Kimpton Fitzroy London: Defining what makes us distinctive

A leadership and team alignment project to create a clearer local mission, strengthen strategic clarity and build a stronger shared understanding of what Kimpton Fitzroy London stands for.

The brief

Kimpton Fitzroy London already had strong foundations.

The team spoke positively about the culture. There was pride in the hotel, strong relationships and a genuine commitment to guest experience.

Alongside that sat a bigger question around direction.

As part of colleague listening and leadership reflection, the team explored whether people across the hotel had the same understanding of where Kimpton Fitzroy was heading over the next few years and what should guide decisions along the way.

The focus became creating a clearer local mission within the wider IHG and Kimpton context. One that reflected what makes Fitzroy distinctive, gave teams clearer reference points and supported more consistent decision-making.

The challenge

People already described the hotel as warm, ambitious, energetic and human. There was strong pride in creating memorable experiences and delivering hospitality that felt high quality without becoming formal.

What proved harder was creating shared language around:

what Fitzroy should become known for above everything else
• where it should be distinct from other luxury hotels
• which priorities should win when trade-offs appear
• how leaders create more consistency without losing personality

Without that clarity, teams risk interpreting the ambition in different ways and making decisions from different starting points.

What we did

We designed a discovery and alignment process that connected culture, identity and strategic decision-making.

The work combined:

leadership interviews to surface ambition, tension points and areas of misalignment
• team insight gathering to understand existing pride, language and themes
• facilitated workshops exploring identity, strategic distinction and future direction
• LEGO® Serious Play® to help leaders externalise thinking and uncover patterns that may not emerge through discussion alone
• structured exercises to identify trade-offs, challenge assumptions and define non-negotiables
• mission development and testing to create language that felt distinctive, memorable and usable

Throughout the process, we encouraged the team to move beyond broad hospitality language and get more specific about choices and priorities.

Questions included:

What would London lose if Fitzroy didn’t exist?

If another hotel copied you, what would they struggle to replicate?

What would this mission mean saying yes to and what might it mean saying no to?

The process helped create greater alignment around the decisions and distinctions that matter most.

What changed

By the end of the work, leaders had developed a clearer distinction between culture, identity and direction.

Themes started to emerge more consistently across teams and conversations became more focused on future choices and priorities.

The project created a stronger foundation for:

a clearer local mission
• stronger leadership alignment
• more consistent decision-making
• clearer communication across the hotel
• a more joined-up experience for colleagues and guests

Importantly, the team developed clearer language around what makes Fitzroy distinctive and how that should show up day to day.

Why it worked

The process gave people time and structure to explore questions that are often discussed informally but rarely worked through collectively.

Rather than focusing on a statement in isolation, the work connected mission to choices, behaviours and the experience the hotel wants people to have.