Tina Edmundson
President, Luxury / Marriott International, Inc.
Tina Edmundson, President of Luxury at Marriott International, sits down with CEO North America to explore the exciting new offerings the well-loved brand is launching in the luxury space.
It’s no secret that Marriott International has the most powerful hotel portfolio in the business, boasting over 30 leading brands and nearly 9,600 properties in 143 countries and territories.
Today, the brand is the world’s largest hospitality company, and despite its strong industry presence, the company continues to grow.
Under Tina Edmundson’s strong leadership in Luxury, Marriott International is committed to enhancing its luxury offerings as a gateway for high-net-worth individuals, executives, and travelers to connect, experience, and expand their horizons.
A Life in Luxury
Tina Edmundson, President of Luxury, oversees Marriott International’s diverse portfolio of luxury brands, including The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, BVLGARI Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, and W Hotels.
When she first took on the role in 2023, she viewed it as an opportunity to leverage her 25 years of industry experience to build and lead a talented team that can “double click” on what makes luxury special and unique, since select service brands are “not a one-size-fits-all.”
Edmundson has guided Luxury through a client-first approach, guaranteeing that each customer experience genuinely reflects the brand’s heritage and enhances Marriott’s premium portfolio.
An important aspect of her role is deepening engagement with the high-net-worth traveler. Edmundson explains, “We’re catering to a different consumer with different wants and needs, and having a dedicated focus of leaders and organization allows us to do this.”
Passionate about prioritizing the client, Edmundson’s Luxury group build trust, form strong emotional connections, provide intuitive service, and “create the sort of long-term loyalty that extends across the portfolio.”
“We have a sizable portfolio, and the main opportunity is to focus on our luxury brands, specifically to sharpen each brand’s identity to ensure that the customer promise for each brand really comes to life.”
Tailor-Made Opportunities
Boasting over 550 luxury hotels, with approximately 250 more in development, “We really have a wonderful luxury portfolio here,” Edmundson tells CEO North America.
Edmundson’s Luxury group has also expanded into new and exciting areas, such as the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection, which currently operates three vessels. She is also proud to share that Marriott International has entered the all-inclusive luxury market, including the recently opened Ritz-Carlton safari lodge in the Masai Mara.
“We know that the next generation of luxury customers is looking for these meaningful experiences, and having a group that is singularly focused on that is important,” Edmundson says.
Through these new offerings, the Luxury group is “making sure that we are keeping our loyal customers within our ecosystem and really being where they want us to be.”
Anticipating Market Trends
According to Edmundson, “The scale and strength of our portfolio really position us so that we can not only be reactive, meaning responding to what is happening in the market, but I also believe we have an opportunity to shape and influence how we come across.” To stay on trend with their clients, Edmundson’s group gathers feedback from general managers and managing directors at over 500 hotels, helping them identify trends early and gain unique insights into the client experience.
“For us, with Luxury, by leveraging the larger Marriott ecosystem—even for talent—we can identify and develop talent internally. We can guide customers through each tier of our brand portfolio and create experiences that keep them coming back.”
For instance, understanding how clients engage with and value different aspects of the experience has benefited the well-being sector of the business. “Tapping into these insights really informs us of how we think about our brands, where we should go in the future, what the design direction should be,” Edmundson explains, “So that we can lead the pack across the portfolio.”
Today’s high net worth customers aren’t just seeking luxury and indulgence, Edmundson explains; they’re truly craving depth and access, making their experience more meaningful and personalized.
Thinking from this perspective has helped her team develop, at scale, their new safari lodges and all-inclusive offerings. “You wouldn’t normally think of all-inclusive luxury as something that comes to mind. But, the insight was that even luxury customers appreciate the convenience and ease of an all-inclusive experience.”
Edmundson proudly remarks, “We love that we’re able to have this connection with the field and have a two-way conversation, as we try to sketch out what’s new and next in luxury hospitality.”
Pioneering Organic Growth
In the next three to five years, Edmundson is dedicated to expanding Marriott International’s portfolio, especially into regions where it is either absent or underrepresented across its brands. “I think, continuing to grow organically in those new locations and new geographies with new brands continues to be important.”
Moving forward, she also plans to focus on accelerating the growth of branded residential, which she believes stems from guests who love a specific brand because they want to “check in and never check out.” “We expect that this momentum will continue because buyers today are really seeking turnkey options that accurately reflect who they are from a lifestyle perspective, from a design standpoint, and for the service they expect.”
She intends to direct her team toward expanding adjacencies, including yachts, all-inclusive experiences, and safaris. “In fact, we have 12 more all-inclusives and safaris signed and on the books, which I think is exciting.” Additionally, she is passionate about growing the St. Regis Estates.
Edmundson explains, “St. Regis as a brand has about 65 hotels today, but we’ve introduced a brand extension called St. Regis Estates. The first one will open in Pelican Hill here in the US.”
“It’s really exciting because we are selectively transforming the world’s most iconic places, estates, or chateaus into residential-style experiences. We’re ensuring we preserve the heritage and exclusivity while expanding our footprint to tailor this experience for the global traveler.”
“We have 115 luxury branded residential products today. Those could be either co-located with a hotel or a standalone residence. We love branded residences. It is actually today one of the most dynamic and resilient segments in our industry.”
Streamlining a Global Network
“How do we leverage the benefits of global scale and ensure we’re delivering a bespoke luxury service experience?” Edmundson asks CEO North America, “By making sure that we’re empowering our teams around the world to deliver these exceptional experiences.”
Marriott International has a well-defined continental structure with dedicated luxury operators and disciplines assigned to each continent. Each continent has leaders in luxury brands, marketing, public relations, and design. The teams focus on guest-facing activities dedicated to luxury and are responsible for implementing strategy in their specific markets.
Edmundson believes this structure truly gives her team the best of both worlds, “We want to leverage Marriott’s global scale and also ensure that every region and every hotel is really delivering on that luxury experience and embracing individuality and what is unique and precious in that local market.”
Currently, Marriott International is undergoing a comprehensive technology transformation, enhancing centralized eff iciency by streamlining functions such as development, finance, human resources, legal, and global procurement.
“We have to manage this complexity both at the center as well as in our continent office so that our on-property teams can really focus their attention on the guest experience and are really delivering that high touch anticipatory service.”
“You know, 500 sounds like a lot, but in the scheme of things, Marriott has 9600 hotels,” she explains. “We have really strong connections with our general managers and our operations leaders across the luxury portfolio. We have ongoing collaboration. Every four to six weeks, we have very long meetings.”
The President of Luxury explains that her global team shares best practices, which elevates the brand’s standards overall so they can deliver the kind of exclusivity that valued guests are looking for. “So, while we are ensuring that efficiencies are achieved globally, at the end of the day we have also equally focused on the fact that the guest experience has to remain highly personalized, very localized and consistently exceptional.”
“What we’re able to do, is really anticipate trends early.”
Committed to Uncompromising Quality
Edmundson points out that Marriott International’s luxury offerings stand out from competitors due to the exceptional quality of its brands. Brands which are thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals and serve a broad customer community.
Edmundson proudly acknowledges that her team is globally recognized for its operational excellence, which she says overall, “Marriott is truly well known for.” To go the extra mile in providing this guaranteed quality, Edmundson says her team is constantly “keeping our finger on the pulse of what is going on.”
For Marriott International’s Luxury President, everything comes down to customer value. “Making sure that we have the experiences that our customers want, that we’re able to take care of their desires and keep them in our ecosystem while also attracting and acquiring new high-net-worth clients makes us an interesting and desirable choice for customers and keeps them coming back.”
