Neel AcharyFor years, luxury hotels shaped their offerings around the adult guests, the presumed decision-maker, the business traveller, and the primary target audience for the experience. Children, if considered at all, were an afterthought, given the margins like a play area, a simplified menu, a lone colouring book at brunch. But that model no longer reflects how families travel, or what they expect.
Today’s luxury traveller is increasingly a family unit, and more often than not, it’s the youngest member who’s influencing the experience and shaping the itinerary. In India, over 85% of Gen Alpha and Gen Z children now influence holiday decisions and vacation plans. Globally, more than half of parents let their kids choose restaurants or hotel activities and experiences. This isn’t a soft influence; it’s steering the industry to a new age, a bold shift in the old playbooks, redefining what luxury means and who it is meant for and how hotels are evolving their space, service, and storytelling for a wider audience.
Hotels that once treated children as an add-on to the guest experience are now considering them as full participants. This new luxury is leading high-end hospitality to pivot from “kid-friendly” to kid-forward with designing immersive amenities to meaningful storytelling.
The Rise of Emotionally Intelligent Luxury
According to the Global Hospitality Kids Report, most parents now plan vacations around their children’s preferred activities – 77% for activities and 70% for destination choices. Luxury today, especially in family travel, isn’t defined by indulgence alone, but by emotionally rich, memory-led experiences that consider children as full guests. For younger travellers, this does not mean toned-down adult experiences; it rather means being given equal attention through thoughtfully designed moments that build curiosity and purpose.
And that’s more than heart at play here, it’s strategy. Research shows that up to 25% of brand preferences formed in childhood persist into adulthood. So, when luxury brands invest in thoughtful experiences for children, it’s a long-term investment in future loyalty. Many hotels are taking note and beginning to introduce culture-led, discovery-driven experiences designed for younger guests. At Conrad Pune, that’s the ethos behind Conrad Champs, a pioneering initiative that considers children at the centre of the guest journey through the form of an integrated storytelling approach.
Inside The Insider – Conrad Pune’s Story-First Approach with a blend of hospitality
There’s a quiet, joyful revolution unfolding at Conrad Pune. It’s led not by whispering sommeliers or butlers in crisp suits but by one that’s bringing sparkle to small eyes and uncontainable giggles to familiar halls. At the heart of this shift lies The Insider, a printed, cheerful story-driven guide curated for June and July with a special focus on a stripe-clad mascot named Stripey, specifically for young guests.
The Insider is no ordinary monthly newsletter. It’s a beautifully designed editorial journal; it leads children on a journey of puzzles, questions, clues, and hidden surprises woven across the hotel’s spaces that slowly reveal themselves to become a tailored adventure. From the visual layout to the tone of the writing, every detail evokes curiosity and confidence, transforming the stay into a choose-your-own-adventure tale.
From its bold colour palette to its cheerful mascot, Stripey, everything about The Insider is intentionally designed for children. But beneath the playful surface is a thoughtful hospitality strategy: one that sees children not as passive participants, but as perceptive guests deserving of their own tailored experience.
The July edition revolves around Stripey’s birthday celebration – complete with interactive dining stations, brain teasers, scavenger hunts, and immersive games that unfolded across the property. Every corner becomes a stage, every corridor a chapter. Along with being an entertaining activity, it’s crafted to bring out curiosity, and is a hospitality philosophy in action.
But beneath the whimsy is a sharp understanding of guest psychology, along with entertainment, The Insider also empowers. Children are not passive observers here; they’re heroes of their journeys. The tone, tempo, and visual identity are all tailored to evoke confidence, independence, and wonder.
“The goal isn’t to distract the kids or keep them busy, it’s about creating a sense of ownership, curiosity, and belonging,” says Abhishek Sahai, General Manager, Conrad Pune. Today’s young guests are incredibly perceptive and pick up on details; they also remember and come back for how you made them feel. So, our goal isn’t to just entertain but create an experience where they feel capable, curious, and important. That’s what builds emotional connection,” he further adds.
The Conrad Champs Philosophy
More than a one-off experience, Conrad Champs is a hospitality philosophy in motion. It’s about seeing children not as accessories to adult travellers, but as influential guests who deserve bespoke experiences.
Whether it’s the thoughtfully curated Conrad Champs backpack, filled with surprises and activity kits, or the way hotel areas are reimagined as playgrounds for imagination, the initiative creates parallel delight for every family member. While the kids discover story-led adventures, parents find their moments of peace and luxury, whether lounging under monsoon skies and sipping seasonal cocktails at Kabana, indulging in the hotel’s signature chocolate tasting, or simply soaking in the calm of a property that truly understands family rhythm. It’s not about separation, but synchronicity and parallel delight: activities that are unique yet equally exciting for each member of the family.
The initiative captures a sustained change in how Conrad Pune would like to host families. Rather than limiting children’s offerings to play areas or menus, The Insider weaves them into the whole guest experience. The hotel is an open storybook in which every area becomes a touch-point in unfolding a tale, with children as active participants.
Why It Works – Storytelling with a purpose
What makes Conrad Pune’s Conrad Champs strategy a blueprint for modern luxury is its unique purpose and subtlety. The Insider is a subtle manifesto without any gimmick. It’s a well-thought-out change in luxury hospitality with great storytelling finesse, design, and a deep understanding of what families value today – experiences that feel human, personalised, and joyful.
By embedding narratives into real hotel areas, restaurants, passageways, lounges, and more, Conrad Pune turns the hotel as the backdrop into an open storybook. And in every story, the child is the hero of the story.
This also addresses a long-standing challenge in luxury travel: how to create family experiences that feel both shared and flexible. Here, every giggle, backpack, and birthday banner becomes a meaningful thread in a hospitality journey that’s as enriching for a five-year-old as it is reassuring for their family.
This initiative is a gentle rebellion against the transactional, a reminder that luxury can still have soul. In an era where luxury hospitality must balance tradition with innovation, Conrad Pune is setting a new benchmark where every birthday banner, every puzzle solved, every giggle echoing through the halls becomes a memory stitched into the family’s collective travel story. It’s where the future of luxury might just begin with a backpack, a clue, and a little spark of wonder.
The Bigger Picture: Designing for the Future of Luxury
With the global children’s travel segment projected to surpass 175 billion dollars in the coming years, experiences like The Insider become a hospitality gesture along with strategic investment. High spending families are no longer satisfied with generic service and formalities; they seek magic that rejuvenates them with a meaning.
With services like high-tech rooms, linens with high thread counts, and gourmet menus now standard, what sets a property apart is not what it offers, but how it makes every guest feel, especially the smallest ones. Conrad Champs offers a compelling answer: with a clue, a backpack, a burst of laughter, and a story that makes every child feel like they belong.
