Let’s be honest: if you’re still talking about your 'new' coffee program in 2025, you’ve already missed the boat, great coffee isn’t a luxury anymore—it’s a baseline expectation.

Same goes for high-thread-count sheets, decent pillows, good lighting that doesn’t require an engineering degree to operate, and showers that don’t feel like a game of Twister. These aren't differentiators—they're table stakes.

I've spent over 30 years building, operating, and staying in hotels, restaurants, and hospitality venues across the globe. I’ve opened places people lined up for. I’ve fixed ones that were bleeding cash. And I can tell you this: guests don’t remember your points program—they remember how you made them feel.

Isadore Sharp, the legendary founder of Four Seasons, laid it out decades ago: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s not fluff—it’s the foundation of one of the most successful hospitality brands in the world. Sharp didn’t build loyalty with gimmicks. He built it with consistent, genuine service, delivered with purpose.

Meanwhile, boutique hotels are eating your lunch. Why? Because they’re lean, nimble, and personal. They can deliver better service with a smaller team because they’re not trying to be all things to all people. They know their guest, they know what matters, and they cut out the noise. These teams are tight, trained, and empowered. They remember names, not just room numbers.

Most big hotels are still pushing top-down service scripts and forcing robotic brand standards that haven't evolved since 2011. Boutique hotels? They're designing experiences—from the scent in the lobby to the playlist in the elevator to the late-night martini service in-room. And guess what? Guests feel it. That intimacy is what’s driving repeat visits and direct bookings.

Here’s what your hotel should be asking:

1. Do your spaces invite people to linger or just pass through?

2. Are your teams emotionally intelligent, or just trained to repeat policy?

3. Do your wellness offerings actually nourish people, or just tick a box?

4. Are you offering moments of magic—or just upgraded amenities?

Loyalty isn’t bought with points. It’s earned with consistency, care, and humanity. Service is not an amenity—it’s the engine. Hospitality doesn’t happen in a marketing deck—it happens at the door, at the table, on the pillow, in the hallway, in the way someone says, “We’ve been expecting you.”

If your rooms are empty, your rates are dropping, and your guests are drifting—it’s not the market. It’s you.

We can help.

Whether you're repositioning a legacy property, launching something new, or simply trying to make sense of how hospitality needs to evolve right now—we’ve done it. For global hotel brands. For independent boutiques. For F&B programs in desperate need of relevance. Our work sits at the intersection of service, design, programming, and the psychology of how people want to feel.

So if you’re serious about fixing the real problems—not just dressing them up with nicer uniforms—visit us and get in touch.

Because how you make people feel after they leave is just as important as how you make them feel when they arrive.

Robert Marchetti is a global hospitality strategist and creative director with over 30 years of experience creating, launching, and turning around restaurants, bars, and hotels across New York, Jakarta, Penang, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Sydney, Bali, Berlin, and beyond. From boutique openings to iconic legacy properties, he helps teams build spaces that people feel, remember, and return to.