Client: Luxury Group, Marriott International Greater China
Year: 2024
Client Brief
Normal is a preferred branding agency of Marriott International in Asia Pacific.
Luxury is evolving, and for a brand like JW Marriott, it is essential to define what it truly means in a way that is both clear and emotionally resonant. Normal . was tasked to articulate an intuitive and actionable framework that would empower JW Marriott Operations Leaders to elevate luxury experiences across Greater China.
What we delivered
We first developed a clear and structured definition of luxury for the JW Marriott brand, ensuring it translates the positioning and brand pillars into an actionable framework for guest experience. This definition provided JW Marriott’s operational leaders with a shared understanding of luxury, balancing brand consistency with personalised service.
To instill this knowledge at the hotel operations level, we designed and facilitated two-day workshops in two key locations for the Operations Leaders of JW Marriott Greater China. These immersive sessions equipped leaders with strategic insights, practical tools, and interactive exercises to help them internalise and apply the 8 Luxury Essentials in their daily operations.
For more detailed, an abridged, article version of the program designed to guide JW Marriott Operations Leaders through a structured understanding of luxury and its core principles, see this article here.
Our Approach: The Emotional and Personalised Luxury Framework
Luxury is inherently subjective – what feels luxurious to one guest may not resonate with another. To create an authoritative and legitimate definition, we developed the Emotional & Personalized Luxury Framework, which captures the tension between Functional vs. Emotional luxury and Universal vs. Personalised standards.
This model helped leaders understand how to balance brand consistency with individual guest expectations, ensuring that luxury is both structured and actionable.
We then applied two key data sets to the framework to develop practical guidelines for luxury product and service:
Industry Benchmarks – guest experience and quality assurance criteria from leading industry standards, such as Forbes Five Star Travel Guide and LQA.
JW Marriott’s Brand Foundation – including its positioning (The Whole You) and brand pillars (Mindful and Present, Nourish the Soul, and Come Together).
The result is a robust and insightful, yet practical and actionable set of essential luxury product and service attributes, which we called 8 Luxury Essentials
‘Emotional & Personalised Luxury Framework‘, captures the tension between Functional vs. Emotional luxury and Universal vs. Personalised standards.
Normal . and JW Marriott, “The 8 Luxury Essentials”
The 8 Luxury Essentials
At the core of this work are the 8 Luxury Essentials, fundamental principles that define a truly elevated guest experience at JW Marriott. Each ‘Essential’ reflects varying degrees of emotional and personalised luxury, ranging from foundational material quality standards to deeply elegant and mindful experiences.
The following is a summary, details of which can be found in our published article here.
1. Exceptional Material Quality – Selecting the finest materials and products to enhance the luxury experience.
2. Professional Seamlessness – Delivering smooth, coordinated service that feels effortless to guests.
3. Thoughtful Design and Presentation – Creating aesthetic and sensory experiences that tell a story.
4. Personalised Ease and Comfort – Anticipating guest needs and removing friction for a seamless stay.
5. Trust and Confidence – Ensuring consistency, privacy, and cultural respect to build long-term guest loyalty.
6. Purpose and Sustainability – Aligning luxury with responsibility, offering indulgence with a conscience.
7. Elegant Refinement – Exemplifying sophistication through subtle details and moments of surprise and delight.
8. Care for Wellbeing – The highest form of luxury, where hospitality extends beyond comfort to nurture the guest’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.
Conclusion
This project was more than just defining luxury—it was about equipping JW Marriott’s leaders with a shared language and actionable strategies to enhance guest experiences in a way that is refined, intuitive, and deeply personal. By integrating the 8 Luxury Essentials into daily operations, JW Marriott is not only reinforcing its brand identity but also shaping the future of luxury hospitality—one that is as meaningful as it is masterfully executed.
For more detailed, an abridged, article version of the program designed to guide JW Marriott Operations Leaders through a structured understanding of luxury and its core principles, see this article here.
Objective of Purpose and Sustainability Luxury Essential is to help JW Marriott hotels ‘master the art of moving people’. It is about showing guests that luxury can be both indulgent and responsible.
From 8 Luxury Essentials on ‘Purpose and Sustainability’ for JW Marriott Hotels Greater China .
Normal . 