You’re living your best life somewhere on the beach, soaking up the sun and the scene, and everything about the moment is picture perfect. This place is you. The day drinks are flowing, the pool is glistening in the sunlight, and the tracks playing overhead are encapsulating the mood, like so many cherries atop an aural ice cream sundae. What if you could bring some of that home with you — not with a t-shirt or a bathing suit from the gift shop, but a piece of the vibe itself? Don’t you just want to bottle it up and carry it with you on your travels? Now you can.
The hottest travel souvenir in the world is the signature Spotify playlist from your favorite hotel. And when you want to relive a wonderful vacation — that idyllic afternoon on the beach, romantic dinner in the evening or everlasting party at the lounge — you can pull it up on your phone, press play and take a cruise down memory lane in a way that’s far more powerful and sensory-rich than scrolling through your photos.
I’ve been doing it for the past two years after a stay at the METT Hotel in Bodrum. This place didn’t just have a vibe, it was a vibe, thanks to its beach club and daytime cabaret parties, along with the crowds of beautiful people it attracted in turn. While hotels are always selecting the music they play in one particular environment or another, this was the first time I encountered a public playlist for one that you could simply favorite and follow. It was playing in my room when I walked into it for the first time, and it has stayed with me ever since. To this day, I’ll hang out to their playlist, I’ll write to their playlist and from a hotel with such a sexy reputation, you could imagine I may even occasionally be doing more than that to their playlist, too.
The Bodrum locale isn’t the only METT property to follow that approach, either. At the METT Hotel & Beach Resort Marbella, for instance, the property very much intends for their guests to continue listening to their tunes once they’re back home. They’ll relive the experience and, well, who knows, maybe decide to book another trip and come back again.
“It’s a way for guests to extend their connection beyond their time at the resort and reminisce about their stay through music,” says marketing manager Irene Carrillo.
The playlist is a living thing for the hotel, evolving to reflect the property’s current situation and season. And for special events, guests can even request to have a unique playlist created for the occasion. “Our goal is to provide a memorable and immersive stay for every guest, and music is just one of the many ways we strive to achieve that,” Carrillo says.
In Honduras, the Kimpton Grand Roatan Resort & Spa wants their playlist to start infiltrating your head space before you even arrive. “We often send the playlist to travel agents ahead of their guests’ arrival so they can share with them in advance,” says Hannah Hagar, who manages music and brand activations with parent group IHG Americas. “We also have the playlist playing in the vehicles that transfer guests from the airport to the hotel, so it allows them a sneak peek of the vibe of the resort.”
Once at the property, the music is bumping in rooms, down by the pool and across other public spaces, enhancing that connection and feeling throughout a stay, from one area to the next. “It defines the auditory connection our guests feel as they journey through the property,” Hagar says.
As was the case with the micro-brand METT, such efforts are sometimes part of larger brand initiatives as well. Kimpton Hotels has its own Spotify channel with curated playlists for different properties, settings and occasions; there are now almost 120 playlists available to cue up.
“We believe in the power that music has in bringing people together,” says Kathleen Reidenbach, a senior vice president for Kimpton Global at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Kimpton takes its dedication to music as a connector even further with efforts such as Kimpton Off The Record, a live concert series that supports community partners.
“Music is central to the Kimpton experience, and each property globally has a unique sonic identity, which we’re able to bring to life through Spotify playlists,” Reidenbach says. “We’re able to set a vibe in our spaces, offer extensive playlist options that meet guests’ moods and provide them with an experience that extends beyond their stay.”
A Shared Google Maps List Is the New Traveler Currency
Curating your travel recommendations on Google Maps is like a modern mixtape for 2024Most hotel Spotify playlists are intended as souvenirs, proverbial postcards on the fridge, but they’ve also served the role of “I wish you were here” cards. At the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on the Big Island, the resort got started with its playlist amid the initial wave of COVID-era travel shutdowns. “We initially created these playlists during 2020 when our resorts were temporarily closed due to the pandemic,” says general manager Charlie Parker, also referring to another property in his territory, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
“These playlists were one way we offered our guests a connection to Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii and their memories with us, during a time when they couldn’t travel here,” Parker says, adding that Hawaiian artists and songs are featured as a way to immerse guests into local culture. “Each playlist is inspired by the island and destination, and guests are still listening to them after they depart as a reminder of their time with us.”
From the Big Island to the big city, high-end hotels have realized that they don’t have to be on the beach to help create that vibe and provide another memorable amenity that guests can latch onto. At the Park Hyatt New York, for instance, the hotel happens to be across the street from Carnegie Hall. Tapping into that type of iconic setting was a natural fit.
“We’ve been long-standing partners with our neighbors at Carnegie Hall for many years now,” says Patricia Galas, senior director of marketing communications. “We have found that their selection of music enhances our public spaces, especially at our indoor saltwater pool.”
The playlist is a collaboration between Carnegie Hall and the Park Hyatt, providing a listening experience pretty far removed from what you’d expect to hear at a beach club in Turkey, for instance. And that’s the point, of course.
“Our guests enjoy the selection of music from Carnegie Hall, they find it to be uplifting, joyful and entertaining,” Galas says. It’s also culturally relevant, given the significance of the artists who’ve performed at the legendary venue over the years. “What better way to unwind and escape your mind?”
Nobody’s saying you shouldn’t bring home that refrigerator magnet or branded hotel baseball cap, but you’ll probably get more use and enjoyment of something like this. And while most hotel souvenirs end up staid and outplayed, a playlist keeps on bumping until you end up overplaying it yourself, anyway. Keep your ears open on that next getaway, and you may just pick up on something you’d like to pack up and bring home with you.
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