2022 saw Langham Hospitality Group explore a new direction with the launch of a midscale select service brand targeting tech-savvy young people.

Here, Langham Hospitality Group CEO, Brett Butcher, reveals the thinking behind the Ying’nFlo brand, his business highlights from 2022, and discusses the ‘elephant in the room’ this year.

Langham Hospitality Group is coming out of the pandemic with optimism. I am proud of the way our hotels have performed and how the industry has rallied in the wake of the pandemic. My enduring memories of 2022 revolve around the creativity and resilience of my colleagues.

In 2022, we expanded our Pacific footprint with The Langham, Gold Coast in Queensland, which opened to great acclaim and performed beyond expectations. We also had a full year of the expanded Cordis Auckland including the new Pinnacle Tower with its incredible views of Auckland and Rangitoto Harbour. It is now the largest hotel in New Zealand at 640-keys and has created a strong MICE and leisure offering.

In its first year, The Langham, Jakarta set new benchmarks for luxury in the city whilst commanding the highest rates amongst its competitors. Asia Pacific continues to be a bedrock for us and anchors our growth as we build a chain of properties from Auckland to Beijing and beyond. As China returns to the international stage, we anticipate a return to normality in the region and we will welcome Cordis, Xuzhou in 2023.

Strategic growth continued apace with the recent announcements of The Langham, Seattle and The Langham, Riyadh and breaking ground at The Langham, Venice. The latter will see the former Murano glass factory, with direct lagoon access, restored and fashioned into luxury hospitality. This stunning hotel will enhance the Venetian heritage story and include 500-year-old frescos on the ceilings of our reception and arrival experience.

In 2022, we answered the needs of our many partners with the introduction of a new midscale select service brand, Ying’nFlo, which offers a forward-thinking balance of aesthetics and functionality. Our first property opened in Hong Kong, and we have developments underway in Xiamen, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Chengdu. This carefully developed brand rounds out our portfolio. We now have a brand to meet the needs of investors in each major customer segment.

This digital-first, tech-savvy brand has been designed around a generation that manages every aspect of their lives from their phone. This creative brand speaks in a younger design language offering amazing communal spaces and brilliant basics executed exceptionally well.

The elephant in the room remains the global manpower crunch. We remain committed to retaining our great staff with programming and benefits that are attractive and competitive. To date, this strategic focus has and continues to achieve retention goals though the road remains bumpy ahead.

I am confident we will emerge from our recent global disruptions, bigger in terms of our portfolio, more digitally enhanced in relation to technology and even more creative and resilient with our brands expansion and development.

Read Brett Butcher’s full 2023 outlook in HM’s Industry Leaders Forum.