The True Luxury in Hospitality: Beyond the Shine, the Power of 'Apapacho'

After 16 years traveling from Europe to North America, North America to Europe, Europe to Asia, Asia to Europe, and Europe to Asia again, I've learned a lesson that's worth its weight in gold: true luxury isn't found in what shines, but in what is felt. Because the most important things can't be touched, they must be felt with the heart. And in the world of luxury hospitality, tourism, or wellness (or all of the above), I'm sure this resonates with you.

This revelation didn't come all at once, but formed gradually with each journey, each experience, each encounter. Lesson number 1: learned during my first continental shift: "apapacho."

If you're Mexican or have spent time in Mexico, you know what I'm talking about. You can look it up on Wikipedia, but I promise you that only if you've felt it in your heart, if you've experienced it, do you truly understand what I mean. For me, this is what every brand in the industry should offer to their clients.

Beyond Brilliant Marketing

You can have the most brilliant marketing campaign in the world, but if you don't touch the heart of your visitor, you haven't accomplished anything. I'm serious: I've seen spectacular hotels, restaurants, social clubs, and wellness centers sit empty because they forgot the most important thing: human connection.

The Superficial Luxury Trap

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that luxury is just about high thread counts, Italian marble, and French champagne. Don't get me wrong, those things are great. But if you stop there, you're missing the essence.

I've seen places that invest millions in décor but skimp on staff training. The result? Beautiful but cold spaces where clients feel like they're in a museum rather than a place to connect.

The Search for Authenticity

People are tired of the artificial, the canned. They seek something real, something that makes them feel part of something bigger. When we travel, don't we all want to feel a bit like locals? To connect with the culture, the people, the place.

You don't even need to go far, don't you love going to that restaurant or café where they know you, treat you well, understand your tastes, and go beyond just making a sale? That's "apapacho." It's that warmth and care that makes you feel at home without invading your space. That's true luxury, the magic that human environments create.

As Maya Angelou said: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." There lies the key.

"Apapacho" in Action

I remember a small boutique hotel in Sri Lanka. It didn't have the most luxurious facilities, but every morning, the manager remembered my exact preferences: decaffeinated coffee, golden milk with almond milk, and toast with tomato (something only a Spaniard can truly understand). He prepared yoga classes for me in different corners of the hotel and genuinely asked about my plans for the day, offering personalized suggestions that no tourist guide mentioned. When I left, he gave me a small handwritten note with recommendations for my next destination. Years later, I still remember that experience above the luxury hotels where I stayed during the same trip.

Sustainability: Apapacho for the Planet

True luxury in hospitality must also extend to how we treat our environment. We don't need more megaprojects or theme parks that deplete resources and territories. What the tourism industry really needs is an approach where existing spaces become sustainable: clean beaches and seas, well-maintained green spaces, and infrastructures that embrace eco-friendly technologies. Sustainability isn't just a trend; it's another form of "apapacho," this time for the planet, but also for ourselves. The impact we have on our environment is the quality we receive back from it. Today's conscious travelers seek experiences that respect the environment, preserve local authenticity, and have a positive impact on the communities they visit. True luxury lies in offering experiences that nurture both the guest and the place that hosts them.

Authentic Differentiation

Want to stand out in a saturated market? Forget about copying what others are doing. Focus on the authentic, the genuine. Know your guests, respect the identity of the place, and cultivate that authentic connection, the one that isn't forgotten, the one that generates bonds and loyalty.

The major hotel chains already understand this—they're creating smaller boutique hotel brands under their umbrellas specifically designed to cultivate this essence of personalized care and authentic experience. They recognize that what truly resonates with today's travelers is not just luxury amenities but meaningful connections and memorable moments.

The Power of Collaboration

A crucial aspect we cannot ignore is the importance of collaboration between the private sector and government institutions. Medium-sized companies, especially those with deep and genuine knowledge of their local environment, have the opportunity to generate significant impact when working together with public entities. An interesting example is the Los Cabos Trust in Baja California Sur, which has created important synergies, although its potential impact could be amplified even further. These collaborations allow "apapacho" to extend beyond individual experiences and become an integral part of the sustainable development of tourist destinations.

The true difference in luxury resides in the human element and what is experienced from the heart. AI is here to help you, but it's human warmth that connects us. "Apapacho" is that magical touch that transforms a service into a memorable experience.

In an increasingly digitized world, those who know how to cultivate this art of "apapacho" will be the ones who truly stand out in the luxury, hospitality, and wellness industry.

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Photo credit: Jeremy Bishop (@jeremy_bishop)
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Marian Gomez
CMO & Strategic Consultant for Hospitality, Tourism & Wellness
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Interested in luxury hospitality and tourism solutions? Follow us at Company LinkedIn
www.mariangomez.com

Sustainable Gastronomy in Hospitality: Navigating Global and Cultural

When Identity Dissolves in the Global Menu

The revealing paradox materializes in the omnipresent "avocado toast," emblem of gastronomic globalization. Born in Australia but universalized by American culture, this dish occupies a privileged place in breakfasts at global establishments, despite requiring the importation of its main ingredient across oceans and continents. This juxtaposition reveals a fascinating dialogue between global and local when a Mediterranean establishment incorporates international culinary elements alongside the exquisite abundance of autochthonous products that define the gastronomic identity of the region.

This homogenization transcends borders and continents. From the skyscrapers of Dubai to the paradisiacal enclaves of Bali, we observe the systematic replication of a constellation of standardized dishes orbiting global menus.

The recent 2025 trends report from Baum+Whiteman illuminates this gastronomic duality, revealing how some market segments prioritize immediate sensory experience over considerations of cultural authenticity. This observation contextualizes the ease with which various global chains experiment with multicultural fusions that transcend geographical barriers and culinary traditions, while simultaneously Michelin-starred restaurants begin to revalue traditional preparations such as artisanal tacos at El Califa de León, Mexico.

The homogenization and authenticity transcends the purely gastronomic to become an existential question: Are we sacrificing cultural heritage on the altar of global accessibility? What implications does this uniformity have for environmental sustainability, product integrity, operational economics, and long-term financial resilience? How does this reshape the experiential authenticity that defines the transformative journey?

The Heritage into Competitive Advantage

Facing this homogenization emerges an equally powerful gastronomic counterrevolution. Australia presents a paradigmatic case: boutique hotels that have chosen to completely eradicate "international" gastronomic elements from their menus, reorienting their offering toward native Australian ingredients and ancestral aboriginal techniques. The result transcends the culinary to become a transformational experience that connects the traveler with the essence of the destination.

This strategic reorientation not only catapults the establishment toward a differential positioning in the hotel marketing ecosystem but simultaneously strengthens its sustainability credentials by significantly reducing its carbon footprint and catalyzing the economic development of the local environment.

The 2025 Baum+Whiteman report validates this emerging trend, signaling a renaissance of local and traditional flavors. The revaluation of ingredients like figs (proclaimed "fruit of the year") and the proliferation of concepts that celebrate culinary authenticity reveal a paradigm shift where local recovers its value as a strategic differentiator.

The UN Tourism initiative in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, represents perhaps the most ambitious manifestation of this trend: an integral project that aspires to position the city as a global epicenter of sustainable gastronomic tourism, validating culinary heritage as a strategic asset with transformative potential for emerging economies.

Weaving Tomorrow's Gastronomic Ecosystem

Gastronomic sustainability, when conceived simply as an exercise in reducing environmental impact, loses its transformative potential. The truly visionary perspective recognizes that ecological, cultural, economic, and social dimensions do not exist as watertight compartments but as interconnected flows of the same vital ecosystem.

This organic interdependence manifests when a chef revalues an autochthonous variety in danger of extinction (environmental dimension), simultaneously preserves an ancestral preparation technique (cultural dimension), creates economic opportunities for local farmers (economic dimension), and democratizes access to culturally significant culinary experiences (social dimension). The magic resides not in each isolated dimension but in how these intertwine to create a regenerative fabric that transcends the sum of its parts.

The "Eco-Chic Diners" identified by Baum+Whiteman represent this integration in action: when renovating traditional establishments with contemporary sustainability approaches, these entrepreneurs are not simply implementing ecological practices — they are redefining the relationship between tradition and trend, creating spaces where cultural authenticity and sustainable innovation coexist in dynamic harmony.

The Ubud project exemplifies how this integrative vision can be systematically scaled: its approach does not segment sustainability into separate dimensions but recognizes how the preservation of Balinese culinary techniques (cultural heritage) simultaneously catalyzes inclusive economic opportunities while regenerating traditional agricultural practices that have maintained ecological balance for generations.

This holistic perspective invites us to reimagine sustainability not as a set of isolated practices but as an organizing principle that coherently integrates every aspect of the gastronomic proposition. From this perspective, the tension between global trend and local authenticity reveals itself not as a conflict to be resolved but as a creative field where truly regenerative gastronomic models can emerge.

The Trend Dilemma

The incessant pursuit of gastronomic trends represents a double-edged sword for contemporary hospitality establishments. From my perspective, this dynamic creates an existential dilemma: businesses find themselves perpetually obliged to choose between constantly transforming their offering to "stay relevant" or preserving their essence and risking perceived obsolescence.

However, this dilemma poses a false dichotomy. True strategic mastery does not reside in choosing between tradition and trend —between local cultural heritage or the ubiquity of avocado toast— but in the ability to navigate this creative tension to forge distinctive gastronomic identities that transcend this artificial polarization.

Visionary establishments are reimagining this tension not as conflict but as a generative opportunity. By integrating traditional and contemporary elements within a coherent gastronomic narrative, they create culinary propositions that respect cultural heritage while participating in the global dialogue, without diluting the fundamental concept that defines their value proposition.

Strategic resources such as the Food Sustainability Index, Baum+Whiteman analyses, or Slow Food International studies offer valuable conceptual frameworks, but true gastronomic wisdom emerges when these insights are filtered through the prism of an authentic brand identity and a clearly articulated gastronomic vision.

Designing the Sustainable Gastronomic Ecosystem

The UN Tourism project in Ubud, Bali, represents an inspiring archetype for destinations that aspire to develop a sustainable gastronomic tourism proposition. Its structured methodology comprises:

Holistic analysis of gastronomic resources that maps not only ingredients and techniques but also associated cultural narratives and traditional knowledge systems.

Design of gastronomic experiences that transcend the passivity of consumption to become transformational immersions where the traveler actively participates in the creation of value.

Development of business models that equitably distribute benefits among stakeholders, ensuring economic viability while maximizing positive impact on local communities.

Implementation of participatory governance systems through the Gastronomic Tourism Club, creating platforms for collaboration between public, private sectors and civil society.

Paradox into Opportunity: The Harmony of Intention

The transformative potential of sustainable gastronomy emerges not from rigid categorization but from intentional clarity. The strategic imperative isn't to universally embrace traditionalism or systematically reject global influence, but rather to orchestrate a coherent narrative where every culinary element serves the establishment's core identity and value proposition.

This clarity of intention manifests the reimagination of street food experiences across global destinations. These curated encounters don't merely juxtapose traditional recipes with contemporary presentations—they architect multidimensional immersions that collapse the artificial boundary between observer and participant. The traveler transcends passive consumption to become an active protagonist in a cultural narrative that feels simultaneously authentic and accessible.

What distinguishes visionary hospitality brands isn't their position on a simplistic spectrum between global homogenization and cultural preservation, but their capacity to create integrated experiences where every element—from ingredient sourcing to service choreography—reinforces a coherent brand philosophy. This alignment transforms seemingly contradictory elements into complementary expressions of a singular vision.

The emerging pattern suggests that tomorrow's most compelling hospitality concepts won't be defined by their adherence to tradition or embrace of innovation, but by the intellectual clarity with which they navigate between these polarities. When strategic intention replaces categorical thinking, the culinary experience transcends mere sustenance to become a transformative medium through which guests discover both destination and self.

Connect with me via email or LinkedIn to arrange your session. The journey toward more authentic engagement begins with a moment of strategic clarity, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to yours without any investment beyond your time and perspective.