To those in the travel journalism and hospitality industries, the name of Mary Gostelow needs little introduction. As the brains behind the Gostelow Report for professionals and the GirlAhead podcast, she has left her mark on luxury travel worldwide, and continues her work as the global ambassador for Robb Report Hong Kong, reporting on the latest happenings in luxury travel and lifestyle. Gostelow was most recently awarded the Authority of Luxury award at Robb Report Hong Kong’s Best of the Best 2024 Gala Dinner last December. But what does luxury mean to Gostelow, after more than four decades in the industry?
“For me, luxury is certainly wearing a really special pair of Chopard earrings, but it’s also the feel and fit of a borrowed Sunspel tee. It’s Vineet Bhatia’s Michelin-starred savoury Chatak chenna chaat parfait, or a plate of triple-cooked fries,” she says.
Before the pandemic, Gostelow was travelling 300 days a year. Now, it’s closer to about 200. In Gostelow’s opinion, luxury can be found in something as simple as when planes take off and arrive on time, when nothing goes wrong—time really is the most precious commodity. In a bedroom, over-the-basin lighting that allows visibility close-up is a luxury, and having easily understandable shower controls to provide immediate hot, not cold, water is a coveted element. It is amazing how many times she has had to wash in a bathtub, Gostelow shares, because she cannot get the shower to work. One of the changes she envisions for the travel and hospitality industry is that consumers will be asked to help design forthcoming hotels.
As for the future of hotels, “there will be two kinds of luxury sleeping places; standalones of the calibre of The Brando in French Polynesia or the Joalis in the Maldives will stand alongside co-living luxury venues,” Gostelow predicts. Destinations will stand out also through their branded retail experiences, “say, Hermès or Tiffany & Co. co-existing with entertainment, wellness, and food and beverage—and beds.”
Luxury, in essence, is what you want, when you want it.
