Luxury Hotel Network Relais & Châteaux Maps Expansion Into Asia
Photo Credit: Relais & Châteaux Sitara Himalaya in Himachal Pradesh. Relais & Châteaux / Himanshu Lakhwani
Skift Take
Relais & Châteaux may one day have a loyalty program. But it won’t be because others do. It will be because they’ve found a way to make it fit their very specific model.
Relais & Châteaux is modernizing - but slowly - and expanding into new markets, including India and China.
The 70-year-old hotel and restaurant network is embracing digital tools and new tastes, yet doing so in a way that protects its core identity of intimacy and authenticity.
Its guests are mostly older, with the average age around 50.
“I think that if we decide to run after the young, we're going to lose our soul,” Laurent Gardinier, President of Relais & Châteaux, told Skift.
However, Gardinier said the group is investing heavily in its digital presence and adapting its design and food offerings.
Relais & Châteaux is not trying to be trendy. It’s trying to stay true to what it has always been: a network of small, independently owned hotels and restaurants that offer a personal, culturally rich experience.
“Our job is to do the best with what we provide, be it food and beverage, desi