Experience versus amenities – where should hotels invest? With the help of industry experts, we look into whether guests really want more facilities, or better experiences.
For years, the race to attract guests centred on bigger, better and more luxurious amenities – from rooftop pools and state-of-the-art gyms to smart-room technology and lavish spas. But as guest expectations continue to evolve, many hoteliers are asking whether memorable experiences now deliver a greater return than bricks-and-mortar upgrades.
Today’s travellers increasingly value authenticity, personalisation and meaningful connections, placing greater emphasis on exceptional service, curated local experiences and wellness-led stays alongside traditional facilities. At the same time, rising costs and tighter capital budgets are forcing operators to make difficult investment decisions. So, where should hotels be directing their spending? We explore the balance between amenity-led investment and experience-driven strategies, examining how operators are prioritising capital expenditure in a challenging market while meeting the expectations of the modern guest.
At Lucknam Park, they boast exceptional infrastructure, from their spa to the dining offering and setting. However, David Griffin, General Manager at Lucknam Park, said, “Our focus is firmly on how those spaces are brought to life through service, attention to detail, and storytelling. Investment decisions are therefore being shaped not only by maintaining our physical standards, but by enhancing the guest journey, ensuring every interaction feels considered, personal, and memorable.”
As operators face rising costs and tighter capital allocation, we turned to evaluating the return on investment from major physical upgrades compared with spending on staff development, service culture and guest personalisation – David explained that at Lucknam Park, they see staff development and guest personalisation as critical drivers of long-term value. “A well-trained, engaged team can elevate every aspect of the guest experience, regardless of the setting. The most successful investments are those that align both elements, ensuring that exceptional facilities are matched by an equally exceptional level of service.”
The approach to capital expenditure at Foxhills Club & Resort has become more disciplined and commercially focused, with every project needing to demonstrate not only an operational need but a clear impact on guest experience, revenue, retention or reputation.
Mark Thewlis, Hotel Manager, Foxhills Club & Resort, said, “Traditional amenity upgrades remain important, but we now place greater value on investments that activate those spaces properly through service, training, personalisation and experiences that create stronger long-term loyalty.”
We asked Mark if he believes today’s guests place greater value on memorable experiences than on the breadth of a hotel’s physical amenities, he said, “Yes, guests still expect strong facilities, but what they truly remember is how those facilities are brought to life through service, personalisation and experiences that feel distinctive. At Foxhills, our audience spans several different generations, which means it is very important to ensure we have bespoke, tailored stays and dinner experiences for every type of guest, from business travellers to families.”
At the golf resort they measure ROI through direct revenue, repeat visits, guest sentiment, spend per head and brand impact and then compare those results against traditional capital projects such as room upgrades or facility investment.
People-led experiences are central to the guest experience strategy at Foxhills, because facilities create the setting, but the team create the memory, loyalty and emotional connection.
Mark said, “A good example of this was the opening of our new restaurant, Lomri, where the team completed two weeks of intensive culture and service training before launch. This ensured they understood not only the menu and concept, but also the style of hospitality, storytelling and consistency required to bring this new experience at the resort to life.
“I see investment in training, service culture and personalisation delivering stronger long-term value than simply adding more amenities, as it improves consistency, drives repeat visits and protects the reputation of the business.”
Over the next three to five years, Mark expects investment to focus less on adding more facilities and more on improving service delivery, wellness, lifestyle and curated local experiences that give guests a clear reason to choose one property over another.
He said, “Core amenities will still need to be maintained to a high standard, but the strongest returns will come from propositions that feel personal, relevant and experience-led, supported by teams who can deliver them consistently.”
With London being a crowded market in the hotel sector, Clermont Hotel Group want to ensure their portfolio remains competitive. With this in mind, Paul Knightley, Chief Operating Officer, Clermont Hotel Group, said, “We work hard to listen to our guests and have extensive guest insight work taking place across our hotels so that we can evolve and adapt to changing guest needs.
“Ultimately, our guests and what they value is at the core of our decision-making. We are investing across all areas of our portfolio to enhance the entire guest journey, with a specific focus on the initial sense of arrival across our hotels. This sets the tone for their stay and equally on departure, it’s that experience they will remember as they leave.”
Alongside this, investing in their hotel F&B offering has been a priority as experience-led travel continues to grow. Paul explained this as “the strategic thinking” behind bringing destination-dining to The Cumberland through their partnership with Gordon Ramsay Restaurants and the newly opened Hell’s Kitchen, which leans into experiential dining.
Experiences are a key driver of guest expectation, and this is something Paul explained he is seeing across the Clermont portfolio, particularly from US guests who value more immersive and imaginative activities. Guests now want more than just a traditional hotel stay. “A strong experiential F&B offer is where we see the biggest opportunity, whether that be a chef’s table, masterclasses or even tealeaf reading, which we put on at the Green Parlour at The Royal Horseguards,” said Paul.
Whilst experiences are important, high-quality amenities and a convenient location remains central to decision making in Paul’s opinion. It is about finding a balance – creating meaningful moments for your guests.
Paul believes that measuring the return on experiential offerings is more complex than a standard refurbishment. “A new bedroom refurbishment has a relatively clear financial impact, whether that be through a rate uplift, or we see it through occupancy. Experience-led stays require a broader view with direct revenue, spend per head, and repeat stays being important. Guest sentiment is also a key driver as it tells us how the service, personalisation and authenticity of the experience is performing and how each stay makes a guest feel,” he added.
Hospitality is a people-led industry. Regardless of the hotel, it is the teams within them that deliver the guest experience and make a stay special. Paul explained, “Whilst additional facilities or amenities are important, it is our colleagues who deliver extraordinary hospitality that make the real difference.”
That is why his team are always looking at ways they can enhance the guest experience through training initiatives, such as their Summer Skills Fest partnership with RADA Business that is aimed to enhance guest interaction and experience using specialist performance training skills.
“This new approach to training demonstrates how we are re-thinking hospitality as an experience, not just a service, while ensuring colleagues have the opportunity to develop, learn and grow. We want to be the leading hotel operator in London, and it is our people who will help us achieve that goal,” Paul said.
When it comes to guest experience, Timothy Griffin, Co-founder of LEVEN and Principal at Wellbrook Hospitality, said, “With mounting inflation and rising operational costs, all expenditure decisions including CapEx need to be well considered.” Many hospitality businesses will be questioning the traditional approach that treated hard assets (rooms, F&B, heavy leisure infrastructure) as predictable depreciating assets and will be reviewing the cyclical approach to refurbishments and amenity upgrades, questioning whether the product life of guest facing spaces can be extended beyond, for example, the traditional seven years for a bedroom.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, with significant cost pressures, the choice between CapEx expenditure on amenity upgrades and guest experience initiatives can be so stark. Wise hospitality businesses will continue to direct capital to the physical product upgrades to ensure their core product continues to be relevant for an increasing decerning and visually literate customer.
Timothy continued, “Modern consumers expect good design and product and will make buying decisions that leave behind businesses that do not invest. Clearly there is opportunity to invest wisely, spending capital in areas that have the most impact, for example high-tactility emotionally resonant design (natural materials, lighting) and extending the lifespan of less critical areas.” From this foundation, Timothy believes investment in guest experience initiatives, based on a robust ROI can be directed toward tech-enablement (like flexible check-ins) and modular public areas that can easily pivot between a morning workspace, a community art gallery, and a night activation without requiring a secondary multi-million-pound renovation.
Timothy recognises that today’s travellers are too sophisticated to be swayed by generic amenities they will never use. An under-utilised, spa, gym or a formal restaurant can quickly become a financial anchor. “Guests place greater value on curated, visceral experiences and emotional design than on sheer physical volume,” he said.
He sees that measuring the return on these experiential projects requires looking past traditional, isolated rates of return toward modern ecosystem metrics. For example, when a property runs hyper-local activations (e.g., local art showcases, pop-up events), the project doesn’t just generate immediate ancillary spend; it acts as an engine for organic social content.
“This culturally relevant positioning directly drives web traffic and builds a loyal audience pool, resulting in a measurable increase in direct bookings and a reduction in third-party OTA commission fees. When investing in non-traditional offers, as we have done at LEVEN Manchester, a non-traditional approach to ROI is also required,” Timothy finished.
On a market level, where hotels may not have the money to spend on products, it’s beneficial to everyone involved to put that resource into staff. Tom Ansbro, Group Commercial Director at Dean Street Developments, said, “Our ethos as developers – and Aloft’s as a brand – centres around community and experience, so we train our staff to embody that.
“We encourage them to engage with the local community, attending events and visiting new venues, so that they’re really immersed in our city.” Tom and his team have gone as far as to bring to life their own hospitality training scheme, called Dean Street Academy, where they engage with schools, colleges, and universities to support students in building a career in hospitality. He said, “We pour energy into people, and it eventually comes back around to us and our community, so investing in that means everyone wins.”
In Manchester specifically, Tom acknowledges that really immersing guests in the city is essential to the guest experience. He said, “We work really closely with the city’s stakeholders to drive that bigger awareness piece that means Manchester is spotlighted as an amazing place to visit. As hoteliers, we all work together through an initiative called ABID that funds campaigns to boost tourism and events in Manchester.” As a result, so many of the people that visit Manchester are really invested in its story and what it has to offer, meaning in turn that hoteliers have to make sure that they’re really connecting them with the community when they come to stay.
At Castlebridge Hospitality, the team are seeing guests place increasing value on the details that make their stay feel personal, rather than simply the scale of a hotel’s facilities.
Rebecca Bozeat-Manzi, Group Director – Sales & Marketing at Castlebridge Hospitality, said, “That doesn’t reduce the importance of investing in the physical product, but it does mean we’re thinking much more carefully about where investment creates the greatest impact, this makes sense not only through a guest’s lens but also means we’re protecting our owners’ investments.”
Traditional upgrades still form part of Castlebridge Hospitality’s approach, and at times this may include complimentary facilities. However, the team are increasingly focused on protecting revenue wherever possible by ensuring complimentary enhancements genuinely add value for guests while supporting the long-term commercial performance of the hotel. “The priority is to balance guest satisfaction with commercial discipline, creating memorable experiences in a way that is thoughtful, sustainable and commercially sensible,” added Rebecca.
Rebecca revealed that booking behaviour increasingly tells her team that guests are looking beyond the physical product. Competitive pricing and a quality room remain essential, but what often differentiates one hotel from another is how memorable and personal the overall experience feels. While the quality and breadth of a hotel’s physical amenities remain important, guests are often looking for more than a comfortable room or well-presented facilities. They want moments that make their stay feel individual, whether that is through personalised service, meaningful local recommendations, thoughtful in-room touches or experiences that reflect the character of the hotel and its location.
“For Castlebridge Hospitality, across our portfolio of hotels, the return on investment from experiential offerings is measured in both commercial and guest sentiment terms. We look at guest feedback, review scores, repeat visits, direct booking behaviour, ancillary spend and the ability of those experiences to support the overall positioning of each hotel. A conventional capital project may be easier to measure through direct revenue or asset improvement, but experiential investment can deliver value through stronger guest loyalty, improved reputation and increased willingness to recommend,” added Rebecca.
We asked Rebecca over the next three to five years, where she expects hospitality businesses to focus their investment budgets: enhancing core amenities, developing wellness and lifestyle propositions, creating curated local experiences, or improving service delivery. She said, “Owners and operators are understandably looking much harder at return on investment than they were a decade ago. As a result, investment decisions increasingly need to strengthen both the guest proposition and commercial performance. This means a continued focus on enhancing core amenities while also developing stronger wellness, lifestyle and local experience propositions.”
In line with this, Mark Thurman, Managing Director of Peak Edge Hotel, explained that rising costs have undoubtedly sharpened the way hoteliers evaluate investment, but they haven’t changed their philosophy. He said, “Every decision still starts with one question: will this make our guests’ experience noticeably better?”
Owner, Steve Perez, has always believed that hospitality is about creating places people genuinely want to return to, not simply maintaining buildings. That means investing in the fundamentals guests value most, while continually looking for new ways to enhance their stay and strengthen their connection with the destination.
This year, Steve and his team have made significant investments across both hotels that reflect that approach. At Casa Hotel, they’ve replaced every bed with new super king beds, “because a great night’s sleep is at the heart of every successful stay”. They’ve also installed a new kitchen in Barca Bar, allowing the hotel to launch brunch for the first time and significantly expand their food and drink offering throughout the day. “Even relatively straightforward projects are approached responsibly. When replacing the beds, almost 400 nearly-new pillows were donated to charity rather than going to landfill,” Mark added.
These investments are complemented by longer-term commitments that guests increasingly value. “Steve’s Walton Lodge Farm Estate sits at the heart of our food philosophy, supplying produce to both hotels while supporting a genuine farm-to-fork approach. More recently, both Peak Edge Hotel and Casa Hotel achieved Green Tourism accreditation, recognising years of investment in responsible sourcing, biodiversity, local suppliers and sustainable hospitality.
“For us, capital expenditure and guest experience aren’t competing priorities. The best investments improve comfort, create memorable experiences and strengthen what makes our hotels distinctive. When you achieve all three, the commercial return naturally follows,” said Mark.
As guest expectations continue to evolve, one message is clear: exceptional hospitality is no longer defined by facilities alone. While investment in core amenities remains essential, the greatest long-term value comes from creating meaningful, personalised experiences delivered by engaged teams. The most successful hotels will be those that strike the right balance between maintaining high-quality physical products and investing in the people, service and local connections that transform a stay into a lasting memory.