At the EHL Open Innovation Summit, we sat down with Margot Stuart, Co-founder of OriginAll and ORIGINALLUXURY, to explore how blockchain and digital product passports are reshaping trust and transparency in hospitality. Our conversation looked at how these technologies can go beyond compliance to unlock deeper guest engagement, emotional storytelling, and a new kind of luxury experience rooted in authenticity.
Which technology do you think will have the most impact in the hospitality industry over the next 5 to 10 years?
Digital product passports are a big thing. They allow you to tell the full story of a product—its origin, provenance, inspiration, the designer, and the communities behind it. In hospitality, the same tools can be leveraged to transform engagement with suppliers and consumers. Whether in the hotel sector or through curated experiences, digital product passports can bring an immersive digital world to life for guests.
What is the real application of blockchain when it comes to creating trust around products?
Blockchain is like hot sauce—it’s great for enhancing things, but you don’t want to put it on everything. In transparency and traceability, blockchain is a powerful tool for proving accountability. A real-world case is in the mined diamond supply chain. Blockchain allows you to track each step—from mining to cutting and polishing—so that when a consumer wears a diamond, they not only have a genuine product, but also a whole story that brings the stone to life. That said, blockchain needs a trust layer—human validation. One node validates another. You cannot implement blockchain without trusted people. Once you have that, the information uploaded can become powerful and trustworthy.
Do you see blockchain more as a compliance tool, or can it also create meaningful experiences?
We want to go beyond compliance. Blockchain and other technologies like AI can come together in a more aggregated way to bring emotion and engagement into hospitality and luxury. Right now, tech is too often “made by engineers for engineers.” We need tools that create immersive, meaningful experiences for consumers. Think about hotel memberships. They could become much more than tier levels. They could be immersive. Guests should be able to revisit not just their status, but their experiences—like the elephant ride, or the shark dive. Let the platform store photos and memories and make those emotional moments part of the membership. That’s what technology should be enabling.
Would you agree that blockchain only works if you still have a strong human trust layer behind it?
Absolutely. You need the right people and the right information first. Blockchain is a tool, an enabler. If the information entered is false, it simply scales the problem. So yes, we need trusted people to be accountable for the data. Then blockchain can help ensure transparency, but the human factor cannot be removed. It is central. Technology can enable trust, but it must start with truth.
About the EHL Open Innovation Summit 2025
This interview was recorded during the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, where Hospitality Net joined as official media partner.
The event brought together a global mix of thinkers and doers to explore the future of hospitality, food, and travel through open innovation. What made it special was the mix of ideas, formats, and people. It was not only about tech or talks. It was also about people showing up, working together, and sharing energy in real time.
Key Figures
- 385 participants
- 48 speakers and contributors from more than 20 countries
- 7 innovation challenges collectively addressed
- 45 sessions
- 25 student volunteers
- 15 F&B startups letting us taste the future
- 1.5 days of connection, learning, and co-creation
Key Insights from the Summit
- A new benchmark for hospitality innovation
The summit set a new standard by weaving together AI, sustainability, regeneration, and human connection – showing that innovation in hospitality, luxury and food must be holistic, human-centric, and purpose-driven. Participants repeatedly highlighted the need to go beyond efficiency and into meaningful transformation. - From knowledge exchange to real-time co-creation
More than just a series of talks, the summit was an activation space – a living lab where diverse minds worked together on pressing challenges, from regenerative tourism to circular luxury to AI in guest experience. It was a showcase of collective intelligence in motion. - Collaboration as the engine of systems change
Open Innovation came alive not as a buzzword, but as a relational practice. From panelists to students, from global explorers to startup founders, everyone was invited to co-create, connect dots, and contribute. Participants repeatedly said they experienced true collaboration across boundaries, industry, sector, age, and background. - The power of presence: hearts, minds, and hands
Whether walking in the forest, painting together, or debating future systems, attendees embraced the idea that innovation isn’t only about tech and metrics – it’s also about embodied experience, slowing down to speed up, and nurturing a regenerative mindset. - The future is “AND” – not “either/or”
A recurring takeaway: we must stop choosing between extremes. The future is tech AND human, healthy AND delicious, profitable AND impactful. This “integration mindset” is already informing how leaders, startups, and educators present are reshaping their strategies. - The beginning of a long-term movement
Attendees described the summit as the start of something much bigger – a platform for experimentation, learning, and alliance-building. The EHL Innovation Hub was recognized not only as an academic powerhouse, but as a true catalyst for regenerative innovation across hospitality, service, food, and travel.
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