Face-to-Face: Paul Kerr
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Travel Daily chats with Paul Kerr, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), about the company’s expansion plans in Asia Pacific, and specifically China…
1) What is SLH doing to target the Asian trade?
One of SLH’s key objectives for 2013 was growth and expansion in Asia in terms of increasing both the number of properties in our portfolio and the number of Asian guests at our hotels across the world. We now have 11 hotels live on SLH.com in China and a further three have recently joined the brand bringing the total in the APAC region to 110. China in particular has one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world and therefore a region where we’re keen to build awareness of the SLH brand.
With this focus in mind, in May 2013 we launched a dedicated SLH website in simplified Chinese, complete with a booking engine and registration form to The Club. The website was a major step for us as it represents the first SLH website in a language other than English and reflects our commitment to China and the importance of the Asian markets to the luxury travel industry in general.
SLH also has a Sina Weibo account that we update regularly and push campaigns through and we opened an office in Shanghai this year, allowing SLH to remain close to the Asian market and reaffirming SLH as a key player in the growing luxury travel industry.
2) How are you expanding your collection in China?
Our business development team travels extensively around Asia, seeking out the very best in independent, boutique accommodation offering truly authentic experiences. We currently have 11 properties in China and Hong Kong, and are delighted to have welcomed new properties to the portfolio this year, including the spectacular Hotel Éclat Beijing, sophisticated WH Ming in Shanghai and the glass-fronted Pins De La Brume Hotel in Hangzhou. In the last 12 months, we have seen particularly buoyant growth in China and it’s now one of our top 10 source markets.
3) At present, how many Chinese members do you have in The Club loyalty scheme and are you seeing this number increase?
We currently have 275,00 Club Members worldwide. Our Chinese website which directs visitors to a registration form to The Club in Simplified Chinese, the number of Chinese members has grown beyond expectation over the last 6 months. We currently have over 10,000 Chinese Club members, making this our 4th largest market for Club Members.
The opening of our office in Shanghai gives us a great foundation to raise the profile of the brand in Asia and enables us to work with likeminded luxury brands at a local level.
4) What in-house services to you provide tailored to Asian guests?
The Chinese website and its mobile version allow our Chinese customers to search for their ideal SLH property in particular destinations and offers sought after experiences be that a spa, country house or city centre hotel. We have a reservation team in our Singapore office that can answer calls in five languages; Japanese, English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Modern Arabic.
5) What is it about SLH that you believe appeals to the Asian customer?
In a recent survey of SLH Club members across the globe, when asked what best described their idea of a luxury holiday, the majority of Chinese respondents said ‘a home away from home’, followed closely by personal service and an authentic experience. This describes what Small Luxury Hotels of the World is about – SLH properties are all independent hotels, with an average size of 50 rooms. They all offer exceptional, personalised service and unique experiences that only a small and intimate property can achieve. As the Asian economy and outbound travel industry grows, Asian travellers are becoming more open to experiencing new cultures, local traditions and embracing this through their choice of accommodation. They are increasingly choosing small, independent hotels.
6) What further plans to you have to target Asian audiences in the coming months?
SLH will continue to grow in China as long as we can find properties of good quality. Having said that, as much as we would like to expand in China, we also must ensure that we are targeting the best of the best hotels in each destination and so, we will continue with our very strict criteria and rigorous inspection programme. We don’t add hotels for the sake of growth – our reputation depends on the quality of each and every hotel in the brand.
We are also developing a mobile version of our Chinese website to launch next year and we are closely monitoring the rise of Android, windows and IOS platforms to shape our future digital strategies.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH)
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