Recast: Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
May 14, 2025
In this recast episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens revisits her conversation with Shannon Knapp, President and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). Shannon shares her deep insights from over 20 years in luxury hospitality, discussing how LHW empowers over 400 independent luxury hotels worldwide to maintain their uniqueness while leveraging global marketing, technology, and customer engagement strategies. Tune in to learn about the evolution of luxury hospitality, the importance of personalization in guest experiences, and how technology is transforming the industry.
In this engaging recast episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens sits down with Shannon Knapp, President & CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World, to explore the evolving luxury hospitality landscape and how independent luxury hotels can thrive in the modern era. Shannon shares her wealth of experience in the luxury travel space, shedding light on how her organization supports over 400 luxury hotels across 80 countries.
Throughout the conversation, Shannon discusses how the definition of luxury has transformed from a standardized hotel-defined concept to a highly personalized experience tailored to individual preferences. She highlights the crucial role of technology in enabling personalization at scale while maintaining the human touch that defines true luxury service. Shannon also shares insights into the Leaders Club loyalty program, which offers immediate benefits designed to foster loyalty across the collection of independent hotels.
What You'll Learn:
- How the definition of luxury has evolved from hotel-defined to guest-defined experiences
- Why personalization has become the cornerstone of modern luxury hospitality
- How technology can empower staff to deliver personalized service at scale
- The importance of having clear use cases before investing in new hotel technologies
- Strategies for avoiding "shiny object syndrome" when it comes to tech investments
- How independent hotels can leverage loyalty programs to compete with large chains
- Practical approaches to managing technology with limited resources and small teams
- The critical balance between technological efficiency and authentic human service
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Episode Highlights:
[05:29] Evolving definition of luxury - Shannon explains how the concept of luxury has shifted over the years. In the past, hotels dictated the meaning of luxury by offering a standardized set of services and experiences. Now, luxury has become a highly personalized experience, where each traveler defines what luxury means to them. This change poses both challenges and opportunities, as today's luxury guests may prefer anything from traditional palace hotels to smaller, intimate properties that focus on authenticity, wellness, and sustainability.
[14:46] Budgeting and investment strategy for hotels - When it comes to budgeting, Shannon advises hotels to focus on understanding their business mix and growth aspirations. She discusses the shift many hotels have seen towards leisure travel post-pandemic and how budgeting should reflect this changing market. She also warns hotels to avoid getting distracted by new, shiny technologies. Instead, they should focus on solving real problems and maximizing the tools they already have, ensuring that the technology is being fully utilized and managed effectively.
[17:19] Technology management for independent hotels - Shannon discusses how challenging it can be for independent hotels, which often have small teams, to manage multiple technology platforms. She emphasizes the importance of consulting with experts like The Leading Hotels of the World to ensure that they are maximizing the value of their existing tech stack. Leading Hotels assists its members in identifying appropriate vendors and solutions, ensuring the technology is properly implemented and leveraged.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
04:45 - The evolution of luxury travel: Personalization over tradition
07:28 - Personalization at scale: leveraging tech for tailored experiences
10:05 - Building loyalty: Inside leaders club
13:03 - Strategic budgeting: Avoiding the shiny object trap
18:43 - Increasing global brand presence: Focus on what matters
21:33 - Career growth and mentorship: From marketing leader to CEO
24:17 - Closing thoughts on failure and learning
24:40 - Outro
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.
Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.
If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:
- Innovation in hospitality technology
- Guest experience transformation
- Revenue optimization strategies
- Emerging industry trends
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