The Grand Divergence: Keeping Hospitality Human in a Digital World

The Grand Divergence: Keeping Hospitality Human in a Digital World - Michaelangelo L'Acqua

Show Notes
Guest Profile

In this episode, Michaelangelo L'Acqua, Global Director of Entertainment and Culture at SH Hotels and Resorts, shares insights on the evolving nature of human connection in relation to hospitality.

Listen now to learn about:

Human Connection in Hospitality: Learn why hospitality will remain a bastion of human-to-human connections despite increasing automation.
The Essence of Luxury: Discover the importance of mastery and human input in creating luxury experiences.
Changing Definitions of Luxury: Explore how younger generations define luxury through experiences, context, and social responsibility.

Listen to our other episode for the first part of our conversation: The Most Creative Man in Hospitality

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Music by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Michaelangelo L'Acqua

Global Music Director SH Hotels & Resorts

Michaelangelo started his career in 1999 when the iconic fashion designer Tom Ford asked him to be music director for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. In those early days, Ford and a list of marquee fashion designers and mentors taught him not to think in music genres, but rather in colors and moments, luxury and nuance, and how sound can shape one’s visceral connection to their surroundings, and create memories that resonate for a lifetime. From those early days of his career until now, Michaelangelo has evolved into a music creative director in the worlds of luxury and lifestyle hospitality.

Over the years he has served as the global music director for W Hotels where he was able to develop a first of it's kind entertainment platform that was scaled globally as the brand’s footprint expanded to over 50 hotels across 4 continents.

Upon leaving W Hotels, he created L’Acqua Agenzia, a sensory branding and cultural programming creative agency. Agenzia effectively engaged each of the Five Senses: SOUND, SCENT, SIGHT, TOUCH, and TASTE when creating a brand’s DNA, a physical environment, or a consumer experience:

L’Acqua Agenzia is a creative brand strategy & cultural experiential development agency catering to client needs in the luxury travel, lifestyle, hospitality, fashion and entertainment industries.

In 2022, SH Hotels & Resorts asked Michaelangelo to become the global entertainment director for SH Hotels & Resorts, where he currently oversees 1 Hotels, Baccarat and Tree House brands.

Lastly, Michaelangelo serves … Read More