Ten years on from the establishment of La Vie Hotels and Resorts in Singapore, the independent hotel management company is going from strength to strength.
In the last 12 months, La Vie has expanded its lifestyle portfolio with the addition of Adge Hotel and Residences, introduced its own lifestyle brand, NOOE Hotels and Restaurants, with a flagship location in the picturesque Atoll of Kunaavashi in the Maldives, and built out its team across its Sydney and Bangkok offices with a number of key hires.
Powered by a willingness to learn from the success of others and a desire to carve its own path in the industry, La Vie’s senior leadership team embarked on a trip to the United States last year to see firsthand the impact of the owner-centric franchise model in a more mature market.
By tapping into the knowledge and experience of industry giants including Aimbridge Hospitality, Davidson Hospitality and IHG Hotels and Resorts, La Vie has sharpened its focus on its value proposition as an independent management company in the Asia Pacific.
“We went to other management companies to learn what they do and how they do it,” La Vie Hotels and Resorts CEO, Jerry Xu, told HM.
“We learned a lot. It was definitely eye opening for us. It’s very rare in business to see what your future holds.”
“In Asia Pacific, there are not many mature full service independent hotel management companies that are full strength, from technical advisory, pre-opening to commercial, revenue management, finance, operation excellence etc.,” he said.
“We are standing directly with owners – our interests are tied together. The majority of our revenue as a company comes from bottom line, so we choose a brand that works best for both of us.”
La Vie’s capabilities extend across three models – franchise, white label and own brand.
“Ultimately, as we are brand agnostic, we approach all projects with a focus on flexibility and driving results,” Xu said.
When it comes to business, Xu is adamant that any partnerships must bring value on both sides.
“Our value proposition is that we are able to add value to our clients – if we cannot, I would prefer not to proceed. Only if we make money and the owner makes money, it’s a win win; otherwise, if the value add we have is not more than our administration costs, or not more than what they used to make, then we should not proceed.
“It’s about driving performance and operational excellence – I don’t want quantity, we want quality.”
Focused on growth
While continuing to leverage the brand value and distribution of recognisable brands, as well as independent distribution partners such as Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Mr and Mrs Smith, La Vie sees an opportunity to complement this in a targeted way to drive stronger top line performance into its specific portfolio under management. To that end, La Vie is building its own distribution and commercial engine as an overlay and value add to its partners.
Over the next 12-18 months, Xu is focused on growth.
“I call last year our ‘consolidation year’ and now we are able to focus on growth,” he said.
“Financially, while we have a strong balance sheet and are cashflow positive groupwise without building the proper infrastructure with the right platform for distribution for management and the right people, you cannot grow and add value to your partners.
“This is why we are very proud of the end-to-end comprehensive operating platform that we have in place to ensure we are maximising opportunities for our owners and driving superior returns. We will continue to invest in both our people and our platform.
“We are excited about the future. This year, we’re opening 10 hotels, but we’re targeting to sign 20+ hotels,” Xu said.
“We look forward to working with likeminded partners who have the capability and vision to deliver as we move forward together to build successful long-term relationships.”