Late Checkout: A Ritz-Carlton Story — Chapter II was created as a bold evolution of a breakout creative partnership, transforming a successful collaboration into a fully integrated, global cultural moment spanning fashion, film, hospitality, media, and interactive experiences. Building on the momentum of Chapter I, the objective was to go bigger and create deeper cultural resonance by expanding the campaign beyond content into a multi-market ecosystem designed to drive conversation, desirability, and brand traction at scale.
Rather than launching a single film, Chapter II was engineered as a connected campaign platform — uniting a cinematic film, exclusive capsule collection integration, immersive pop-up experiences, and a robust global influencer strategy. From editorial visibility and cultural partnerships to creator-led storytelling and experiential moments, every touchpoint was designed to amplify reach, fuel earned attention, and reinforce The Ritz-Carlton’s position at the intersection of luxury, creativity, and modern culture.
At the heart of the campaign was a new short film with returning star Josh Hutcherson at The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, again created by Little Spain to capture the partnership between The Ritz-Carlton and Late Checkout. The film served as the emotional anchor for a global ecosystem built to travel across platforms, markets, and communities worldwide. The objective was not simply to debut a new narrative, but to make an impact — activating audiences through layered storytelling, cultural credibility, and immersive brand experiences that transformed Chapter II into the brand’s most ambitious campaign of the year.
Our approach to Chapter II was to be bigger and better, without losing sight of the style and storytelling that made Chapter I so successful.
We designed the campaign in multiple parts to build more anticipation, achieve greater reach, and resonate in the hospitality, fashion, and social conversations.
For Chapter II, our film had a broader scale compared to Chapter I, taking our story to Nikko, Japan where returning star Josh Hutcherson experienced the region’s captivating landscapes, pairing sweeping natural beauty with mindfulness and living in the moment.
Returning with a new capsule collection, fashion house Late Checkout also took a wider scope featuring more pieces and a bolder approach, with a color palette and designs inspired by Japan.
Launching across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn, with additional digital landing pages, Late Checkout: A Ritz-Carlton Story – Chapter II represented a truly multi-platform campaign. Smartly using collaboration posts between The Ritz-Carlton, Late Checkout, and Josh Hutcherson, we tapped into expanded audiences and greater global reach, and drove awareness, sales, and excitement through film- and collection-focused organic and paid content across Instagram and TikTok.
For Chapter I, our capsule collection lived online-only. For Chapter II, the scope grew with a high-profile physical footprint for the collaboration. Beginning with an NYC launch event drawing fashion influencers and VIPs, the collection debuted at 22 pop-ups at Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world, letting our guests shop the collection in-person for the very first time.
To expand global reach beyond Chapter I, we evolved our influencer approach into a culturally aligned, fashion-forward strategy designed to surround feeds with the collection. We intentionally tapped culturally relevant influencers who authentically resonated with both our brand and Late Checkout, leaning into the fashion space to elevate the collaboration’s style credibility. Our activation was robust and layered—spanning on-site event attendees, strategic at-home gifting, and targeted seeding to ensure sustained visibility across markets.
Rather than a broad influencer push, we curated a cross-section of tastemakers: stylist Sydney Silverman brought a fashion authority perspective; Ava Dash connected the collection to a next-generation creative audience; Linda Schulz activated European markets with an elevated lifestyle lens; and couples such as Laura & Nicolas and Aki & Koichi extended the narrative into travel and design-forward storytelling. Each partnership was selected with intention, allowing the merchandise to integrate seamlessly into their worlds while collectively filling feeds with culturally relevant, fashion-led content that amplified both brands.
Post-launch, the partnership scaled globally through immersive hotel pop-ups, stretching from The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva. Each activation spotlighted the collection through curated retail showcases, supported by influencers engaged at both the property and brand level.
In another first for Chapter II, brand integration continues into 2026 to keep interest high. In January, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman presented the Late Checkout Café during Cayman Cookout, the Caribbean’s premiere culinary event, and select global hotels are offering Late Checkout stay packages.
As a strategic evolution, Late Checkout: A Ritz-Carlton Story Chapter II tested a broader, more expansive model for exposure— and successfully leveraged a globally integrated campaign that fused cinematic storytelling, product collaboration, and on-property experiences across owned, earned, and hotel channels.
Owned Brand Performance
Retail Performance
While retail performance was not a primary KPI, the campaign drove meaningful results, with an 87%+ sell-through rate in the first month on ritzcarlton.com.
Influencer Earned Performance
The earned component marked the most successful execution to date for The Ritz-Carlton—setting a new benchmark for future campaigns. Late Checkout Chapter II activated the highest number of partners and generated the greatest volume of earned content across any campaign to date.
Influencer Accounts Results
Hotel Property Amplification
In support of Late Checkout: Chapter II, hotel property accounts actively amplified campaign content across their own channels. More than 50% of The Ritz-Carlton portfolio participated, establishing a new standard for how the brand activates property accounts in support of future brand campaigns.
Hotel Property Accounts Results
Through parallel activation across partners, creators, properties, and brand channels, the campaign achieved global scale while reinforcing The Ritz-Carlton’s leadership in integrated storytelling.
