Skift Take

The Oberoi Group is a good example of a hospitality company that has eschewed aggressive expansion in favor of thoughtful growth.

Series: New Luxury

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.

The CEOs of big hotel companies love to talk about white space: the gaps in their portfolios where there is room to squeeze in new brands.

Marriott’s Starwood acquisition created a 30-brand behemoth. Others are following suit and adding to their rosters in the hope of grabbing bigger market shares.

At the other end, there are hotel companies like Oberoi, where the scope is much more limited.

Founder Mohan Singh Oberoi took over his first hotel in 1934 and the company has added properties at a slow and steady pace ever since — but always with an eye on the past.

“I realized that it was not good enough to keep launching new ventures if old ones were allowed to suffer. Too often efficiency and high standards once established are taken for granted,” Oberoi once wrote.

The idea of cautious growth seems pretty quaint in today’s travel industry, but a lot of firms would do well to heed Oberoi’s advice.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @paddywhyte.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

5 Looks at Luxury

Luxury Hotelier Oberoi Group Stays the Course by Focusing on One Brand: There is something to be said for the will to survive through hardship. Other hospitality groups should take note of the Oberoi Group story. India’s luxury hotel group is one of the subjects in Skift’s recent sixth anniversary book, For the Long Haul, Lessons on Business Longevity, whose chapters we are excerpting for you here in the coming weeks.

On the Beach Buys Classic Collection for $25 Million as Package Rules Get Upended: Online player On the Beach is making a play to attract the business of offline travel agents by creating a new online dynamic-packaging portal. Got it? In online travel, as in life, it sometimes pays to be flexible, and to buy stuff.

Condé Nast Traveler Will Combine U.S. and UK Editorial Teams: There is a striking difference in editorial styles between the two titles, with the U.S. edition hyper-focused on luxury and fashion, and the UK one focused on a broader swath of readers. We’re interested in seeing what will emerge as the singular voice.

No Need to Live Like a Local: All Tourists Welcome: It is time to reclaim the word tourist, and recalibrate it to mean something good. Tourists can see the world with fresh eyes, unencumbered with the daily accumulations of local life. A new hotel in North Adams, Massachusetts, seeks to do just that.

Nikki Beach to Diversify Beyond Club-Style Resorts Into Wellness: But don’t worry: The clubs aren’t going anywhere.

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Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte [[email protected]] curates the New Luxury newsletter. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday.

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Tags: hotels, luxury

Photo credit: The Oberoi, Bali. The company's founder took over his first hotel in 1934. The Oberoi Group

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