Inside the Art of Hospitality: What Makes a Great Hotel
Discover how expert curators and a lifetime inside hotels shape the gold standard for hospitality, design, and unforgettable stays.
What transforms a hotel from a mere place to sleep into a destination in its own right? Senior editor and hotels expert Jenn Flowers, who spent her formative years living inside legendary properties, shares unique insights and criteria for how the industry’s best are chosen and why remarkable hotels matter more than ever to travelers.
In an era when every traveler seeks more than just comfort, today’s hotels compete not only on amenities, but on the power to capture imagination, connect to place, and create lasting impact. Read on for an in-depth exploration of these themes, inspired by Flowers’ own story and the extensive process behind AFAR’s Stay List of the world’s best hotels.
Origin Story: Growing Up Inside Hotels
Jenn Flowers, Senior Deputy Editor at AFAR, was born into the world of hospitality. With a parent working as a hotelier, her earliest memories are of living in celebrated hotels—including the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York City. This unusual upbringing shaped her appreciation for hospitality’s subtleties and the profound effect that a truly great hotel can have on its guests.
- Hotels as Home: Flowers recalls hotels as spaces of both glamour and comfort—and as backdrops to family dinners and private rituals, sometimes defying the opulence available just an elevator ride away.
- Family, Continuity, and Rituals: Even surrounded by luxury, her family found ways to structure normalcy—like home-cooked meals—fostering her belief that the best hotels make travelers feel both transported and at home.
Early Lessons in Hospitality
The experience of growing up behind the scenes helped Flowers become attuned to the details and care that separate truly special hotels from the rest—insights that today guide her work in reviewing and curating the world’s best stays.
The Power of Great Hotels: More Than a Place to Sleep
A great hotel is no longer just a base to explore from—it can be the highlight of a trip. According to Flowers, hotels today strive to be destinations in themselves: offering immersive experiences, cultural connection, and a unique sense of place.
- Experiential Luxury: Modern travel demands more than pillow menus or high-thread-count sheets. Guests want stories to take home, whether from design, food, history, or community engagement.
- Where Memories Are Made: The ambiance and service of a hotel contribute as much to a traveler’s memories as the city or landscape outside its doors.
- Destination Hotels: Standout properties inspire guests to build entire itineraries around them, not the other way around.
Curating the Best: Behind AFAR’s Stay List
Flowers leads AFAR’s annual “Stay List”—a hand-picked collection of the world’s most exceptional hotels and resorts. The selection process is rigorous and deeply collaborative, involving both personal site visits and global research.
- Worldwide Canvas: The team canvasses the globe in search of truly standout properties—those that are not only new but impactful, creative, and deeply in tune with their locations.
- Selection Criteria: Beyond luxury, the Stay List values properties bringing something fresh to their destinations—such as groundbreaking design, sustainability, or local involvement.
- Obsession and Dedication: As Flowers notes, the process is all-consuming, with countless ideas and properties debated to ensure each selection is worthy of the honor.
How a Hotel Makes the Stay List
- Authentic Connection: Does the hotel reflect and give back to its neighborhood or ecosystem?
- Innovative Hospitality: Are there unique, thoughtful touches that elevate the guest experience?
- Cultural Resonance: Does the property have a story to tell—through its décor, partnerships, or programming?
- Positive Impact: Does the hotel operate sustainably and benefit the host community?
Personal Criteria: What Jenn Flowers Looks For
Drawing on her lifelong exposure to the world’s finest hotels, Flowers shares a nuanced vision of what separates a good hotel from a great one.
- Warm, Personalized Service: Genuine interactions and anticipation of needs rank above flashy amenities.
- Soulful Design: Spaces that evoke emotion, draw from local traditions, and use materials/artisans from the surrounding area foster a deeper sense of belonging.
- Local Flavor and Contribution: Properties that embrace neighborhood culture—not just aesthetically, but through hiring, sourcing, and community projects—stand out.
- Balance of Familiarity and Discovery: The best hotels comfort guests with thoughtful details while simultaneously surprising them with new experiences or perspectives.
The Impact of Place: Hotels Anchored in Locale
Flowers insists that the strongest hotels feel inextricably linked to their locations—serving as an invitation to know a place more deeply, not an enclave walled off from its reality.
- Respectful Integration: Top hotels incorporate native materials, reflect neighborhood rhythms, and offer gateways to local culture—sometimes acting as social or creative hubs for residents as well as travelers.
- Design with Intent: From Venetian properties featuring custom work by local artisans to remote retreats built with local knowledge, the mark of “place” is in every detail.
Table: Hallmarks of a Place-Rooted Hotel
| Criteria | Examples |
|---|---|
| Locally Sourced Materials | Handmade tiles, regional fabrics, sustainable local wood |
| Cultural Programming | Workshops, guided tours, collaborations with area artists |
| Community Partnerships | Employing nearby residents, supporting local businesses |
| Environmental Stewardship | Eco-friendly buildings, waste reduction, conservation projects |
Hotel Trends: What’s Next for Hospitality
The best hotels are constantly evolving to meet changing tastes. According to Flowers and industry leaders, four trends define the new gold standard for hotels as of 2024 and beyond:
- Sustainable Operations: Hotels are now judged by their environmental impact—whether through energy-saving architecture, zero-waste kitchens, or community conservation efforts.
- Hyper-Local Immersion: Guests increasingly demand experiences not available anywhere else: think chef-led market tours, on-site artisan workshops, and insider access to community events.
- Technology & Convenience: High-speed internet and smart in-room features are baseline expectations, while personalization through digital services grows more sophisticated.
- Wellness & Mindful Retreats: Beyond spas, there’s a surge in programming focused on holistic health, meditation, and stress release.
Why Hospitality Matters: Final Reflections
Ultimately, Flowers believes great hotels matter because they are “catalysts for connection”—both to ourselves and the wider world. They remind travelers of the power of comfort, the meaning of welcome, and the role that thoughtful spaces and people play in turning journeys into stories worth telling. These lessons—rooted in her own background and echoed in AFAR’s annual lists—set a benchmark for the hotel industry and inspire every wanderer seeking something unforgettable.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes a hotel truly great, according to experts?
A great hotel combines warm, authentic service, a strong sense of place, local contribution, and memorable design. It goes beyond basic comfort to provide unique experiences, emotional connections, and lasting positive impact on both guests and communities.
How is AFAR’s Stay List created?
The Stay List is curated by hospitality experts who travel globally, research new properties, and debate which hotels are game-changers in their locales. Selection focuses on innovation, community impact, design, and a hotel’s ability to enrich its destination.
Why does growing up in hotels influence a hospitality editor’s perspective?
Early immersion in hotel life fosters deep understanding of service, atmosphere, and the effect that thoughtful details have on guests. Editors with such backgrounds are often more attuned to subtleties that distinguish the extraordinary from the ordinary.
What hotel trends are shaping the future?
Key trends include sustainability, hyper-local experiences, integration of smart technology, and expanded wellness offerings, all of which redefine guest expectations and the meaning of luxury.
Can a hotel be the main reason to visit a place?
Absolutely. Many travelers now choose destinations specifically for standout hotels, whose design, culture, or natural setting makes them a journey’s true highlight and sometimes even its primary motivation.
