Luxury hotels are booming. That’s clear enough from the numbers, with Europe alone due to experience a 53% rise in high-end stock through 2028. Translating to a bonanza of about 4,000 rooms, how can independent, family-run properties make their presence felt? One solution is to ally with a leading sector chain, as one company is proving.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has deep experience in the luxury hospitality space. Founded in 1968, this family-run company boasts more than 200 properties in Europe alone, spanning from quaint Tyrolean hideaways to Stockholm design hotels.
“Our growth isn’t just to look at the mainstream cities, but also those destinations that have something really special,” explains Brenda Collin, Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ executive VP for Europe. “Georgia, for example, is a country that really has some wonderful Unesco sites – but is under the radar.”
Privileged positions
If Collin and her team are adding “20 to 30” properties to their European stable each year, however, it’s equally clear that Preferred Hotels & Resorts is careful to only partner with suitably iconic properties. That’s clear enough if you examine the chain’s collections. Spanning four distinct verticals – including ‘Residences’ and ‘Lifestyle’ – each comes with strict acceptance criteria.
Yet while Collin stresses that “very high standards and unparalleled service levels” are expected at every Preferred Hotels & Resorts property, with inspections happening every 12 to 18 months, it’s in the ‘Legend’ vertical that the firm’s dedication to opulence really shines through. Characterised as “works of art” by Collin, these select properties represent the very best a city or region has to offer.
Certainly, glance at some recent arrivals to the Legend Collection, and it’s hard to disagree. Passalacqua, for instance, is a gorgeous neoclassical villa on Lake Como. Across the border in Switzerland, The Alpina Gstaad is all wood panelling and mountain views.
It makes sense, at any rate, why Preferred Hotels & Resorts would want to work with such splendid properties. But that begs the question: what do hotels themselves gain by joining the portfolio?
One answer is surely the California firm’s heritage. Having honed a 1,600-point inspection programme, Collin rightly highlights the ‘brand prestige’ that comes from joining the Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio.
There are more practical benefits too. Employing some 300 associates, spread across 35 countries, Preferred Hotels & Resorts offers expert advice to owners, operators and management companies alike.
That’s shadowed by a sophisticated approach to marketing. In 2013, Preferred Hotels & Resorts launched a rewards programme allowing consumers to earn points at any property in the stable. A prime example of ‘soft branding’ – giving guests the flexibility to use benefits across literally hundreds of hotels – Collin says the system is the perfect riposte to similar schemes from industry giants. “It’s a huge benefit to any independent hotel,” the executive adds, “because it gives them the leverage to compete with the hot brands for that same business in the luxury space.”
And if that supports members in an increasingly competitive market, Preferred Hotels & Resorts equally positions them for the future.
Consider, for instance, a theme like sustainability. Clearly, environmentalism is becoming increasingly important to guests themselves: ecotourism is expected to enjoy a CAGR of 15% from 2021 through 2027.
With that in mind, Collin and her team are rushing ahead to support – a process epitomised by the ‘Beyond Green’ brand. Started by parent company Preferred Travel Group in 2021, and based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, membership is only open to properties that undergo a “very rigorous” vetting process. But for Collin, the hard graft is clearly worthwhile. “By having the Beyond Green brand,” she argues, “it’s laying down the foundations for hotels that aspire to be exceptional in that space.”
It is clear Preferred Hotels & Resorts isn’t slowing down either any time soon. Considering everything the company has to offer, that’s surely just as well.
