Following a landmark year for Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which saw 80 new additions to its global portfolio of ‘independently minded’ boutique properties, SLH is looking to expand its footprint in Australia and New Zealand.
Starting with the reopening of its Australian office on Pitt Street in Sydney, SLH is building out its team on the ground to support growth in the market next year.
“We are gaining momentum in Australia,” SLH SVP Asia Pacific, Mark Wong, told HM.
“We’ve signed a new property down in the Barossa Valley, Le Mas Barossa, and we also have one coming up in the Yarra Valley, at Levantine Hill Estate.”
Levantine Hill Hotel, a new boutique hotel complex designed by Fender Katsalidis to fit naturally within the landscape, is slated to open in June 2025.
“We’re starting to build outside of the city centres,” Wong said, pointing to its existing partnership with Ovolo hotels in key cities, and regional accommodation in Australia, including Islington Hotel Hobart and Chalets at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.
“We are quite fortunate that we’ve been able to sign about 22 new member properties in Asia Pacific this year.
“Next year, we’ll get more signings into Australia and New Zealand.”
On the consumer side, Wong is eager to drive brand awareness in these markets and increase direct bookings through SLH.
“The travel trade is almost 80% of our business right now, so that’s why we decided to reinvest in the reservation and our sales for Australia,” he said.
Strategic partnerships
In 2024, SLH embarked on a strategic partnership with Hilton, tapping into a database of more than 180 million Hilton Honors members, who can now earn and redeem loyalty points for stays at participating SLH properties.
“We have uploaded over 400 hotels onto the Hilton channel in the last three months, and it’s working quite well in terms of the reservations coming through,” Wong said.
SLH also launched a revamped customer loyalty programme, SLH Club, and app with innovative features to facilitate a faster reservation process.
Such developments have fuelled growth for SLH, resulting in a 9% increase in revenue across all channels compared to 2023, marking its most successful year in history.
Amid an evolving hotel management landscape, SLH is also embracing the opportunity to partner with independent hotel operators, such as La Vie Hotels and Resorts.
“In the past, we have tended to deal directly with owners,” Wong said.
“Over the last few years, these boutique management companies have popped up and they are acquiring and managing properties on behalf of owners.
“For us, it’s a good partnership, because they do not have the distribution network, and we provide them with this so-called plug-and-play solution that makes their proposal to owners much sweeter.”
Following the successful launch of its Considerate Collection – a collection of GSTC-certified hotels targeted to break 100 hotels next year – SLH is set to unveil a new offering centred around wellbeing in early 2025.
“We are now looking into products and properties more focused on mind, body and soul, rather than just the spa experience – spiritual wellness and reawakening,” Wong said.
Beyond Australia and New Zealand, SLH is set to grow its portfolio of over 600 member hotels globally with an eye on adventure-filled destinations around the globe such as Anguilla, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Lithuania, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.