Redefining the Legacy of Luxury for a Powerhouse in Hospitality
Services
- Brand and creative strategy
- Visual design
- Audience and data strategy
- Design systems
Luxury transcends image or product. It’s a feeling. And it’s rare. The Ritz-Carlton embodies unparalleled luxury, but the chasm between what it feels like walking into The Ritz-Carlton and its website was palpable.
The global hotel giant partnered with Code and Theory to infuse the luxury of their hotels into every element of its digital experience. The new experience was built to not simply uplevel the experience, or make it prettier. It’s a rallying cry for the brand, and the future vision of The Ritz-Carlton brand, touching Ritzcarlton.com, each individual hotel website, RitzCarltonReserve.com, and the five Reserve property websites.
Impact
- Over 100 websites redesigned for the collection of The Ritz-Carlton properties
- Created a scalable design system
- Press at launch in Adweek, Campaign, MediaPost, Hotel Dive and more
Key Takeaways
- Up-leveled the notion of luxury through an entirely new, scalable design system for both The Ritz-Carlton and The Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
- Designed a digital experience that feels like you are in a The Ritz-Carlton hotel.
- Created a guest-centric site structure to facilitate booking, content exploration and discovery.
- Strategy, design and launch in under one year.
The New Gold Standard
Faced with these experiential and industry challenges, we were tasked to create a robust strategic and design roadmap to bring The Ritz-Carlton into the modern age. Code and Theory delivered a synthesized perspective on the luxury and ultra-luxury consumer segment’s needs as well as how The Ritz-Carlton could go beyond its competitors’ site experiences and define the category standard of excellence.
The new web experience translates The Ritz-Carlton's gold standards for guest experience into a compelling narrative that drives conversion, inclusive of a net new information architecture and digital features.
A Design System Built to Scale
Ahead of their migration to AEM, we created a design system inclusive of the new components and features that would scale across every digital touch point within The Ritz-Carlton brand. This included refreshed approaches to type usage, color, UI elements, components, tone of voice, and more.
Moving through the experience evokes the elegance, sophistication, and service of The Ritz-Carlton. The typography nods to the brand’s iconic and collectible key cards, while the six diamond pattern was inspired by the culture of The Ritz-Carlton. Dynamic, engaging video components enhance the experience, transporting guests to stunning destinations across the globe.
These new websites enhance the entire experience, from the first moment a guest seeks to stay with us.
Our partnership included redesigning the 100+ sites for The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, home to their most exclusive, ultra-high luxury properties — expanding on the shared DNA of the core look-and-feel to convey the elevated luxury experience.
When we tested our new look-and-feel with The Ritz-Carlton customers, the brand scores consistently exceeded expectations across key characteristics associated with luxury.
