A panel session at The Lodging Conference discussed the luxury hotel market . From left : Stacy Shoemaker-Rauen , editor-in-chief , Hospitality Design Magazine ; K . Bryan Thrush , 1st VP , development , design and construction , Host Hotels & Resorts ; Mark Kessler , president and COO , The Kessler Collection ; Vicki Poulos , head of luxury and lifestyle brands , IHG Hotels & Resorts ; Jenna Jacobson , VP of luxury and mixed-use development , Marriott International ; Erin Green , VP , development & acquisitions , Auberge Resorts Collection
CONFERENCE REWIND
The Lap ( se ) of Luxury ?
THE LUXURY HOTEL SEGMENT IS BOOMING . ARE THERE CRACKS ?
By DAVID EISEN
P
HOENIX — The Wall Street Journal story “ The Rise of the $ 1,000-a-Night Hotel Room ” put consumers on notice : staying in the lap of luxury can cost a pretty penny .
The demand for luxury accommodations was on full display at The Lodging Conference here at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge — and it wasn ’ t just the bar prices .
Vicki Poulos , head of luxury and lifestyle brands at IHG Hotels & Resort , summed it up succinctly during a panel session focused on luxury hotel demand : “ Rich people continue to travel .” And the rich people are growing : According to estimates by Credit Suisse , the number of global millionaires could exceed 84 million by 2025 , a rise of almost 28 million from 2020 . Moreover , high-net-worth individuals are not just those fortunate enough to have inherited wealth ; they are self-made — from Gen X to millennials . “ It ’ s made luxury evolve ,” Poulos said .
Ten years ago , IHG only had one luxury brand , InterContinental Hotels , a luxury blade amid a lawn of mostly midscale brands , like the wildly popular Holiday Inn Express . Today , IHG has firmly planted itself in the luxury and lifestyle space with
10 hotelsmag . com Oct / Nov 2024