How Swiss Deluxe Hotels redefines luxury hospitality with tech | with Wilhelm Luxem

Update: 2025-09-17

Description

In this insightful episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens welcomes Wilhelm Luxem, a seasoned luxury hospitality leader with an impressive 50-year career spanning iconic properties and industry leadership roles. As head of quality commission at Swiss Deluxe Hotels and former GM of the legendary Baur Au Lac, Wilhelm brings unique perspectives on technology adoption in luxury hospitality.

What you'll learn:

Technology philosophy for luxury hotels: How technology should complement service DNA and stay in the background, freeing up time for genuine human connections with guests
Strategic tech adoption filters: Wilhelm's framework for evaluating technology choices, including compatibility with existing infrastructure, evolution potential, and staff implementation ease
Staff training best practices: Why intuitive systems that don't require more than two weeks of training are essential for successful technology adoption
Evolving guest expectations: The shift from materialistic luxury (marble and gold fixtures) toward personalized experiences and authentic human connections
The future of luxury hospitality: Why Wilhelm believes the greatest time for hospitality is ahead, as hotels become "bubbles of analog connection" in an increasingly digital world
Quality assurance in luxury hotels: How Swiss Deluxe Hotels maintains standards across 43 five-star superior properties through investment monitoring, mystery shopping, and guest feedback analysis
Industry networking and mentorship: Wilhelm's involvement with the European Hotel Managers Association and efforts to connect experienced hoteliers with emerging talent

Wilhelm also discusses the remarkable history of Baur Au Lac (seven generations of family ownership since 1844) and how luxury hotels have always evolved with technology while maintaining core service excellence.

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Episode Highlights:

[05:01 ] Technology as service enabler - Wilhelm establishes his core philosophy: "The key element of those choices is always how can technology complement, first of all, our DNA, our service philosophy, and how can it improve our efficiency as an organization? Technology should always be in the background. It should not move in between our clients and us." This principle guides all technology decisions at luxury properties.

[08:15 ] The two-week training rule - Wilhelm emphasizes the importance of intuitive systems: "If it takes more than two weeks to train staff, you've picked the wrong product. You have to excite people about systems." He advocates for technology that people can learn through exploration rather than extensive classroom training.

[12:57 ] The luxury experience evolution - Wilhelm identifies a crucial shift in guest expectations: "People are shifting away from a materialistic approach — the glitzy marble and golden water taps — towards more of an experience, personalized service, of a very strong recognition and respect for the guests." This trend shapes how luxury hotels must adapt their offerings.

[14:27 ] The future of hospitality optimism - Wilhelm shares his forward-looking perspective: "I'm very optimistic that the greatest time of hospitality is actually ahead of us because we are a sort of a bubble, kind of a land of real analog connections." As society becomes more digital, hotels offer irreplaceable human experiences.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro
01:59 - Wilhelm's 50-year passion for hospitality
02:40 - Swiss Deluxe Hotels overview
03:10 - The iconic Baur Au Lac and seven generations of ownership
05:23 - Technology adoption philosophy in luxury hotels
06:38 - Filtering framework for tech choices
08:07 - Staff training and system implementation
09:55 - Hiring for tech-forward hospitality roles
12:26 - Evolution of luxury guest expectations
17:09 - European Hotel Managers Association involvement
18:37 - EHL (École Hôtelière de Lausanne) connections
21:44 - Advice for exceptional guest experiences

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.

Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on: