The creation of a Sydney office by Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) is representative of the businesses’ interest and desire to invest in Australia and New Zealand markets, says Mark Wong, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific at SLH. Wong says Australia and New Zealand are an integral region for the brand’s APAC strategic direction.
“Australia is Small Luxury Hotels of the World’s fourth feeder market year-to-date (via the trade) and in 2023, it was the third strongest feeder market.
“By increasing our on-the-ground and expert presence here in Australia, we hope to see the market return to a higher feeder position and fulfil its full potential,” Wong told LATTE.
“Australian travellers seek out and enjoy the small, characterful and independent nature of our hotels and so we see a lot more opportunity to grow this market, both from a sales and hotel membership perspective.”
Currently SLH has over 570 visited, vetted and verified hotel members across 90 countries, including 12 in Australia and New Zealand.
“We hope to fulfil strategic locations like Perth, Auckland and Wellington next year,” Wong flagged.
He continued, “Travel agents represent a huge 80% of SLH Core Channels revenue. We saw a strong recovery from Australian travel agency reservations post-pandemic. Hence, we want to ensure we nurture and look after this much-valued segment with more brand presence and personalised support on the ground.”
Small Luxury Hotels of the World’s ANZ team are pictured. From left are Crystal Davies, Senior Revenue Account Manager; Mariano Porcelli, Head of Reservations Worldwide & Area Manager (for ANZ); Yuuko Li, Sales Manager, Australia & New Zealand and Jack Willis, VIP Reservations Executive.
