Plus: Rethinking hotel packages | Friction-maxxing travel
Somewhere between “lifestyle,” “experiential,” and “bespoke,” hospitality marketing started sounding a little… mushy.
This week, we’re pulling on that thread—why “lifestyle” has become a catchall term that means everything and nothing, why travelers are leaning into "friction-maxxing" trips and why hotel packages are being reworked to prioritize freedom and choice.
The takeaway? Design better moments and let guests choose their own adventure. How things show up matters as much as what you’re offering.
Momentum that matters. Trying to determine what’s a trend and what’s noise before you pencil your next investment or budget? Kalibri Labs' new Hummingbird Market Plus tool provides a decade of performance context plus a 12-month forecast to help owners, developers and underwriters understand how markets behave over time.
“Luxury for all” has a burgeoning business plan. With Highgate running the logistics and Ian Schrager steering brand and design, the powerhouse partnership will expand the PUBLIC hotel brand into global markets.
100 properties that refuse to be vanilla. The new global Cloudbeds Collection spans hideaways, social hubs, architectural provocateurs and everything between. It's a veritable “who's who” of hoteliers pushing the boundaries of independent stays right now.
“Lifestyle” is a catchall (and confusing) term. What was once anti-corporate has been neatly packaged, flagged and rolled out market by market. Guests still want soul. Just don’t assume they can tell who actually built it.
See you in the lobby bar. Flights will be booked, panels will blur and one great hallway conversation will justify the whole trip. Here’s the 2026 hospitality trade show and conference calendar—plan accordingly.
Palm Beach, polished to perfection
Oetker Collection’s first U.S. hotel is a love letter to Palm Beach. Originally opened as the Lido-Venice in 1926, The Vineta Hotel is a pale-pink Mediterranean Revival icon reimagined with clean lines, airy interiors and soft coastal hues. Paris-based interior designer Tino Zervudachi pared the room count down from 53 to 41 to create oversized, luminous retreats.
Why it matters: Design shapes how a stay feels from the moment a guest wakes up. Seamless transitions between inside and out turn everyday moments—coffee, cocktails, a swim—into small rituals, giving the stay a rhythm that feels effortless rather than programmed. (Sleeper Magazine)
The Vineta Hotel. (Courtesy)
Sweat equity
Convenience still matters, but it’s no longer the headline. A growing segment of travelers is pushing back on hyper-smooth travel in favor of journeys that involve choice, discovery and a little work, because that’s where meaning creeps in. “Friction-maxxing” reframes travel as something you participate in, not something delivered fully assembled.
Why it matters: Guests form stronger emotional connections to your property and its surroundings when discovery replaces automation in the right moments. Thoughtful friction—a handwritten map, a local ritual, an experience that requires showing up at the right time—creates emotional buy-in and stronger recall. Hoteliers, you don’t need to manufacture friction; you just need to curate it with intention. (Globetrender)
Are packages passé?
As guests lean on AI to shape their own trips, many hotels are reworking traditional packages into flexible add-ons that feel easier to choose and better to book. Less bundling equals more freedom and a smoother path from browsing to booking, which has a direct impact on revenue.
Why it matters: Packages still matter, but how they show up makes all the difference. When you break inclusions into thoughtful, modular offers, guests spend more without feeling sold to, decision fatigue drops and ancillary revenue gets a healthy lift. It’s a small shift in presentation that can unlock bigger gains in direct bookings and guest satisfaction. (Boutique Hotelier USA)
Turning guest signals into service wins
What if your biggest service gains came from redesigning guest communication, not adding labor? In this “Hotel Tech Insider” episode, Greg Nawrocki, director of marketing for hospitality management company Linchris Hotel Corporation, breaks down how SMS, PMS-connected data and disciplined channel tracking perform across the company's 30+ urban, resort, branded and independent hotels.
Why it matters: This is operations-level insight, not vendor theory. Nawrocki walks through where SMS outperforms email across the guest journey and how adoption hits 50–80% when deployed correctly. Also, segmentation—when tied to spend, booking source and drive markets—can change both conversion and service outcomes. For independents competing on efficiency, this is a blueprint for doing more with the systems you already have. (Hotel Tech Insider)
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Mint Pillow is curated and written by Jennifer Glatt and edited by Bianca Prieto.
