The Future of music in hospitality
Welcome to the final installment of our four-part series on The Evolution of Music in Hospitality.
So far, we’ve traced music’s cultural roots, explored the rise of experience-first hotels, and examined how nightlife veterans have redefined what hospitality can be. Now, we look ahead—toward the future of music in this space. In Part 4, we explore sound as a strategic tool and how audio is being seamlessly integrated into design, branding, and the guest experience.
As always, we bring Giant Step’s perspective alongside insights from some of the industry’s most forward-thinking voices, including Ian Schrager, Liz Lambert, and Serge Becker.
The response to this series has been incredible—thank you. Keep your thoughts and feedback coming.
Enjoy
Our Contributors
in Alphabetical Order
Dan Agne
Founder/President of Sound Investment, an audio-visual design company specializing in hospitality and nightlife.
Serge Becker
Creative director/nightlife impresario, known for shaping cultural hotspots like La Esquina, Miss Lilly’s, The Box, Area, and Joe's Pub.
Ally Berkowitz
Vice President, Lifestyle at PURPLE PR
Eduardo Castillo
Co-Founder Habitas / WNDRFL
Pablo Henderson
President + CMO, Spherical, an agency for inspired hospitality experiences.
Michaelangelo L'Acqua
Global Entertainment Director Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Liz Lambert
Partner at Lambert McGuire Design, partner at MML Hospitality, and founder of Bunkhouse Group
Ben Pundole
Founder of the travel platform A Hotel Life, Ben has been VP of Brand Experience at EDITION Hotels and Executive VP at PUBLIC Hotels, as well as for launching the Stay Plastic Free sustainability initiative.
Frank Roberts
Vice President of Brand Experience, EDITION & W Hotels
Mark Ronson
Multi Grammy and Oscar-winning producer, musician and DJ, has worked with artists like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, and Bruno Mars.
Tommy Saleh
Co-Founder, Curated Saga, Cultural Programming Agency; formerly VP GrandLife Hotels.
Ian Schrager
Founder of Ian Schrager Company, is renowned for Studio 54 and pioneering the boutique hotel design with iconic projects like Morgans Hotel Group, the EDITION Hotels and PUBLIC.
Ryan Scott Smith
VP of Brand at MML Hospitality
Stephane Vacher
Global Head of Experience & Environment Curation, The Lifestyle Group, Hyatt
Andrew Wintner
Founder & CEO, Cassette (a sensory branding agency that combines music expertise).
[Developing a distinct] music strategy transformed W Hotels into more than just a place to stay—it became a cultural movement in lifestyle hospitality, where music wasn’t just a backdrop but the pulse of the brand, shaping guest experiences and cementing W’s place in hotel history.
To this day, music remains a driving force in W Hotels' marketing strategy.
Michelangelo L’Aqua
In the evolving world of lifestyle hospitality, music has moved well beyond the realm of ambient noise.
Today, playlists function as strategic assets — tools that define a hotel’s identity, communicate values, and forge lasting emotional connections with guests. Like a signature scent or logo, a carefully curated sonic identity becomes an essential part of a brand’s DNA.
When it comes to the overhead music,
I think it's one of the key elements that define the guest experiences
alongside design, lighting, scent, etc.
Luxury and lifestyle hotels increasingly use music as a means of brand differentiation in an oversaturated market. By collaborating with renowned DJs, curators, and musicians, many top-tier brands are creating exclusive sonic experiences. Some, like W Hotels, even launched their own record labels to deepen their cultural footprint. These initiatives don’t just enhance the on-property experience — they extend the brand’s reach far beyond physical spaces, fostering ongoing engagement and loyalty.
“In my mind,
music is as important as any of the sensory elements
that shape the built world, in hotels and everywhere else.”
Liz Lambert
A pioneering example of this was Hôtel Costes in Paris, whose iconic music compilation series made the brand a global tastemaker. The sensual, stylish aesthetic of the hotel was captured perfectly in its albums, which transported the Costes experience across the globe. These compilations became as recognizable as the property itself, laying the groundwork for brands like W Hotels and The Standard to evolve the model in their own distinct ways.
The Standard, known for its bold, creative identity, curates playlists that reflect its fashion-forward, eclectic clientele — blending New York disco, Berlin techno, and indie electronica into a soundscape that feels both irreverent and intentional. The Ace Hotel takes a different approach, leaning into its analog roots and community-driven ethos by spotlighting local musicians and emerging talent. Meanwhile, Habitas embeds music into the very narrative of the place, offering guests immersive, region-specific soundscapes — from North African desert blues in AlUla to ambient downtempo in Tulum—each reflecting the spirit and soul of its setting.
Playlists offer a bridge between the physical and digital realms. Many hotels now publish branded playlists on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music — not just to extend their identity beyond the hotel stay, but to build community and cultural capital. Soho House, for example, regularly updates public playlists that mirror the energy and rhythm of its Houses around the world. For both members and non-members, this offers a sense of ongoing connection: a way to bring the mood and mystique of Soho House into homes, studios, and travels.
"Social media and digital streaming amplified our reach. The live sets, curated playlists, and exclusive performances at our properties began circulating globally, bringing our sonic identity to audiences who had never even stepped inside our hotels. When we saw demand for our music programming beyond hospitality—in collaborations with fashion and tech brands—
we knew our cultural footprint had grown far beyond the hotel world."
Ultimately, playlists offer one of the most efficient, immersive, and scalable ways to convey brand voice and emotional resonance. They require no square footage, minimal staffing, and yet they speak volumes—especially when crafted with the same creativity and intention as the physical space itself. In today’s experience-driven hospitality landscape, the most forward-thinking brands recognize that music isn’t just a vibe—it’s strategy.
Looking ahead, hospitality brands must treat music as a strategic pillar, not a decorative afterthought. The interplay between sound and space will continue to evolve, shaped by advancements in technology, neuroscience, and cultural behavior. The hotels that thrive will be those that don’t just use music to entertain, but to engage, inspire, and transport. In doing so, they won’t just create memories—they’ll soundtrack them.
The Integration of Audio
Into Design
Music in hotels is no longer an afterthought — it’s become a fundamental part of the design language, shaping guest experiences as much as architecture, lighting, and furnishings. Forward-thinking brands like Aman, The Ace, and The Standard recognize that soundscapes aren’t just ambient fillers, but strategic design elements that communicate mood, identity, and emotion. Just as a striking lobby can instantly convey a hotel’s personality, so too can a well-curated sound environment speak volumes about the brand ethos before a guest even checks in.
“Design and music go hand in hand in my process of creating a new venue.”
And yet, a persistent friction remains between overall design and the systems that bring sound to life. This tension often begins early in the creative process, where visual aesthetics dominate discussions, and audio is relegated to a secondary concern, if it’s considered at all. The result? Beautiful spaces that sound mediocre, or worse, unintentionally disruptive. “Hotels are not nightclubs,” as Ben Pundole notes, “and even nightclubs in hotels… are not a purist’s nightclub.” The acoustics are rarely prioritized. Designers focus on texture, form, and visual drama, while critical considerations like speaker placement and acoustic treatment are left to the margins, often too late to influence meaningful change.
That disconnect can be costly. AV systems are not just technical necessities; they are “the heart and soul of a venue,” as Dan Agne puts it. A thoughtfully engineered sound environment enhances everything from the mood in the lobby to the energy in a rooftop bar. The psychology of space matters — not just how a space looks, but how it sounds and feels. When done right, the interplay of music and design is symbiotic, elevating the guest experience in a way that is immersive, memorable, and emotionally resonant. These aren't just amenities. They’re brand touchpoints, delivering something far more valuable than entertainment: connection.
Unfortunately, what too often happens is the careless pairing of reflective surfaces with low-quality audio gear, producing flat, abrasive soundscapes that underwhelm. But even in these acoustically challenging environments, opportunities exist to surprise and delight. “People come into a reflective space and expect it to sound bad,” says Agne, “so treating them to a uniquely tasteful audio experience is sort of like dazzling them with science.” Speaker selection and placement can work subtle magic, offering guests an experience that feels elevated, even if they can’t quite articulate why. In these moments, sound transcends function and becomes part of the magic that keeps guests coming back.
The most successful hospitality spaces are those where design and sound don’t just coexist, but collaborate. When hoteliers, designers, and AV specialists come together from the outset, the result is more than just beautiful rooms — it’s environments that feel right, even if guests can’t explain exactly why. Music and sound have the power to evoke memory, emotion, and atmosphere in ways no other design element can. When treated with equal importance, they become the invisible thread tying a guest’s entire experience together, from the lobby’s first impression to the final song played at the bar. In a world where differentiation is everything, the hotels that sound as good as they look are the ones that truly resonate.
The future
of music in hospitality
The future of music in hospitality will hinge on two key dynamics: the deepening of human-led curation and the rise of AI as a powerful tool to elevate that process. Guests are not just hearing music, they’re stepping into a curated sonic journey that defines a place and its mood.
Music culture is constantly evolving, and
the key to staying ahead is being present.
Frank Roberts
Storytelling is everything
Eduardo Castillo
For Ian Schrager, the opportunity lies in hyper-personalisation: the idea that a hotel could have its own exclusive musical identity, deeply embedded in time, place, and purpose.
“It’s almost as if one could say that this particular brand of music could only be at this particular hotel,”
Ian Schrager
Nothing sets a vibe more than sound. While most physical touchpoints are fixed – music transcends.
Ally Berkowitz
Technology is already expanding the creative canvas. _Liz Lambert_ recalls a striking example from Sister City in New York, where a generative AI soundtrack responded in real time to rooftop visuals, with Björk’s sonic interpretation adding a poetic layer of experience. “It was a pretty fascinating use of technology,” she reflects, while admitting she’s still drawn to the “simple human magic—the stuff the robots can’t do.” This tension, between analog authenticity and digital augmentation, sits at the heart of the next era. Andrew Wintner echoes this ambivalence: while AI is “incredible” for expanding libraries and speeding up discovery, the final, emotional act of curation “still belongs to the humans.”
Not everyone is eager to embrace AI’s growing role. Michaelangelo L’Aqua, for one, is unflinching in his rejection of it, viewing AI as antithetical to the depth of experience earned through a lifetime of musical dedication. “Using AI would undermine the 30,000 hours I’ve poured into this craft,” he says, drawing a line between mechanical efficiency and the soul of music curation. Yet others, like Pablo Henderson, are looking beyond music itself, exploring the power of soundscapes and silence. In an age of visual overstimulation, he predicts a cultural shift — “an age of listening between the silence” — where nuanced auditory experiences become the new frontier of connection.
What’s clear is that music in hospitality is no longer a background detail—it’s a central pillar of the guest experience. As Frank Roberts succinctly puts it, “the key to staying ahead is being present.” Serge Becker points out that, too often, spaces default into monotony; lobbies becoming “waiting rooms” rather than emotional stages. The future will demand that every hotel sound like itself, not like a playlist off the shelf. Whether through human curators, AI assistance, or ambient innovation, the hospitality industry has a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to compose spaces that feel alive, remembered, and deeply heard.
The future of music in hospitality won’t be defined by a single technology or philosophy, but by the thoughtful integration of both innovation and intuition. Whether through AI-enhanced discovery or handcrafted soundscapes, the goal remains the same: to create moments that resonate, linger, and elevate the guest experience. As hospitality spaces continue to evolve, so too will the role of music crafted not just to fill silence, but to inspire memory, emotion, and a sense of place.
Download our Key Take Aways from Part IV
Citations
Part 4
Sound as Strategy: The Transformative Role of Curated Playlists in Hospitality
Giant Step interview with Michelangelo L’Aqua, March, 2025
Giant Step interview with Andrew Wintner, March, 2025
Giant Step interview with Frank Roberts, March, 2025
Forbes. (2021). Music-Themed Hotel Rooms. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kaitlynmcinnis/2021/03/30/love-music-these-music-themed-hotel-rooms-and-suites-will-rock-your-world/
NWDB. (n.d.). How Art and Music Can Transform Your Hospitality Space. https://nwdb.nyc/how-art-and-music-can-transform-your-hospitality-space/
Far Out Magazine. (n.d.). The playlist Ryuichi Sakamoto curated for his favourite Japanese restaurant.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-playlist-ryuichi-sakamoto-curated-for-his-favourite-japanese-restaurant/
The Integration of Audio into Design
Giant Step interview with Serge Becker, March, 2025
Trend Hunter. (n.d.). Commune Design. https://www.trendhunter.com/amp/trends/commune-design
Berklee College of Music. (n.d.). Open Music Initiative Teams with Ace Hotel. https://college.berklee.edu/news/open-music-initiative-teams-ace-hotel
The future of music in hospitality
Giant Step interview with Ally Berkowitz, March, 2025