Best in Hospitality Winter 2026: New Brands and Ideas That Matter
Photo Credit: Zannier plans to open a property on Île de Bendor, a private island off Bandol. Zannier
Skift Take
Hospitality is constantly evolving. Here's what has stood out this season.
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.I'm obsessed with hospitality because it encompasses so much — new ideas, new markets, detail and design — but above all because of the human factor: understanding what guests actually desire and responding nimbly.
There are several trends I'm tracking right now. The movement from display to depth is accelerating: lots of guests have been long indulged by the usual glitz'd luxury codes and have come out the other end looking for stays rooted in sensory experiences rather than the old signals of ego and wealth.
Another important trend is the emerging status symbol of being utterly unreachable and not being tethered to WhatsApp. I'm also watching the role hospitality can play as connective tissue for a society that is veering towards loneliness and isolation — a convivial lobby, a well-designed bar, a thoughtfully run hotel functioning as a coral reef for interesting encounters. Emily Sundberg's recent reference to "soft socializing" resonates here: co
