“I want to be a flaneur,” I exclaimed to my friend!
The French definition of a ‘flaneur’ is someone who wanders aimlessly—and I am so excited that it won’t be long before I will be in Paris to achieve this crazy goal, at least for a little bit.
I first heard the term ‘flaneur’ in a conversation with the lovely Cynthia of Delectabulles (watch our interview here) and I was obsessed with the word immediately and promised myself that’s what I would do when I took my long overdue birthday trip to Paris (and hopefully, get to meet her while I am there!).
We had planned a magnificent trip with friends to sip Champagne in Champagne for my 50th birthday way back in 2020, but then the world shut down. Champagne problems! We’d spent two years planning every fun detail—c’est la vie.
But, I didn’t abandon that dream trip, and here I am, finalizing my plans to wander the streets of Paris the next few weeks. It’s the absolute height of luxury, exploration, vacation, dream, shop, and definitely sip Champagne. I have been counting down the sleeps for months.
I have visions of writing my next book in Paris because Paris symbolizes the center of the luxury universe to me, from the architecture, artists, brands, and the way people live their quality lives.
Experiencing Luxury
When you purchase luxury or experience luxury, are you focusing on yourself or focusing on the opinions of others?
Let me be clear, there is no RIGHT answer to this question, it’s personal. But in business, we need to understand the motivations of our clients, colleagues, and our boss because we have all four luxury mindsets in our personal and professional lives.
Knowing these mindsets also helps leaders better understand their relationship with luxury. Even the Reluctant & Removed and Confident and Content mindsets can find themselves rethinking luxury and being influenced by the Luxury Lovers and ProPriorizers in their lives.
Our Luxury Mindset research study found that leaders who choose luxury for themselves know it affects the opinions others have of them. The Reluctant and Removed struggle with self-care and enjoy luxury but hide it and won’t buy without discussing it with someone else. For them, visibly enjoying luxury is something to avoid.
- Pro Prioritizers buy luxury to signal expertise and capability—being visible is an objective and they see it as helping advance their career.
- Confident & Content see it as a symbol of success, and don’t seek approval from anyone else.
- Luxury Lovers buy for themselves and enjoy the social status luxury confers.
If you are in a sales or leadership role, or if you provide professional services or products to leaders, this is essential information to know so you are flexible in communicating and appreciating those around you.
Case Study: Demonstrating Luxury
I’ve recently experienced three hotel brands that understand how to demonstrate luxury to their clients, especially the Luxury Lover and the ProPrioritizers:
The Four Seasons of Philadephia at Comcast Center, General Manager Charles sent me the sweetest handwritten note and asked the chef to create a cookie based on the front cover of my Attention Pays book! It was wild, and I loved it! As a luxury lover, this personalized, customized example meant the world to me.
The Breakers at West Palm Beach equipped their bathrooms with two items I thought were genius: hair turban for guests (I use this one at home so it made me feel even more relaxed) and the extra special faucet dedicated to filtered water to fill my water bottle. These appeal not only to the Luxury Lovers but also the ProPrioritizers who are focused on how brands pay attention to their environmental impact.
The Hotel Nikko in San Francisco is for all you puppy lovers reading this. It is the most dog-friendly hotel I have ever seen, with its own Chief Canine Officer on staff. Not only do they offer free puppy cuddles with Buster or Beau, they also have their own dog park on the property with the most gorgeous views, and your fur baby gets treats on arrival. Also, in your room, you can donate to help puppies by purchasing their plush Buster to take home. They are appealing to the ProProioritzers, Luxury Lovers, and Confident and Content mindsets with all of these wonderful additions and attention to detail.
If you want to book any of these hotels for a personal stay or take your leadership team or top performers, I highly recommend contacting your Virtuoso Travel advisor who can help make this happen for you and your team.
When I work with clients to help them assess the luxury mindsets they want to attract and align their messages for those mindsets, I help them create a master plan to make it all happen.
Did you know I do these Luxury Ideation and Consulting sessions with my clients to help them elevate their luxury experience across their business?
If this is something you’d be interested in, please email me, and let’s chat (when I get back from Champagne!).
