Luxury

Hotels are under pressure to invest in upgrading their technology. One of the key visions that investors and asset managers are being sold is a direct by-product of the pandemic – upgrade your tech to facilitate a contactless guest experience in which the hotel guest can do pretty much everything from her mobile phone.

Such an operating model fulfilled a genuine need during the pandemic. But now? Is it really the way to go for full-service and luxury hotels?

Do we expect guests to pay a luxury premium and spend a large part of their stays glued to their screens doing admin and sending messages on Whatsapp to the front desk?

This article explores how full-service and luxury hotels are responding and finding some balance on this issue.

The Rosewood Phnom Penh, asset managed by Global Asset Solutions, has been named ‘Best City Hotel in Asia’ by Travel & Leisure. With a total of 175 rooms including 37 suites, the hotel's residential-style guestrooms range from 50 m2 to 225 m2 to meet the different needs of leisure and business travellers. It has multiple dining outlets, including Sora (pictured), a sky bar perched on a cantilevered terrace, and The Pavilion, an elegant, residential-style meeting venue on the 39th floor.

Hotels, particularly in the luxury segment, are attracting investors new to the sector, but as one of the most complicated of the asset classes, they need guidance from experts.

Accor’s decision to split luxury from the rest of its estate is an acknowledgement of the differences between the different hotel segments and the specialist knowledge required to operate them.

Asset management is about more than the beds in a hotel, it’s about getting the best out of the whole asset.

Italy has taken measures to support the growth of the hotel sector and the result has been an increase in luxury brands entering the market.

Dubai’s reputation as a global leader in luxury hospitality has continued to grow since the end of the pandemic restrictions.

Qatar is estimated to have spent $220bn on the World Cup, but it views the money as a way to market the destination to future guests.