Luxury hospitality is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation — one that redefines what travellers value and what hotels must deliver. According to Sandeep Walia, Chief Operating Officer, Middle East at Marriott International, the future of luxury is shifting away from extravagance and toward emotional connection, authenticity, and the timeless essence of true hospitality.
Speaking at EPEX 2025, he shared a message that resonated deeply with the audience:
“The real challenge isn’t moving guests from one destination to another — it’s moving them emotionally.”
Today’s luxury traveller is exceptionally well-travelled. Exposure to global experiences means their expectations are higher, their ability to discern quality is sharper, and the margin for error has never been smaller. Guests are willing to pay a premium, he said, but “the more people travel, the faster novelty fades.”
A personalised amenity or thoughtful gesture might surprise a guest once, but as Sandeep noted, the second time it becomes expected, and the third time it loses meaning entirely.
This rapid cycle of normalisation has reshaped the very definition of luxury. What feels premium today quickly becomes tomorrow’s standard. But Sandeep argues that the solution is not to chase constant reinvention.
Instead, the answer lies in returning to the essence of hospitality — human connection.
He drew a powerful parallel to the earliest days of innkeeping, before technology and instant communication:
“It was simple, but it was real,” he said. “We need to bring that back to luxury — treating guests like they’re entering our own home.”
From this perspective, luxury becomes less about added features and more about thoughtfulness without intrusion, personalisation without repetition, warmth without formality, and sincerity without scripts.
Sandeep summed it up memorably:
“General managers need the brain of an entrepreneur, but the heart of an innkeeper.”
Whether a hotel has 40 rooms or 400, every room represents a distinct individual with unique expectations. And in this new era of luxury, it is the ability to recognise and respond to those nuances — consistently, authentically, and humanely — that will separate exceptional hospitality from the forgettable.
Catch the full session video here: https://youtu.be/TGugURCxqGo
