines a luxury hotel?', you'll likely get a range of responses from mod cons – with everything from a decent restaurant to a spa – to seamless, exceptional service and décor. All at a price justifying the offering and experience. In the classroom, when I polled my students, words such as 'elegance', 'glamorous', 'experience', 'personalized service', 'perfection', and 'amazing' came up. But so too did words like 'classic', 'tradition', 'super-modern' and 'design'. On a recent fact-finding trip to Paris I set out to disc...
