The Luxury We Are Leaving Behind: Why Regenerative Hospitality is the Future
Summary
This 37-minute session at ITB Berlin 2025 (the 60th edition) examines the transformation of luxury hospitality from a status-driven, extractive model toward regenerative, purpose-led approaches. Moderated by Yasemin Oruc (Senior Lecturer, Hotelschool The Hague), the session opens with a keynote from Prof. Alessandro Inversini (EHL Hospitality Business School) who traces his intellectual journey to regenerative hospitality back to a 2022 fieldwork trip to the Shouf Biosphere Reserve in Lebanon, where meeting a donkey breeder named Chibi revealed an alternative model of hospitality rooted in interconnected living systems.
Inversini frames regenerative hospitality around two core concepts: 'place intelligence' (understanding interconnected natural and community ecosystems outside the property) and 'people intelligence' (authentic, transformation-enabling guest experiences). He draws on real examples including a Swiss four-star hotel whose owner opened its Michelin-starred brasserie to the local community after realizing community buy-in was essential to viability, and Bliss & Stars retreat in South Africa, which merges local traditions with the retreat experience. Inversini introduces the freely available 'Regenerative Hospitality Canvas' (Creative Commons, available on Zenodo) as a practical methodology to support the thinking shift without enabling 'regen washing.
' He also announces the launch of his new book, 'Regenerative Hospitality: Strategies to Become a Transformative Hospitality Leader.' The panel discussion with Dr. Valentina Clergue (EHL, well-being researcher) and Hector de Castro (Founder, Regenera Luxury) deepens the inquiry across three themes: signals of luxury transformation, the exclusivity-to-inclusivity shift, and the measurement paradox.
Clergue grounds the shift in positive psychology, specifically 'hedonic adaptation' — the psychological phenomenon where satisfaction from possessions is short-lived — arguing this drives consumers toward experiences and meaning. She criticizes the industry's drift toward transactional hospitality, calling for a return to the hospice-derived root of hospitality as genuine care. Inversini cites Pine and Gilmore's 1998 'Experience Economy' and flags that Pine's new book is 'The Transformation Economy,' signaling this progression is not a trend but an economic paradigm shift.
De Castro highlights that 80% of properties currently adopting regenerative models are luxury properties, for two reasons: they have the financial means and the scale to engage stakeholders meaningfully. However, he and Inversini argue that mindset, not means, is the true prerequisite, citing collaborations with city hotels of 150–300 rooms. De Castro notes that luxury properties range from $200/night to $8,000–$15,000/night per room and that regenerative adoption is possible across this spectrum.
On measurement, de Castro describes a KPI framework developed by Regenera Luxury ranging from 20 baseline KPIs (for early-stage properties) up to 270 KPIs (for advanced adopters), covering environmental, cultural, community contribution, and well-being dimensions. The panelists acknowledge the tension between measurability and meaning, noting that culture and social dimensions were historically sidelined in sustainability metrics in favor of easier-to-quantify environmental data like waste and energy consumption. The session closes with single-word takeaways: Inversini offers 'flourishing,' Clergue offers 'richness,' and de Castro offers 'richness (inner transformation).
Key Takeaways
- •Inversini's origin story: a 2022 trip to the Shouf Biosphere Reserve in Lebanon during mobile app fieldwork led to the realization that hospitality can be structured around interconnected living systems — nature and community as one — rather than primarily around financial return.
- •Core regenerative hospitality framework: 'place intelligence' (understanding and aligning with natural and community ecosystems external to the property) enables 'people intelligence' (authentic, potentially transformative guest experiences). Authenticity is the bridge between the two.
- •80% of hospitality properties currently adopting regenerative practices are luxury properties, according to Inversini, due to their financial means and manageable scale — but mindset, not budget, is the true enabler, with city hotels of 150–300 rooms also engaged via Inversini's collaborative work.
- •Clergue's psychological grounding: 'hedonic adaptation' — the well-established psychological phenomenon that satisfaction from luxury goods fades quickly — is a core driver pushing consumers from possession to experience and meaning. This is not a trend but a documented psychological and behavioral shift.
- •Pine and Gilmore's 1998 'Experience Economy' has now been superseded by what Inversini calls the 'Transformation Economy' (Joe Pine's new book), framing the current shift in hospitality not as a trend but as the next stage of economic value creation.
- •Illustrative case: A Swiss four-star hotel owner (Andre Val Deju) opened his Michelin three-star brasserie to local community members for lunch, recognizing that without community buy-in, the business itself could not function — demonstrating that regenerative hospitality is also financially rational.
- •De Castro on luxury hotel pricing and regenerative adoption: properties ranging from $200/night to $8,000–$15,000/night per room are engaged with regenerative models, indicating this is not confined to ultra-premium segments.
- •Regenera Luxury's KPI framework spans 20 baseline KPIs (for early-stage properties with limited resources) to 270 KPIs (for advanced adopters), covering environmental, cultural, social, community contribution, and well-being dimensions — moving well beyond standard environmental sustainability metrics.
Transcript
Thank you, Lucas, Lucas, Mariline, and Caroline. Don't know where you are now, but there you are. Thank you so much. What a warm welcome. Good morning, valuable audience. It's super special to see you today here, the third and last day of ITB, the 60th one this year. And perhaps more importantly, I'm very pleased to be here today because we're going to reflect on where the next era of hospitality is heading towards too. And isn't that great and fitting within the theme of ITB this year, leading ...
