Featured on this episode:

• Find out more about Rick by visiting his website
• Click here for an inside look at this year’s Design Biz Retreat
• Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
• Join The Designers Edge waitlist here
• Grab Your Free Script Guide here
• Access the full video interview with Elana Steele of Steele Appliance here

What you will learn from this episode:

• Why hospitality matters more than ever in luxury interior design
• How small client touchpoints create lasting emotional impact
• The difference between checking a box and creating a memorable experience

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There are a lot of talented interior designers.

By the time someone reaches out to you, they’ve probably looked at dozens of websites, saved hundreds of images, and convinced themselves they know exactly what good design looks like. Beautiful rooms are no longer the differentiator. They’re the expectation.

So the real question becomes this:

What does it actually feel like to work with you?

That was the conversation I wanted to have with my friend Rick Campos this week. Rick is the host of Design Biz Survival Guide, a business coach for interior designers, and someone who has spent years helping designers build better, more profitable businesses. But what specifically caught my attention recently was his deep dive into the concept of hospitality — specifically the principles from the bestselling book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.

And before you think, what does restaurant hospitality have to do with interior design? stay with me.

Because once you get past the restaurant examples, what you realize is this conversation is really about something much bigger: how to create a client experience people never forget.

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The Difference Between Service and Hospitality

One of the most important things Rick said during our conversation was this:

“Service is the thing you do. Hospitality is how people feel while you’re doing it.”

That distinction matters more than I think most designers realize. Most designers already provide good service. They’re responsive. They’re organized. They communicate well. They create beautiful spaces. They manage details. They solve problems.

But hospitality is something different. Hospitality is emotional. It’s the feeling your client walks away with after every interaction with you. It’s whether they felt seen, understood, remembered, and cared for throughout the process — not just impressed by the final reveal.

And in luxury interior design, that emotional connection is often what separates a good project from an unforgettable experience.

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Beautiful Design Is Already Assumed

I think this is where a lot of designers get stuck.

We spend so much time trying to prove we’re talented enough. Meanwhile, most clients already assume that part. They hired you because they believe you can create a beautiful room.

The bigger opportunity is everything surrounding the design itself.

How do your clients feel when they interact with you? How do they feel walking into your studio? How do they feel during presentations? During stressful moments? During construction delays? During the parts of the process that aren’t glamorous?

That’s where hospitality lives.

And honestly? That’s often what clients remember most.

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Why Generic Luxury Doesn’t Work Anymore

One of the things Rick and I talked about was how easy it is for designers to fall into “check the box” luxury gestures.

The standard champagne bottle at install. The expected charcuterie board at presentations. The generic high-end gift basket.

None of those things are bad. But they’re also not particularly memorable anymore because clients expect them. And the problem with expected experiences is that they rarely create emotional impact.

Rick made a point that I thought was brilliant: don’t waste the effort by doing something generic too early just because you think you’re supposed to. Wait until you actually know your client well enough to do something meaningful.

That changes everything.

Because now the goal isn’t to perform luxury. The goal is to create connection.

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The Small Things Clients Never Forget

One of my favorite stories Rick shared involved a luxury home build where the client repeatedly complained about one thing during site visits: the porta potties.

She worked nearby and came to every construction meeting during her lunch break dressed beautifully for work. And understandably, she hated using dirty construction bathrooms.

Most teams probably would’ve laughed it off. Instead, the builder listened. And then they had a separate private porta potty delivered just for her, complete with a pink lock that only she could access.

It’s ridiculous and genius at the exact same time. Not because it was expensive. Not because it was elaborate. Because someone listened. That is hospitality.

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Listening Is Actually the Strategy

That’s really the throughline of this entire conversation.

Hospitality is not about spending more money. It’s about paying attention.

Clients tell us everything: their favorite restaurants, their travel habits, their kids’ schools, their hobbies, their frustrations, their routines, and the little details that make up their lives.

As designers, we absorb information naturally. Honestly, it’s one of our superpowers. We notice things other people miss.

But what Rick challenged me on — and honestly what I think designers need to hear more often — is that those details are opportunities.

Not manipulative opportunities. Human opportunities, ways to show clients that you genuinely listened.

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Why Thoughtful Beats Expensive Every Time

Rick gave another example that perfectly illustrates this.

Let’s say a client casually mentions that during summer weekends at the river, they love drinking Coors Light all day. Silly detail. Easy to overlook.

But then imagine you’re deep in a stressful construction week months later and a cold 12-pack of Coors Light unexpectedly shows up at their house with a note that says:

“Thought this week might call for these.”

That lands emotionally in a way an expensive bottle of champagne often doesn’t. Because one says: “I spent money.” The other says: “I know you.” And especially in luxury design, where many clients can already buy themselves anything they want, that distinction matters enormously.

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The Client Touchpoints Designers Overlook

One of the smartest parts of Rick’s framework is the idea of touchpoints. Every moment your client interacts with you is a touchpoint:

• Consultations
• Presentations
• Site meetings
• Emails
• Studio visits
• Install days
• Follow-up calls

Most designers focus on elevating the obvious moments. But the overlooked moments are often where the biggest opportunities live.

For example, Rick talked about inviting clients’ children back for their own mini design presentation after the parents’ meeting. Not because the 12-year-old needs to approve the furniture plan. But because making the child feel included transforms the experience for the entire family.

Suddenly the project becomes something emotionally memorable instead of just another luxury service transaction. And that’s what people talk about afterward.

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Hospitality Matters Most During the Hard Parts

This is especially true in construction.

Because no matter how experienced you are, things go wrong sometimes. Shipments get delayed. Something arrives damaged. A subcontractor disappears. A wall gets opened and reveals a surprise nobody wanted.

Hospitality doesn’t eliminate those moments, but it absolutely changes how clients experience them.

Clients who feel cared for and emotionally connected to you are much more likely to trust you through difficult moments instead of turning against you the second something becomes inconvenient.

That’s not because you manipulated them into liking you; it’s because you’ve consistently shown up as a human being who listens, cares, and pays attention. That relationship becomes the stabilizing force when things get messy.

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The Part AI Can Never Replace

Toward the end of our conversation, Rick said something powerful.

AI can generate beautiful rooms. AI can organize information. It can create mood boards. It can optimize layouts. It can automate workflows.

What it cannot do is create genuine emotional connection.

It cannot notice your client’s daughter just got into college and send a thoughtful note.

It cannot text a client because something reminded you of them.

It cannot create trust through human attention and emotional nuance.

And in a world increasingly filled with automation, I actually think that humanity becomes more valuable, not less.

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The Real Luxury Experience

At the end of the day, I don’t think luxury is actually about expensive things.

I think luxury is attention. Attention to detail. Attention to emotion. Attention to people.

Clients want beautiful rooms, of course they do. But what they remember years later is usually much smaller than the room itself. They remember how you made them feel during one of the most personal and emotionally vulnerable processes they’ll ever invest in.

That’s the real work, and the part no one talks about enough.

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Like this Episode?

Be sure to check out Episode #210: Real Talk With Rick Campos On Leadership

Be sure to check out Episode #284: How to Build a Successful Interior Design Career With Amy Vermillion

Be sure to check out Episode #234: Luxury Is a Long Game: Relationship Marketing with Vita Vygovska