Luxury Beyond Five Stars: Why Emotion is the New Gold Standard

What defines true luxury in hospitality today? Once characterised by formality, white gloves, and opulent décor, luxury is undergoing a quiet transformation – one driven not by extravagance, but by emotional intelligence, authenticity, and personal connection.

That evolution was the topic of discussion at our recent Table Talk lunch, hosted at Brown’s Hotel. Rocco Forte Hotels brought together a select group of UK event planners and luxury travel bookers to explore how five-star hotels are reimagining service and guest experience, with insights from experts at Forbes Travel Guide and their leadership team. 

The New Currency of Luxury

Josephine Somers, VP of Partner Services at Forbes Travel Guide, explained that Forbes’ globally recognised hotel evaluation system, spanning 85 countries, continues to evolve in line with changing traveller expectations. “Of the 500 standards we use to evaluate hotels, 60% focus on service, and increasingly, on the emotional connection a guest feels.”

That emotional connection, she said, is the new currency of luxury. Whether it’s a subtle acknowledgment as a guest enters the lobby, a perfectly timed personalised welcome amenity, or the sense that staff truly see and understand their guests, these micro-moments elevate the overall experience and engage guests on a deeper level. 

“Today’s luxury traveller wants to feel part of something authentic. They want discretion, contextual service, and connection to the destination. It’s not about flashiness; it’s about depth,” Somers noted.

For meetings and incentives, this means moving away from cookie-cutter setups and instead crafting events that are personalised, reflective of location, and sensitive to the evolving cultural landscape. Think curated, local experiences over rigid agendas; staff trained in empathy as well as efficiency; and wellness considerations woven throughout the programme.

Generosity in Action: A New Suite Philosophy

Taking these principles into practice, Richard Cooke, Managing Director UK & Northern Europe at Rocco Forte Hotels, unveiled the brand’s soon-to-launch new Suite Proposition, designed to deepen guest loyalty through emotion-led service. Its core philosophy can be summed up in one word: generosity.

But not the kind that overwhelms with lavishness. “It’s generosity of spirit, of thought, of care,” Cooke explained. “It’s a handwritten note or curated playlist. It’s placing the exact flower a guest loves in the right corner of the room. It’s making the guest feel valued, even before they arrive.”

The programme is structured around three phases: pre-stay, during stay, and post-stay. Teams now conduct social research to personalise each suite experience, from a guest’s favourite drink waiting on arrival to their preferred scent subtly infusing the air as they enter the room. 

For MICE groups, this attention to detail opens a new realm of possibilities. From tailored check-ins to bespoke gifting that reflects individual interests rather than generic branding, Rocco Forte Hotels offers planners a compelling way to elevate VIP experiences and make incentive winners feel genuinely valued.

Personalisation at Scale: The Group Travel Challenge

One of the key talking points was how these deeply personalised approaches can be integrated into group travel, which comes with its own set of complexities. From rising demand for exclusive hotel buyouts to planners seeking curated, non-traditional meeting setups, today’s corporate clients are pushing boundaries.

“There’s a growing appetite for event formats that feel more like lifestyle experiences than traditional conferences,” said one planner. “Think: sofas instead of cabaret seating, boutique-style breakouts, immersive local touches.”

Rocco Forte Hotels’ smaller, characterful properties offer natural flexibility here, with some destinations – such as Verdura Resort in Sicily – particularly well-suited for incentive group buyouts and imaginative, bespoke setups.

The Art of Thoughtful Luxury

Whether it’s in the intimacy of a suite or the buzz of a corporate event, the recurring theme from the discussion was simple: the future of luxury lies in thoughtfulness. 

“Luxury today isn’t loud, it’s thoughtful. It’s in the details that make a guest feel known, looked after, and deeply at ease,” Cooke said, adding that it starts behind the scenes, with leadership. “You have to emotionally lead people. If you want staff to build authentic emotional connections with guests, they need to feel it first from you.” 

He leads by example, handwriting motivational notes and embedding storytelling and values into team orientation and training. This commitment to emotional leadership is a foundational part of how Rocco Forte Hotels creates teams that genuinely care and delivers consistently warm, human-centred service.

By partnering with hotel brands that can help bring emotionally intelligent experiences to life, meeting and incentive planners can ensure every touchpoint is not just premium, but personal. Because luxury is no longer defined by opulence, but by how deeply you make guests feel.