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Luxury brands take a page from casinos and cater to Chinese overseas
DestinationsWith flagging sales in their mainland stores and increasingly price savvy consumers, luxury companies are taking a leaf out of casinos’ play books by offering junkets to wealthy Chinese clients eager to splurge in their Hong Kong stores. For companies like PPR and LVMH, who have spent the past few years building stores across China, [...]
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Branded amenities are the new, new thing in in-flight luxury
TransportOne of the most interesting and consumer-friendly burgeoning trends in in-flight hospitality is the branded partnership. High-end brands and local luxury companies are working with airlines to take their products to consumers 30,000 feet in the air. Onboard amenities from luxury brands Bose, Givenchy, and Westin Hotels provide travelers with a better, more comfortable in-flight experience, and brands with a [...]
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Italy leases abandoned castles to luxury hoteliers for cash
DestinationsDisused castles, fortresses, prisons and islands in Italy are to be converted into luxury hotels in a bid to boost tourism and fill the coffers of the debt-laden country. The initiative is being modelled on Spain’s Paradores, luxury retreats located in monasteries, castles and other historic buildings, and could help chip away at Italy’s 1.9 [...]
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Pop goes the luxury five-star hotel bubble, as investors focus on upscale
RoomsDevelopers are shunning luxury hotels in the U.S. as room rates fail to rebound to peak levels and profits are squeezed by the costs of offering swanky amenities such as spas and trendy restaurants. Six luxury hotels are expected to open in 2013, the same as in 2012 and down from 23 just three years [...]
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Visitor spending in Atlantic City was on a steep incline before Sandy hit
DestinationsAtlantic City posted record luxury tax revenues and regained a greater share of the state’s visitors over the past year, recently published tourism studies show. “There’s a realization that we need to be a full-service destination,” said Brian Tyrrell, who conducted one of the studies. “There are clear signs that we are doing that.” Luxury [...]
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Starwood’s big push in Latin America: 100 properties by end of 2013
DestinationsStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT) is on the verge of signing new deals and launching hotels in the rapidly-growing emerging markets of Latin America in order to further enhance its presence in the region. Starwood intends to increase its Latin American portfolio to 100 properties at the end of 2013. Starwood’s Latin American [...]
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Starwood looks to wealthier overseas economies to expand luxury portfolio
RoomsStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. said Monday that it plans to add 50 more luxury hotels in 12 countries over the next five years after nearly doubling its international luxury presence over the past five. The company currently owns 160 hotels in 39 countries as part of The Luxury Collection, St. Regis and W [...]
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Chinese tourists boost luxury retail sales in Hong Kong
DestinationsMainland tourists to Hong Kong rose about 33 percent at the start of this week’s Lunar New Year, providing a boost for the city’s retail sales and luxury companies such as Prada Spa. More than 381,000 tourists visited Hong Kong from mainland China during the first three days of the holiday, compared with about 287,000 [...]
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What’s the right scent for a hotel? A memorable one
RoomsWhen it comes to depicting a hotel experience, our lexicon usually describes a journey primarily of sights—soothing room ambience, extravagant lobby décor and so on—with glossy, high-resolution photographs as worthy complements. What’s often left out of the picture is the fifth spoke on the wheel: smell. Our sense of smell can at times be highly underrated [...]
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Ritz Carlton tries to break free of its cookie-cutter design with new brand
DestinationsRitz-Carlton is one of the best-known luxury hospitality brands in the world, and has many loyal fans. But if there is one knock the company gets in deluxe travel circles, it is for being “too cookie cutter.” Ritz-Carlton Reserve could change all that. … “The Reserve is for travelers seeking to discover a singular location [...]
