Auberge is making a run at the high-touch, yet as a colorful and unique boutique play. And so far it is finding an audience.
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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.
There’s endless prognostication about what the future of luxury looks like post-pandemic. I’ve argued in this column that a reset of sorts has been overdue. At the higher end of luxury, before Covid, daily rates were spiraling higher and higher in global cities and some owners got used to the 20 euro Nespressos and 50 euro glasses of champagne padding their balance sheets.
With a shift to the more thoughtful and considered, and away from conspicuous consumption, there exists a market opportunity.
To me, it sits somewhere between where Ritz Carlton is in terms of price, and an Aman. Somewhere where there are rates and resulting revenue to allow enough trained staff and the resources to create a considered experience that feels native to a place. Surprisingly, this is hard to find stateside. You have your choices from the big chains, and the hyper-localized boutiques, where predictability and consistency are a question mark. But finding a true luxury standard of service that still manages to feel indie and fresh is tough to discover.
This is why I’ve been watching Auberge with interest. Auberge Resorts Collection was founded in 1998 by the Harmon family, following the 1985 launch of its Napa Valley flagship resort, Auberge du Soleil.
The brand is likely on most people’s radars from this original Napa property, but under the leadership of former Four Seasons executive Craig Reid as well as smart investment, the team has been quietly executing on this strategy and gaining a new fanbase in the
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