It seems that after a hiatus, luxury is back, especially in Asia; hotel and airline revenues are up, occupancies are up, average room rates are recovering and there is in general more activity in the market, something we haven't seen since the heydays of 2007/08.
 
Today's panel, consisting of Paul Kerr, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Brian Yim, Editor of Millionaire Asia, Andrew Dixon, Owner of Nikoi Island & Bawah Island, Indonesia and Kevin May, Editor of TNooz sat down with Siew Hoon to discuss the new image of luxury.
 
One of the new concepts in luxury is the concept of luxury with an environmental angle.  Nikoi Island, a private island in Indonesia, not too far away from Singapore, targets the rich and green traveler.  And with 90% occupancy and 95% of their clients coming from online, it seems like they have found their niche in the luxury market of responsible tourism.  Their success with direct bookings can be attributed to a successful social media strategy on Facebook and TripAdvisor.
 
How does one reach the luxury market and what role does the web play in reaching out to this well heeled traveler?  For Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), 25% of all their bookings come from online.  Out of the 95,000 Club Members that they have, 40% of those book through the web. 

It is obvious, the internet is a very important tool for their bookings.  Besides, like many other hotels, SLH is trying to get more customers to book directly through them and not via an OTA, thus they are finding new and innovative ways of servicing the customer.

Follow te link below to read the entire article in a new window:

www.webintravel.com/news/wit-ideas-lab--the-new-image-of-luxury_711