September deserves its own proposition

Living in Marbella, September has always felt like one of the best months of the year. The sea is still warm. Restaurants are busy, but you can actually get a table. The whole destination seems to exhale after August.

Which is why I think hotels sometimes get the shoulder season slightly wrong. The opportunity goes beyond keeping the pool open for another six weeks.

September deserves more than being marketed as an extended, slightly cheaper version of summer. It can be a better version of the destination for a different luxury traveller.

Someone choosing a Mediterranean stay in September or October may be looking for precisely what August cannot give them. More space. A slower rhythm. Long lunches without the rush. Restaurants that feel local again. Time outdoors, and more connection to the destination itself.

That should affect far more than pricing. It should influence programming, F&B, guest communications, partnerships and the experiences a hotel chooses to put forward. If the guest is coming for a different kind of stay, repeating the summer proposition with a lower rate misses the point.

I would start with what makes that period worth travelling for in its own right. Which experiences become more appealing? Who has the flexibility to come? What would make them choose this property at this time?

The question I would like more Mediterranean hotels to ask is: what is the best version of this destination once peak summer is over?