’Most confident billionaires, multimillionaires and centimillionaires don’t need that.....'' Milton Pedraza
A few weeks back I had the opportunity to meet with Milton Pedraza, CEO at the The Luxury Institute, LLC and needless to say, we had an incredible chat.
Milton has a magnificent network and extensive knowledge about HNWI and UHNWI preferences, behaviors, values, priorities, and expectations, so it's really fascinating to hear what he has to say.
We discussed a very common misconception in the luxury industry, where brands and some customers think more is more, and opulence is the way to go. Though as Milton shared, ‘’most confident billionaires, multimillionaires and centimillionaires don’t need that, they want genuine human connection, a great venue, yes, but bigger is not better, and opulence is not better.’’
The luxury industry is crowded nowadays… too many luxury brands, companies, services, experiences, it seems everyone is ''luxury'' today….
Did being ‘’luxury’’ become a fashion trend or marketing strategy? Because when every second company out there is labelling itself as luxury, does luxury actually exist anymore? Or what does it actually imply to build a luxury brand or organization? It seems not many cares to answer the last one.
Undeniably luxury requires a transformation, it requires evolution, because luxury customers are not seeking what most companies are offering. Luxury customers are seeking authenticity, genuine conversations and connection, empathy, and humanity, and most of all, trust.
Milton shared that customers are looking for places where people truly know how to take care of you, and while yes, recruitment is a key aspect in hospitality, you can also teach kindness to others. Cause in the end, its all about authenticity, connection, and trust.
Let’s rethink luxury for a moment, lets understand that even though there is a huge dependence on the aspirational clientele, luxury is not really that…. And we need to go back to basics where perhaps is not bigger, but maybe we need to create smaller intimate spaces. Intimacy, privacy and coziness are important aspects of the luxury experience, where customers dont feel small in these opulent and massive places, but on the contrary, where customers feel seen, recognized and overall where they feel special.
We keep thriving for perfection, for the perfect standards, for that uniformity in service, for that methodical technique, and yes to a certain extent, but really we are taking for granted what truly makes the difference, and I can tell you, this is not it. Cause every other place offers the same standards, methodical service, perfection... so what do you offer besides that?
If your building and design wasn't a differentiator, because it is only to a certain extent, what else do you have? Is there anything else besides the physical aspect that adds value? If the answer is no, then you are just one more of the same... and there are thousands just like you.
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