Luxury Hotels Need a Serious Course Correct in 2026
With diminished services and degradation in materials, here are the things you should look for in a hotel for when booking your next trip.
The rooftop pool at Trunk(Hotel) Yoyogi Park.
Source: Trunk
Last year on a research trip to Japan, I bought a really great black sweater — the kind of uniform piece that transitions perfectly from day to night. I wear it so often, I went back to the same store this year to try to buy another one. But in the last 12 months, the brand changed its materials: The same pullover was now lighter-weight, a polyester mix rather than 100% cotton and a whole lot scratchier. I left empty-handed.
Throughout 2025, the phenomenon of “enshittification” — originally coined in 2022 by Cory Doctorow to refer to the decay of online platforms as they pivoted away from serving the user to benefiting the shareholder — became commonly ascribed to the degradation of the quality of fashion and households goods. I also found it everywhere in my travels, especially in hotels.