SLH's Kenan Simmons on the Resurgence of Boutique Luxury, Keeping Customer Service Human, AI Can Only Read the Kitchen You Have Written Down

Three pieces look at what still separates good hospitality from the merely efficient. Kenan Simmons of Small Luxury Hotels of the World tells Adam Mogelonsky that boutique luxury is not evolving but coming back, and warns the industry about what it calls boutique. Shep Hyken points to a Pennsylvania hotel that trained its whole staff in concierge service rather than adding AI agents. Paul Forciniti argues that AI in a hotel kitchen can only read what the team writes down at the end of each shift. Signals carries GBTA's forecast of €404 billion in European business travel spending and C9 Hotelworks data on Phuket's growth.

Kenan Simmons on Independent Spirit, the Hilton Partnership, and the Resurgence of Boutique Luxury

Kenan Simmons, Senior Vice President Americas at Small Luxury Hotels of the World, tells Adam Mogelonsky that customer acquisition is one of the costliest parts of running a hotel, with sales and marketing taking seven to eleven percent of annual revenue. For a 25-room independent, that is the problem SLH exists to solve. He says the Hilton partnership, live since July 2024, plugs small hotels into a loyalty audience of more than 200 million members, giving them guests who are not shopping on price alone.

Simmons also describes SLH's move from SEO to GEO through its own photographers, videographers and storytelling, and says travel advisors still make up the bulk of its business. His sharpest point is about the word itself: "if you're a corporate-owned hotel that has 250 rooms, not so much boutique anymore." That fits the argument Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky made on Monday, that boutique service works best below about 80 keys. Listen to the episode →

How to Keep Customer Service Human in an AI-Fueled World

Shep Hyken of Shepard Presentations calls himself an advocate of an AI-first strategy, as long as a human is easy to reach whenever the customer wants one. His example is the Historic Hotel Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, which chose not to use AI agents and trained more than 200 staff in concierge service under its REAL People Promise: relational, engaged, accessible and local.

General Manager Kelly Ronalds says guests can go to any staff member for answers. Hyken's lesson is not to drop technology but to know where it helps and where the human experience matters more, and to give customers the choice between the two. Read the column →

AI Can Only Read the Kitchen You Have Written Down

Paul Forciniti argues that the place AI can help a hotel kitchen most is the handover between the 11 p.m. close and the 6 a.m. opening, and that this is also where it fails fastest. The information that decides whether breakfast runs cleanly usually lives in conversation, text messages and the chef's memory, not in POS data. A forecasting tool fed only sales figures will plan production for a kitchen that exists on paper.

In the kitchens he works with, sous chefs fill in a short handover sheet at every close, and AI drafts a weekly summary that he reviews before anything reaches leadership. Tasting, approval and accountability stay with the chef. His advice before the next vendor demonstration is to start with a one-page handover and a weekly kitchen walk. Read the argument →

Signals

European business travel spending is forecast to reach €404 billion in 2026. GBTA puts Europe-originating trip volume at 600 million and says spending is growing ten times faster than trip volume, which points to a rising cost per trip.

Phuket recorded 6.13 million international arrivals from January to September. C9 Hotelworks reports THB400 billion in tourism revenue and 5,517 hotel keys across 30 pipeline properties on the island.

Global luxury spending reached €1.44 trillion in 2025, but growth is flattening. Paulina Schmidt of EHL Hospitality Business School argues that luxury brands now have to compete on experience, service design and relationship depth rather than on pricing power alone.

Only about 14% of marketers measure whether their brand appears in AI answers. Cendyn's six-check infographic sets out how hotels can test what AI tools say about them, from structured data to inconsistent listings. Cendyn is a hotel technology vendor.

Hilton's foundations commit nearly £900,000 to 12 UK charities. The grants from the Hilton Global Foundation and Hilton UK Foundation support young people gaining skills and routes into hospitality and other work.

People

Peta Ruiter was appointed General Manager at Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour after two decades with Hilton across Asia Pacific. Vincenzo Finizzola was appointed General Manager at The Langham, Venice, where he will lead pre-opening ahead of its 2028 debut, and Daniel Curto Esterhaus was appointed General Manager at Lanserhof Marbella, which opens in mid-2027.

Properties

Marriott International marked its 800th property in Asia Pacific excluding China with the opening of La Résidence Phou Vao, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa in Luang Prabang, and Fairfield by Marriott made its Thailand debut in Krabi's Ao Nang district. Penta Real Estate and Staycity Group formed a £230 million-plus joint venture to deliver the 350-room Wilde aparthotel in central London. Radisson Blu Hotel, Sheffield became Radisson Hotel Group's second Verified Net Zero hotel in the UK, and Oakwood Flemington Melbourne broke ground for The Ascott Limited.