We must foresee the Future to create in the Present – a Greater Systemic Vision. Pioneer Brands pay a high price for challenging the old system but, in the end, they only gain by fulfilling their purpose and thriving in a new reality.
“Trend” – One of the clichéd words of the present times. We understand it as something that may be coming but is still a mirage and will “take time” to become a reality, as if it were just a possibility. The positive effect of COVID has accelerated an urgent transformation.
As Justin Trudeau said in Davos
“The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again”
The rapid transformation
If a few years ago it took 10 or 15 years for an identified trend to evolve and be considered a reality, today this time frame has been reduced thanks to the digital world in which everything happens in “live” mode.
Wellness Hospitality: We’re witnessing an explosion of new hotel proposals, of which we highlight the retreats: Yoga, Meditation, Detox and many others, as a response to real needs that have been there for a while, but today find a boost on the post-Covid effect, such as: fatigue, burnout, depression, among others.
We realized that Health came to take over our choices, changed behaviours, establishing itself as number one topic of conversations. Investing in prevention or regeneration is a priority and, therefore, holiday choices are reflecting this new reality: destinations that value nature, give priority to space and privacy, safety and proximity to our Home Country.
Hotel Brands vs The New Hospitality
There are the Visionary Brands “Start Small, Think Big & Purpose Driven” that break new ground with the mission of fulfilling their purpose, often overcoming a true test of integrity and truth ends up to be rewarded in unlimited ways (there are several Brands that choose this path with amazing results); the Follower Brands are those that follow the Visionaries, opting for the safety of a path already explored, to which they imprint some differentiation; and, finally, there are the most common, the Copy/Paste Brands, which, without soul, just copy what the others have done primarily and, often, in a very poor way – because they have no strategic orientation, they limit themselves to imitating or competing with no purpose, living of Ego.
It is important to realize that Visionary Brands live by their purpose and all their creativity and innovation is aligned with their DNA. They invest on market niches because they know the added value they have. The famous book “Blue Ocean Strategy” explains this conscious and intelligent choice very well. They know that the Innovation Curve is a reality, so it takes consistency, resilience, dedication, commitment, and a belief that surpasses any test of faith.
Here lies the essence of the New Age of Hospitality, projects we love to do at ABC Sustainable Luxury Hospitality. And what a privilege it is to work with investors aligned with this greater consciousness, true and thriving. We welcome the Innovators, The Early Adopters and Early Majority, why? because that’s Who we Are and Believe.
We deeply believe that through hospitality we have the power to make a conscious and positive impact to raise awareness of natural resources, the authenticity of each place, valuing ancestral wisdom and that each one of us is an agent of change and evolution.
Brands’ Cycle of Vitality, Growth and Prosperity
Unlike Follower Brands or worse, Copy/Paste ones, which end up stagnating or declining, Visionary Brands know how much creativity/innovation is part of their expansion path, it is vital to keep investing on renewal, there must always be a new level of innovation that consists basically in anticipating which future will be Present.
Brands with Soul always have this capacity of going beyond, this sense of quest for something that “is not” there yet, with the certainty that it will always be a matter of time for starting to be, and for this differentiating concept to be recognized in the market.
That’s why it is so important that the entire strategy is defined for the target niche of that brand. Today we can talk about “Surgical Marketing” for its power to impact those who identify, value true differentiation, and want to be part of this new era that has already begun!
Ana Cristina Guilherme
Hospitality Wellness Brandologist
ABC Sustainable Luxury Hospitality