Corinthia Hotels, a family-owned hospitality group, has embarked on an exciting phase of international expansion. Between 2024 and 2025, eight new, ultra-luxury properties will open in prestigious locations, including New York, Rome, Brussels and the Maldives. In preparation for this next phase of its development, the company recognised its need for a comprehensive brand transformation and enlisted Luxury Branding to lead the initiative.

Our mission was threefold: elevate Corinthia’s market positioning, ensure a consistently differentiated guest experience across its growing global portfolio, and establish a unified quality standard of marketing and communications to underpin the group’s promising future.

Our research into the evolving luxury travel landscape revealed a growing demand for uplifting, enriching and caring experiences—a trend intensified by recent global turbulence. A critical insight emerged: affluent millennials, now ready to transition from lifestyle hotels to true luxury, seek experiences that retain the energy and innovation they value while blending this with personalised care and attention. This presented a unique opportunity for Corinthia.

To capture the imaginations of this emerging market, we developed Corinthia’s new brand positioning: ‘Grand Boutique’. This concept targets a community we describe in terms of Richard Florida’s ‘Creative Class’—discerning professionals seeking ‘Refined Stimulation’. Grand Boutique combines a grand hotel’s physical elegance with a boutique operator’s vibrant personality, creating a distinctive character that sets Corinthia apart from traditional luxury and trendy lifestyle brands.

Building on the new positioning, we articulated Corinthia’s brand promise: to deliver ‘Properly Inventive’ hospitality. This approach combines genuine comfort and care with creative, characterful touches that captivate and inspire the Corinthia community.

We created a comprehensive, beautifully designed hardback brand book to encapsulate this strategic work. This guide crystallises Corinthia’s new global positioning and provides a clear vision by which to steer the group’s international expansion.

Property Prints

To complement the master brand identity, we introduced a series of ‘property prints’ to infuse Corinthia’s visual identity with location-specific elements. For each hotel, we commissioned a local creative to develop an artwork that captures the property’s personality and surroundings, drawing from various media, including painting, sculpture, floristry and illustration.

These prints are applied to select pieces of hotel collateral, adding an inventive and locally inspired touch—like on the underside of a classic black umbrella—surprising guests with an element of unexpected artistry.

For Corinthia Brussels, renowned floral artist Daniel Ost created a stunning flower carpet inspired by the hotel’s history and new positioning. This three-dimensional creation was then transformed into two-dimensional artwork through photography for use in hotel materials.

By incorporating these prints alongside master brand elements, Corinthia achieves a rare balance between corporate cohesion and local character while underscoring its ‘Grand Boutique’ positioning with a blend of elegance and creativity.

New Openings Showcase

To herald Corinthia’s exciting global expansion, we created a captivating short film highlighting the group’s upcoming openings in Rome, New York, Brussels and Bucharest. This visual narrative artfully blends existing original and curated stock footage, presenting each location through a ‘Properly Inventive’ lens.

The film introduces these prestigious new properties and showcases Corinthia’s refreshed visual direction. By capturing the essence of each city with a distinctive flair, the video embodies the new brand positioning and sets the tone for Corinthia’s growing global presence.