For Tina Edmundson, traveling for work is her bread and butter. As president of Luxury at Marriott International—a role in which she oversees Marriott's complete portfolio of luxury brands, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, and many more—she typically takes over 15 business trips a year, hopping between continents to meet with her teams on the ground, experience newly opened hotels first hand, and check out the competition. (Her next stop? China.)
We sat down with Tina, who's also a member of Condé Nast Traveler's advisory board, to find out about her recent multi-stop trip across Europe, where she spent her time reacquainting herself with the Madrid hotel scene, squeezing in some memorable London experiences, and even getting a good night's sleep courtesy of hotel blackout curtains.
What was the destination?
A nine-day trip to London, Madrid, and Budapest.
What was the purpose of the trip?
I stayed over in London for a model room review—we’re opening a St. Regis in London and I wanted to see the plan for what the rooms will look like. I also had a chance to check out some of the competition, too. Then I went to Madrid to look at some new hotels that have just opened, like the Edition and the W. We also had a model room for the Luxury Collection that I wanted to see. I did the same thing I did in London—a competitive set review to see what else was on the [luxury hotel] market. The last time I was in Madrid was probably 2018. It was fascinating to see that in five years, the city has changed in terms of how much luxury product is on the market. In Budapest it was really great to see two fun new hotels. The W Budapest just opened—at the time that I was there, it had only been open a week. And then we have a Luxury Collection hotel called the Matild Palace that has been open for a year and a half.
Did you buy anything at the airport?
I almost did. But they didn't have my exact size. It was a Moncler jacket. I've been looking for one for a while, and I wanted a white one, and they had a white one. But it was a small, and I needed an extra small just because it was quite stretchy. Anyway, I decided that I wasn't going to get it. But then, of course, I was sitting sitting at the gate and I was like, “Ugh, I should have gotten it!”
How—and what—do you pack?
My favorite travel brand is a Rimowa. I love it because it is easy—but I'm also very specific. I like both sides to have the net and the zipper, which is really important. If you have them only on one side, when you open it, it's just…it's a mess, right? I think the essential model has the zipper on both sides, so that's my favorite. And I always put—and, again, this is from my experience—an AirTag in every single bag I have. I'm maybe over controlling, but I want to know where my stuff is.
I always pack a pair of shorts—even if I'm on a business trip. Inevitably, I want to go to the spa or whatever. And I also like to take a couple of extra outfits because depending on my mood, I know I'm going to want to wear this or that or whatever. I always like to have options. So I tend to overpack a little bit. Shoes are really important: Even if you know that you're going to wear black shoes three days in a row, you want to take an extra pair because when you wear heels it puts different types of pressure on different types of different parts of your foot. In our industry, where we're walking so much, it's really important that you have multiple pairs of shoes to swap out.
Who did you travel with?
The managing director, Rivero [Delgado Ramos]. She runs the luxury hotels in Europe. And then, in each market, we hung out with the GMs. Rivero is a good travel buddy. Although, you know, she's very fit. She kept her workout routine, and I just could not. We went to Madrid over a weekend, and on Saturday night she told me, ‘I'm going to wake up and run,’ and I was like, ‘I will be sleeping.’ And that's exactly what I did. I snuggled into my bed. That's actually the fun of staying at hotels—because the blackouts are so good, you can literally just stay in a dark room and have this beautiful, cool, comfortable bed and stay there for as long as you like. And then calling room service…I mean, why not?
So, did you?
I did, but just for coffee because that's what I was craving in the morning. I have a hazelnut latte with an extra shot.
Which was your favorite of the three cities during this visit?
Oh, hard to say. The most interesting, this time, was probably Madrid—just because of the change that I saw in the market with our competitive set. It seems like there's a ton of demand in the luxury space. Right now, of course, the US luxury traveler is all over Europe—about 50 percent of business comes from the US. The luxury segment was not very well represented in Madrid, even five years ago, so to see hotels just doing so well, and all of them in the luxury space doing so well, was really, really nice. Obviously, there’s a lot of not just tourist demand, but local demand.
I’m wondering, what you are looking for or noting when you're viewing these showrooms for forthcoming hotels? What do you have an eye out for?
It's a couple of things. I'm looking for some of my pet peeves. Is there a full length mirror? Can I see my shoes? Outlets should be in the right places—by the bed and by the desk. Is the lighting in the bathroom bright enough to be able to put on your makeup? Is the lighting in the room dimmable, or are the curtains automatic so I don't have to pull them? I'm looking for the functional elements, but also the aesthetic elements. Each brand has its own design strategy, right? So, the St. Regis showroom that I saw in London, that's a customer that is looking for a very sophisticated type of product, but it's in the heart of London, so we’re also making sure that the look and feel of the model room feels like part of the city. You want it to feel like it has a touch of the locale, and that it doesn't feel like, ‘I woke up and I don’t know where I am.’
The W aesthetic is very different from the St. Regis or Luxury Collection aesthetic, for example. You should know that you're in a W lobby from the moment that you step in the door.
Finally, name one highlight of the trip.
I went to Wimbledon for the first time in my life. We saw the women's semifinals. To just be there, and feel the emotion of what was going on, was super fun.
