Demand for luxury and lifestyle hotels has returned with guests seeking quality, memorable experiences during their stay. IHG Hotels and Resorts Managing Director – Australasia & Pacific, Matt Tripolone, shares an insight into these important segments.
Guests are increasingly looking for hyper-local, experiential travel, and lifestyle brands such as Hotel Indigo and Kimpton excel in this space, playing on the culture and heritage of the local neighbourhood through inspired design, culinary experiences and service.
Hotel Indigo Brisbane City Centre recently opened and has done an incredible job of weaving in local neighbourhood stories through the power of art. A huge blue wren artwork by Blends was inspired by local author Trent Dalton and his renowned novel Boy Swallows Universe, while a huge mural at the entrance to the hotel by Bronte Naylor and James Hornsby depicts the legacy of the suffrage movement in Brisbane. These artworks inspire conversation and interaction and are a huge asset to the hotel and help shape what our Hotel Indigo brand stands for.
F&B is undoubtedly a big focus in the luxury and lifestyle space right now. Owners are keen to create engaging F&B concepts in their hotels and our luxury and lifestyle brands rise to the occasion every time. Our hotels have fantastic partnerships with well-known chefs, such as Luke Mangan at Kimpton Margot Sydney and Scott Pickett at InterContinental Sorrento. What these pairings do, is create an added level of exclusivity and allure for guests staying at our hotels and we’re excited to be growing our partnerships in the F&B space as we move through the rest of the year.
New Zealand, which has long been a mecca for the luxury seeker, is a market we are seeing strong growth, with owners keen to grow their luxury and lifestyle footprint in the country. Construction has commenced on the new InterContinental Auckland, which promises to bring next generation luxury to the city when it opens in 2023, and we have just opened voco Auckland with partners Pro-invest which boasts the city’s tallest rooftop bar. We are hoping to continue the momentum with more growth in the New Zealand market to come.