Meeting… Ksenia Starikova In the changing face of travel, the Vice President of Brand Experience at Design Hotels talks purposeful projects, positive impact and putting sustainability centre stage.
PROFILE Ksenia Starikova Vice President, Brand Experience Design Hotels
Tell us about your role and what it involves?
as a traveller for many years so it has been a
I joined Design Hotels in 2019 to lead brand,
smooth journey getting to know the inner world
digital and the creative sides of the business.
and creative forces, from the Originals behind
Having developed marketing strategies for a wide range of global clients as well as emerging lifestyle brands and start-ups, Ksenia Starikova joined Design Hotels as Vice President of Brand Experience in 2019. With a strong desire to generate cultural change, her vision has manifested in the implementation of a Sustainability & Social Impact agenda for Design Hotels members, as well as the successful roll-out of the ‘Promadic Travel’ concept, conceived in collaboration with The Future Laboratory. Meanwhile her penchant for story-sharing is reflected in the expansion of content on the brand’s platforms, which now serve as hubs for cross-cultural conversation across a range of topics.
Day-to-day, my role is incredibly multifaceted; I
our hotels to their architecture and design
oversee all marketing and creative streams across
teams. From a brand perspective, my aim so far
content, public relations, design, production,
has been to further elevate the sense of creative
digital marketing and overall community growth.
community through a mix of new content
Now that we are seeing the gradual revival of
streams, stronger digital experience and a greater
the travel landscape, I am increasingly on-the-
focus on advocating for purposeful travel.
Design Hotels Members by Continent: Africa and Middle East – 9 hotels Americas – 54 hotels Asia Pacific – 34 hotels Caribbean – 4 hotels Europe – 183 hotels Oceania – 2 hotels
go again and visiting our partners across the globe. This includes everything from site visits
What skills have you brought from your
of current and future projects to hotel market
previous roles that are helping you shape
launch planning and just being present as much
brand experience at Design Hotels?
as possible for our hoteliers and creative partners.
I have experience in strategic and design
There are also the Design Hotels’ publications,
consulting and having lived in many countries,
from the Directions magazine to the annual
cities and cultures, I bring a truly global
Design Hotels Book, which we are working on at
perspective as well as an understanding of the
present with a focus on the themes of food and
constant innovation required to stay ahead in
sustainability. On a broader level, I am fascinated
today’s market. The intense and multifaceted
by the future of travel and living, and how further
environments I worked in before joining Design
innovations can put sustainability centre stage
Hotels have helped me to orchestrate the many
as opposed to it being an afterthought. As such
diverse forces of the brand’s ecosystem. It’s rare
I have been developing new programmes within
to have such a large in-house creative team these
the brand that drive and promote improved
days, but it brings unique focus and a brand voice
representation, conscious design and social
that is a privilege to lead. The next step for me is
impact in the context of hospitality and beyond.
in converting creative pilots into real products, services and moments of connection for our
042
What has been your primary aim since joining
community – this has become a double challenge
Design Hotels?
given the pandemic, but we are on a good track
I’ve been part of the Design Hotels community
and much stronger as a result.
