The world of luxury and ultra-luxury is changing. While this space has historically weathered economic uncertainty better than most sectors, brands are still feeling pressure – from rising costs to the quiet shift in how wealth is expressed. The real challenge today lies not in defining new benchmarks for quality, but in achieving a deeper, more human understanding of guests. 

Defining a luxury brand is never run-of-the-mill. To realise your ambitions of reaching new levels of hospitality you must also be unafraid to challenge what’s gone before. 

There’s a clear difference between creating short-term, wow-factor impact and building a brand that actually lasts – illustrated by our work with Adeera or Boutique Group in Saudi Arabia. What we hear from many of our clients is a need for clarity: confidence that they’re investing in the right ideas, in the right areas, at the right time. The landscape of luxury is shifting; guests expect brands to be culturally attuned, digitally fluent and emotionally intelligent. That’s where we come in. The success of these projects is founded in a wealth of research and experience that dives deep into understanding what the focus points really should be.  

Delivering a brand guest experience that truly works must be guided by insight, not assumptions.  What’s more, by ensuring the same team is focused on the project from inception to delivery and beyond, we invest in the groundwork needed to get where we want to go much faster, with a lot more accuracy.  

We understand reality  

It’s one thing to have incredible ideas, it’s another to rigorously interrogate those ideas to make sure they’ll deliver what’s needed. It’s critical that we understand the reality of the cultural, competitor and audience landscapes before we can confidently determine what will drive genuine impact. We need clear insight to generate the right ideas.  

Our work streams extend far beyond desk research. We spend time with stakeholders – as we did with Modon – to understand what their ambitions are and what good looks like to them. We do the same with target guests to understand who they are, what drives them and what they look for in an ultra-luxury or luxury brand.  

We focus on understanding different cultures, the perspectives they bring and the why behind them – but these landscapes differ from place to place.  The factors that shape perception can be surprising, and it’s those unexpected details that hold the most value. In today’s climate, that also means recognising the subtler signals, like the growing desire for privacy over performativity. In an era where wealth is more scrutinised than celebrated, the luxury or ultra-luxury guest may value discretion, constraint and relevance above overt display. These are the emerging codes we track and respond to. 

Benchmarking and semiotics build on this insight through analysis of different codes in the luxury and ultra-luxury space. Digital intelligence rounds out the picture, diving deeper into target audience behaviours and the brands they favour. The speed and accuracy you can move forward with when using these tools is astounding.  

We then codify what we learn and apply it to what comes next, ensuring we create relevance and opportunity. Once our research is collated, we create one actionable piece of insight – no one wants to figure out what to do with nine different reports. It’s our job to make life easy. 

We define opportunity  

Interpreting the data shows us where the value opportunities lie, how the brand needs to be positioned and why. One consistent pain point we help resolve is fragmentation: clients often need a partner who can not only define strategy, but carry it through to experience, culture and activation. We work end-to-end, knowing where to apply focus for maximum impact.  

We often work with businesses that have huge opportunities to leverage their portfolio or networks but need guidance to understand which direction to take. A clear, core brand strategy is the key to unlocking these possibilities with confidence. 

Every single element must stay true to the core brand strategy. This keeps all parts moving in the right direction – including the guest experience design, highlighting which touchpoints need specific focus, as seen in our work with Mayrlife.  

Insight into what drives the needs and decisions of the ultra-luxury lifestyle tells us what kind of service culture is needed to deliver the right experience, which we shape with businesses such as Accor. This gives us clear sight of the type of people we need to attract and retain in order to deliver this service. In turn, this shapes the employee value proposition (EVP), as seen with ‘The Calling’ we developed with Rosewood.   

The demand for top talent in the luxury hospitality space – particularly in the Middle East – is hyper-competitive. Significant sector growth emphasises the need to understand why people would want to join and stay with your business. Promising opportunities and benefits won’t cut it in today’s market; brands need to work harder. 

We also provide continuing day-to-day marketing support and EVP activation – something we enjoy delivering for Adeera. We can even onboard third parties, offering full brand guardianship and activation, as we designed the core brand strategy. It’s all the work that’s gone before that allows us to keep pushing the project to the next level – and, most of all, to think differently rather than replicating previous projects.  

While we apply similar approaches to our work across luxury and ultra-luxury hospitality, it is never a copy and paste job. We focus on what’s needed for the task at hand. Because our work is founded in deep insight and experience, we can deliver bespoke projects for every client, acting as an extension of your team. What drives you to deliver differentiation and innovation is also what drives us. Our clients aren’t looking for another agency, they’re looking for a true partner. Someone who understands the landscape and can guide them through ambiguity with precision, from inception through to launch.  

It’s not copy and paste 

None of this is limited to the hospitality space. Our in-depth understanding of the luxury and ultra-luxury customer can be applied to other sectors.  For example, we’re seeing luxury brands from fashion and beauty move into hospitality to extend their brand experience, from Café Louis Vuitton in New York to Gucci’s Osteria venture. These ventures demand the same standard of insight, guest experience design and service culture as five-star hotels. It’s another reason why starting with the right process matters. 

Let’s shape something extraordinary 

Our experience of the luxury and ultra luxury hospitality space opens a window onto a world that’s full of opportunities. It allows us to create confidence in those possibilities thought strategic intelligence, applied imagination and end-to-end activation. Whether you’re launching a new ultra-luxury concept or reimagining an established brand, we can help you define, differentiate and deliver.