Mexico-based hotel and hospitality consultant, Rocco Bova, joins us for a Q&A.
In a candid and insightful Q&A session, Rocco Bova, shares his reflections on the essence of luxury in hospitality – drawing on his experience in the hotel industry. He describes the pivotal role of hosts in creating bespoke experiences and expands on the nuances of understanding consumer psychology in the luxury market.
In the interview, he challenges misconceptions around sustainability and shares some of the evolving expectations of the emerging generations – continuing to return to the enduring principles of respect and fair treatment. Finally, Rocco addresses current industry challenges and highlights the critical need to attract and retain talent.
This dialogue – albeit brief – offers valuable insights into the multifaceted landscape of luxury hospitality and its trajectory.
Can you elaborate on your philosophy of ‘luxury’ – what does it mean and how can ‘luxury’ be created and systemised by businesses?
For me luxury is space, privacy and anticipation when it comes to staying at a hotel. I think Aman it right since their first hotel in Phuket. They are my inspiration. Unfortunately it cannot truly be ‘systemised’ as such. Perhaps only in an more aesthetic way, like design and architecture of spaces.
But hospitality is not just about the product, it’s also about the experience – and while some can be copied, most aspects needs to be custom-made according to the location, culture and situation. Luxury is and should be personal, individual, tailor-made. To me, the host (or the GM) is the person that can really make this happen. There unfortunately aren’t many great hosts out there but through coaching, I believe we can find new ‘diamonds’ to perpetuate the practice of true luxury. For example, I used to go and welcome most guests personally at the airport. The first impression is what lasts and what set also the expectations for the rest of the stay.
Another way some hotels do it is to have a management cocktail during the stay (say 2-3 times a week). This way management can connect with guests on a more personal basis. I went one step further by inviting guests individually or entertaining them during lunch or dinner. This can be more challenging in big hotels, which is why I love boutique hotels.
How do you develop an understanding of consumer psychology in the luxury and ultra-luxury market and what strategies do you employ to meet their expectations? At their core, are these guests different to any others?
The best guest experiences were created when I was personally went to the airport to receive them arriving from other countries. This would set the tone for their stay at the property.
Even for me, it was like receiving my best friends or family members visiting from afar. These moments were priceless. It would help me to better read the guests them and learn their likes and dislikes without it being an obvious investigation.
Eventually, the magic would happen – guests came to feel like they were in heaven and some would even leave with tears in their eyes, very much looking forward to returning. This task repeats itself but is never the same.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important (and at times central) to many business conversations but also carries its expenses. How can hotel managers implement sustainable practices and appropriately manage up in the conversations regarding their financial drawbacks?
I think there is a wrong perception of the cost of sustainability. The main expenses are employing the right people that care about it and have a great leader that lives and breathes the concept. Sadly, most hotels think that by charging a percentage of the rate – calling it a ‘green fee’ to guests – clears them from their responsibility. This is wrong. It’s not the guests’ responsibility to pay for being sustainable.
On the other hand, we often think that being sustainable means being green and environmentally aware. I believe that the best way to being sustainable is to be a business that can last indefinitely. In order to do this, one must think about its people.
Management must recruit well, train effectively and ultimately create associates for the business by making them become part of it. The best and easiest way to do this is by sharing profits and making staff responsible for the viability of the business, so that it lasts for the long term.
How are younger generations engaging differently with hotels? What needs to change operationally to accommodate for their expectations and how can managers adapt?
In my opinion, nothing needs to change. People are people and the most important thing is to treat them with respect.
From a staff perspective, provide them with the right pay and benefits, give the tools to do their job and help them grow. When companies do that, businesses flourish and staff become ambassadors for the brand – even if they don’t stay for many years. Managers needs to understand that in order to be respected, they first need to respect.
When it comes to guests, although travellers’ expectations can skew towards social media post-worthy situations and experiential travel, the purpose of travel in general has not changed at all. We travel because we wish to explore, distract ourselves from the routine and most of all, to discover something new. People, gastronomy, places, culture and history.
Our deep desire to be nomadic has not changed and has actually been taking the foreground of late, with more and more of the younger generation possessing the flexibility to travel and work remotely. This is why many hotels have turned into branded residences and provide co-working or public spaces in their lobbies.
What other factors are shaping the future of luxury hospitality and how can their emergent challenges be mitigated?
The biggest challenge I can foresee – and not only for the luxury segment – is finding and retaining new talent. We lost countless great people to other industries during the pandemic and now, every company is struggling to find good talent. Additionally, tech companies are trying to automate tasks – assuming that this is the solution to the problem. The hospitality industry continues to grow and I’ve seen the impact of staff shortages in several counties – unless there’s a great shift that happens, we cannot expect people to return.
Also, the interface between recruitment software and job applicants is a mess – by trying to automate this process, we have completely lost the human touch in it. Applicants are now screened by a machine with the hope that the right key words are on their CV. You don’t need to look far to see the frustration of applicants, who – after sending hundreds of applications – often receive no response. Something wrong is certainly happening and needs to change.
