Face-to-Face: Mark Greedy
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Travel Daily chats with Mark Greedy, founder & CEO of DestinationElite, about the company’s expansion and recent rebranding…
Q) Elite Resorts of Asia Pacific recently rebranded as DestinationElite; what is the strategy behind this?
After three-and-a-half years, Elite Resorts had swiftly reached a significant critical mass in terms of global luxury city hotels, resorts, cruises and trains. We were no longer only catering to resorts and we’re no longer only based in Asia Pacific. We were also seeing more online retail transactions with our booking engine, ‘Fastbooking’. So our previous branding had been outgrown. We had always hoped as much and were always prepared for this evolution and transition.
Q) When you launched Elite Resorts, was it your original intention to diversify as much as you have, or was it more of a natural progression?
The original business plan and model which I wrote long ago is pretty much according to script today. I am happy to say that the DestinationElite concept has been driven by demand from both clients and customers.
I had always envisioned an online retail ecosystem of all that was good and great in the world of luxury lifestyle, from luxury hotels, resorts, cruises to real estate, fashion, experiences, food and beverage, private jets, villas, and more. Now we are able to showcase and sell everything in one wonderful place. It’s like an elegant and beautiful luxury department store, online.
We have quickly developed an enviable and unique business model, and our members are far in excess of the quality of any others within our genre. We also know this has not been a coincidence and for a small professional team to have achieved this in a global commercial environment is almost miraculous.
We want all luxury products, services and lifestyle choices to be with Elite as we grow and blossom together.
Q) You have signed up several major hotel groups, such as Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental and Fairmont-Raffles. Is this something you are looking to pursue further?
I am fortunate to have worked with, and been inspired by, the true greats of the hospitality industry. As a consequence I sense they have shown their confidence in DestinationElite and our ability to represent them as they would want.
Also as mentioned previously we have an open door to the luxury genre. These can be independents, small and large, hotels, resorts, lodges, cruises, trains etc. We actually have 32 categories of luxury accommodation amongst our collection.
Q) What is your main client base – westerners seeking Asian experiences, or wealthy Asians travelling regionally?
The ‘Friends of Elite’ affluent fraternity and database are of significance, and have been accessed globally, but with an understandably Asian focus. The same people who this week buy a Silversea luxury cruise next week buy high-end real estate, then stay in a Peninsula Hotel, buy a beautiful designer gown from Gauri and Nainika or dine out with Diageo . These connoisseurs are all, or should be, part of the Friends of Elite fraternity and we are growing these relationships swiftly and significantly.
Q) What further developments can we expect from Elite in the coming months?
DestinationElite is into its first round of capital raising and we have received an excellent response from the smart end. An IPO is in the wings. As a result, we are now ready to introduce a series of enhancements and initiatives.
In terms of CityElite and Elite Resorts, we will introduce new value for our customers and continued growth in terms of destinations and options, while our ‘EDeals’ will be revamped. Elite Living, our enhanced real estate showcase, will be upgraded, and we will offer expanded membership benefits for our Friends of Elite.
The Elite Travel Concierge (ETC) concept will be remodelled and our new luxury cruise service, CruiseE, will showcase and sell luxury cruises with a focus on affluent Asian communities. EliteReps is set to grow exponentially to become global, luxury focused sales representation firm, while Elite Luxury will enhance it retail sales capability. Elite B2B will also continue to work with the travel trade.
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