Lean Luxury

Where digital meets travel + lifestyle … A collection of can’t-miss news from this week. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox every Friday.

Lean Luxury Hotels

The definition of luxury is ever changing. And that goes for luxury hotels, too. Say hello to the concept of “lean luxury.” It’s still elegant and elevated – but it’s toned down a bit. Quartz’s Rosie Spinks writes: “By cutting back on both the size of the rooms (farewell giant desk fit for a 1980s office) and some of the more costly amenities of a traditional luxury hotel, hospitality companies can offer better locations, a design-led sensibility with higher quality materials, and an altogether elevated experience—for a pretty damn reasonable price.” Added bonus: these types of lean luxury hotel rooms make for perfect Instagram posts.

Pop-Up Festival Season

Can a luxury hotel be portable? A new project called Flying Nest thinks so. Fast Company has the details: “Designed for live events, like remote music festivals and conferences, the Flying Nest consists of modular rooms that can be set up in a matter of hours to comfortably house attendees almost anywhere. An event like Coachella, for instance, would pay Accor to set up the rooms, and you’d rent a spot directly from Coachella.” Sounds like festival season just got a lot more comfortable.

CBD In The Spa

Cannabidiol – AKA CBD – is having a moment in 2019. People who might not have ever had anything to do with a cannabis-derived previously are discovering its (non-psychoactive) benefits. And now, luxury hotel spas are getting into the CBD game. Brides reports: “for the first time ever, top-tier hotels such as the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and the St. Regis San Francisco are introducing restorative treatments that incorporate this holistic healing ingredient.” Watch out – CBD is going mainstream …

Personalized

Is there a “luxury algorithm” a la the complex systems that Netflix and Amazon use? As upscale travelers demand more and more personalization, luxury hotels want to find out. But it might not be a super high-tech approach, Business Insider’s Lina Batarags writes. “Much of it comes down to staff — similarly to Netflix, Amazon, and Postmates' algorithms — remembering guests' preferences, be that a favorite drink order that a bartender can offer a guest upon arrival or a bellhop offering to book guests' favorite spa treatment while they're checking in.”

Weekly Moment of Zen

Town in Iceland paints 3D Zebra crosswalk to slow down speeding cars