Taking Luxury Hotel Service to Sea

Luxury Travel News

The Skift New Luxury column is our weekly column focused on the business of selling luxury travel, the people and companies creating and selling experiences, emerging trends, and the changing consumer habits around the sector.

A good test of a brand's power is when it's used for a purpose other than the one people are used to. Does it have the pulling power or will it simply confuse consumers?

Marriott International and its partners will be hoping for the former when The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection takes to the ocean, sometime in 2020.

According to Managing Director Douglas Prothero, the vessels will "feel more like a Ritz-Carlton resort" than a cruise ship; he sees competition coming from "a safari or some other boutique resort" rather than another high-end cruise line.

That's going to be the challenge for the brand. Will it be able to use its luxury cachet to persuade enough people to swap their favorite land getaway for the sea?

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at pw@skift.com or tweet me @paddywhyte.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

5 Looks at Luxury

How the Ritz-Carlton at Sea Will Avoid the Bus-Route Nature of Cruising: Luxury cruisers have some well-known options, but the new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection believes it can win over both fans of cruising and non-cruisers alike. Will newcomers abandon land to check out how Ritz-Carlton translates to sea?

Rwanda Is Making a Push for the Right Number of High-Spending Visitors: 
Rwanda is setting itself up as Africa's new big luxury tourism destination. And while mountain gorillas are the country's main attraction, new luxury lodges will help open up other regions of this small, yet highly diverse country.

The Best Luxury Experiences for Summer Travel: There are a lot of discerning experiences vying for a customer’s money. Here are some worth your time as you set out on the road this summer.

London’s Luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel Suffers Severe Fire Damage: London’s fire department responded quickly and effectively. But this event is a reminder that the world’s major cities need to have more frequent drills in case of emergencies.

Virtuoso Needs to Work Harder to Make a Breakthrough in Asia: The travel network is trying to fight off the view that it is too American-centric in order to succeed in the rest of the world.

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