ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS ILTM
ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS ILTM NEWS BRIEFS ACCORHOTELS LUXURY BRANDS SET TO TAKE ON NEW MOMENTUM IN 2017 FOUR SEASONS RESORT LANGKAWI TO RECEIVE BOLD NEW LOOK A daring transformation of the UNESCO hideaway of Four Seasons Resort Langkawi is underway by renowned designer, Bill Bensley. Where previously the resort blended into its mile-long beach and surrounding rainforests, the new design places it centre stage – at a new level of contemporary luxury and indulgence. Completion is due by late summer 2017. JUMEIRAH VITTAVELI MALDIVES LAUNCHES ROYAL RESIDENCE Jumeirah Vittaveli’s latest launch, the Royal Residence, is scheduled to open in March 2017. This stunning five-bedroom residence has a totally private beach, two pools, its own jetty, chef, butler and your very own golf buggy chauffeur. Rates start at ,000 per night. After months of meetings and planning following the mid-year take over of FRHI by AccorHotels, the group is now in a prime position to gain market share in 2017. Mike Taylor, Director, Global Communications & PR – Luxury Brands, coming over from FRHI group, says the merger adds value on both sides: “The deal made strategic sense on a number of levels. AccorHotels already had over 4,000 properties – and a good portion of that is in the mid-scale and economy. We have significantly increased the group’s presence in the luxury segment – adding three new brands into the mix. We also brought a much bigger footprint in North America. If you look globally at AccorHotels, they were the leader in Europe, leader in the Middle East, but in HILTON GROUP LUXURY ROADMAP H. Stuart Foster Vice President, Global Marketing, Hilton Worldwide North America, they just didn’t have a lot of products. Fairmont in particular has a very big presence in North America, so we’ve given the Group significantly more distribution in one of the key markets globally. The deal was very complementary in the sense that FRHI had a lot of things that AccorHotels needed, and there’s the talent and culture mix as well. FRHI is bringing in a lot of leaders with extensive experience in managing luxury hotels Mike Taylor Director, Global Communications & PR – Luxury brands, AccorHotels H. Stuart Foster, Vice President, Global Marketing, Hilton Worldwide, spoke to us at ILTM about the evolution of Conrad and Waldorf brands. He underlined the group’s initiative to develop new and interesting “experiences” for the ultra high-end traveller. “An example of this is the partnership with Lamborghini, wherein at 17 properties around the world, we offer drives for our guests,” explains Foster. “In a two-hour outing, you drive a Lamborghini, led by a professional Lamborghini driver who drives in front of you, and you get to actually experience the destination from behind the wheel of a Lamborghini.” Around 20% of bookings in the elite category still come through agents, says Foster, adding that he feels their role has changed: “They’re not travel agents, they are risk managers. Therefore they are even more important, because there’s so much information out there. How do I sort through where I want to stay, where I want to eat, which destination I should go to? They’re consultants more than they are bookers”
Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #33 2017 Winter Edition 21 ILTM NEWS BRIEFS Arnaud Wielgus Sales Director Operations & E-Business, Relais & Châteaux RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX LAUNCHES DEDICATED WEB PLATFORM FOR TRAVEL PROS Relais & Châteaux has launched a dedicated website for travel professionals. The new site was officially launched at ILTM Cannes, and has met with excellent feedback from the trade. Arnaud Wielgus – Sales Director Operations & E-Business at Relais & Châteaux explains, “The agency is able to create an account, and to see all the different levels of commission they can obtain – by tariff and room type. Agents are able to create a quotation directly on the site, with their contact details on the form, and send this highly detailed document directly to their clients. There are descriptions of activities, services, access routes, and so on. These quotes can also be multi-property, including a full itinerary, including photos of the properties. Afterwards, the staff of the agency will be able to access all the quotations online with a dedicated search engine, by client name or quotation number. They can then validate the quotation once the client accepts it. We believe this will greatly assist the travel trade – especially travel agents – to optimise their conversion rates when they send proposals to their clients, thanks to the quality and detail of the quotations” TEMPTINGPLACES LAUNCHES OFFICIAL GUIDE In exclusivity at ILTM Cannes, TemptingPlaces introduced the first guide featuring their entire collection. Readers can enter the intimate world of more than 140 outstanding boutique hotels across 34 countries. The 145 pages, listed by regions of the world, are a gateway to a dream world of stunning properties, portraits of visionary owners, hotel descriptions and exclusive TemptingPlaces privileges that can be enjoyed by members of the group’s Travellers’ Club. AN EXCEPTIONAL RETREAT Gabriela Markova, Executive Director of Sales & Marketing – Velaa Private Island, was at ILTM promoting the property to high-end agents. Located in the Noonu Atoll, 187 km North of Male, Velaa Private Island, was designed by Czech architect Petr Kolar. The smallest villa is 280 square metres, and each has outdoor/indoor bathroom, at least one butler and is equipped with a full-sized pool.
