For Tina Edmundson, traveling for work is her bread and butter. As president of Luxury at Marriott International—a role in which she oversees Marriott’s complete portfolio of luxury brands, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, and many more—she typically takes over 15 business trips a year, hopping between continents to meet with her teams on the ground, experience newly opened hotels first hand, and check out the competition. (Her next stop? China.)
We sat down with Tina, who’s also a member of Condé Nast Traveler‘s advisory board, to find out about her recent multi-stop trip across Europe, where she spent her time reacquainting herself with the Madrid hotel scene, squeezing in some memorable London experiences, and even getting a good night’s sleep courtesy of hotel blackout curtains.
What was the purpose of the trip?
I stayed over in London for a model room review—we’re opening a St. Regis in London and I wanted to see the plan for what the rooms will look like. I also had a chance to check out some of the competition, too. Then I went to Madrid to look at some new hotels that have just opened, like the Edition and the W. We also had a model room for the Luxury Collection that I wanted to see. I did the same thing I did in London—a competitive set review to see what else was on the [luxury hotel] market. The last time I was in Madrid was probably 2018. It was fascinating to see that in five years, the city has changed in terms of how much luxury product is on the market. In Budapest it was really great to see two fun new hotels. The W Budapest just opened—at the time that I was there, it had only been open a week. And then we have a Luxury Collection hotel called the Matild Palace that has been open for a year and a half.
Did you buy anything at the airport?
I almost did. But they didn’t have my exact size. It was a Moncler jacket. I’ve been looking for one for a while, and I wanted a white one, and they had a white one. But it was a small, and I needed an extra small just because it was quite stretchy. Anyway, I decided that I wasn’t going to get it. But then, of course, I was sitting sitting at the gate and I was like, “Ugh, I should have gotten it!”
How—and what—do you pack?
My favorite travel brand is a Rimowa. I love it because it is easy—but I’m also very specific. I like both sides to have the net and the zipper, which is really important. If you have them only on one side, when you open it, it’s just…it’s a mess, right? I think the essential model has the zipper on both sides, so that’s my favorite. And I always put—and, again, this is from my experience—an AirTag in every single bag I have. I’m maybe over controlling, but I want to know where my stuff is.
