LUXURY DOESN’T FAIL LOUDLY
- Kketan Amarnath Waghmare
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
I was recently booking a venue for my cousin’s birthday.
I reached out to a few global luxury hotel brands. The kind that position themselves as ultra-luxury. Seamless. Personalised. Effortless.
What followed is exactly why small errors feel amplified at the top end.
Call 1.
The call ended with me being given the sales team’s direct mobile number to follow up.
No answer. No call back.
In a luxury environment, I shouldn’t be managing the chase.
Call 2.
I placed the call around 3:00 pm.
Board line transferred me to restaurant sales. Polite. Proper phrases. Professional tone.
The call was forwarded to the chosen venue. It didn’t go through.
A call back was promised.
The call back did come.
Around 11:30 pm.
Effort was visible.
Context was missed.
Call 3.
Structured. Professional. Clearly keen to secure the business.
Everything technically correct.
Only hitch?
My name wasn’t used even once.
Now here’s what this really tells me.
Every one of these moments is worth noting. Because in luxury, perception is fragile.
Personalised, timely service isn’t a “wow” in luxury. It’s the expectation.
And the slightest deviation from it quietly changes the guest’s perception.
The first interaction was a debacle.
The second, a feeble recovery.
The third, competent — but incomplete.
That’s how luxury erodes.
Not through one catastrophic failure.
But through accumulated inconsistencies.
Luxury is not décor.
It is timing.
It is ownership.
It is anticipation.
Over the years leading Learning & Development across ships and luxury hospitality environments, I’ve seen this repeatedly.
When the promise is ultra-luxury, the margin for friction becomes microscopic.
At the top end of the market, perception is the product.
Everything else is furniture.
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