Jennie Toh, Vice President of Marketing and Logo Control for Marriott International Luxury Brands for Asia Pacific, is a gourmet traveler behind some of Asia Pacific’s top logos. With an intimidating travel schedule: Founded in Hong Kong, it spends part of the year traveling and occasionally operates at 40% of Marriott’s 900 operating hotels in Asia: Toh is on the lookout for the latest industry trends.
While luxury travel has slowed in Asia, at the start of the pandemic, it is gaining momentum as the rest of the luxury sector regains momentum. “online] looking for interest in luxury hotels is at its highest point since 2006,” Toh said. “We are at a stable speed towards recovery. “
Toh notes that occupancy in the luxury area is surpassing pre-pandemic levels. To put that into numbers, he says, “Our occupancy rate has also increased to 64%, with an average daily rate expanding up to 5% since March 2019. People are willing to pay more right now because of all these accumulated calls. because that’s happening all over the world, especially here in Asia-Pacific.
Marriott International Luxury Brands, which includes The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, EDITION, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, JW Marriott and Bulgari, covers 69 countries, adding 18 in Asia Pacific, meaning Toh’s travel places it zigzagging in a region that continues to experience strong expansion in luxury travel.
Before leaving for Bangkok, Toh spoke to Forbes Travel Guide about Asia-Pacific travel trends, the growing popularity of wellness, and why Japan will be on his travel list.
What luxury trends do you see in the Asia-Pacific region?
I was at the JW Marriott [Singapore Hotel] South Beach, the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore and Naka Island from The Luxury Collection, and whether it’s a hotel or a hotel in town, other people definitely stay longer. And when asked why they stay longer, they reply: “If I have to paint now, I could also make some nights bigger, as it was very difficult to faint with all those exit preparations, tests and closures and border openings.
We also realized that almost everyone has travel on a to-do list. For my part, I can already call five of my list where to go. Jeju [in South Korea] is the one I hope to do until the end of the year.
In addition, we realize that thriving travelers are looking for transformative and original reports that are not only designed on the property, but also on the landscape they visit. Regenerative travelers [focusing on their health] and understanding what the offering region should look like are essential.
And we locate other people really to relax. A circle of family or an organization of smart friends who want to join and have fun and make a contribution to society, to the other people they know and to the locality.
The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza will open in December.
How does Marriott International Luxury Brands respond to this demand?
For our 8 lopass, you almost have an exclusive spa experience designed through the lopass. But right now, the trend goes far beyond the spa: wellness is a whole new pillar. If we take a look at our experience of JW Marriott lopasses, it has its roots in holistic wellness. And what does that mean? It’s about how we provide quiet spaces and create moments of mindfulness, sensory programming, and spaces where other people can pass by and enjoy nature and better perceive the place and what it has to offer.
At the JW Garden firm, activated in almost each and every one of our hotels in Asia-Pacific, there are herbs and vegetables that are grown based on the local wisdom of the executive chef, as well as corporations and suppliers of local products with which we paint closely. They grow those vegetables in-house and integrate them into the touchpoints of the visitor’s adventure: on their plate, on one of their blanket appliances in their room, or even in the spa, where they create express drinks and then use the base. ingredients for a facial treatment with herbs grown in your own JW garden.
Wellness is rarely just about taking care of your body and yourself with a spa treatment, but it’s also about the mindfulness of the area, as well as that holistic technique of how we view the locality. At JW Marriott Phuket, if you are if you are lucky enough to pass there, ask them to show you the unique solution where they draw water from the unlimited humidity of the air. Then this water is filtered through this device that they have in the assets and is now in a position to be in the guest room.
A Ritz-Carlton reserve will arrive in Jiuzhaigou, China, in late 2022 or early 2023.
As borders reopen in Asia-Pacific, what can brand travelers expect?
There is a lot of pent-up demand. I believe that with the global resumption of travel, many visitors and members hope to return to familiar places and see the brands they have enjoyed, whether for time as a couple, family or just to naturally relax outside the public.
At one of our Ritz-Carlton hotels, we began implementing what we call the new edition of the Ritz Kids program. In the past, we’ve introduced the experience of your kids sleeping in a tent instead of a regular bed, so it’s almost like camping comfortably under the stars. The Ritz Kids 3. 0, as we call it, this new program includes the creation of Leo the Lion, the new mascot. Leo takes our youngest visitors on this adventure to pique their interest and instill in them a sense of duty to care for nature, take care of themselves, and educate their minds with programming as well as the activities presented to them. This brings them closer to both the culture and the locality where their parents take them.
Another example that we can percentage is the Ritz-Carlton Club. After the pandemic, we detected that this total buffet concept configuration wanted to be changed. Guests have new demands and desires when they come to our club to get this general mindset towards wellness. and luxury. The concept of meals at our Ritz-Carlton Club has become more personalized. There will be a buffet: business travel has begun to resume, and we already see it in our hotels, so you still want to provide comfort.
But if you take a look at how we supply this buffet setup, it may just be more individual portions. And if you think about the menu, it’s more localized. This may be the chef’s specialty of the day, rather than telling him to come and sign. for us at the Peking duck cutting station, at this time you may only have Peking duck served at your table and it is the chef’s specialty with a sauce that made you talk about the locality.
The JW Marriott Jeju Complex
What hotel openings do you have ahead of you?
Certainly JW Marriott Jeju [Editor’s note: Hotel opening is scheduled for December]. JW Marriott is expensive for many of us as it is the mythical namesake of the company and the fact that we discussed earlier that it is about holistic and organized wellness and mindfulness. It has a combination of spirit, culture and nature that is attributed to it.
At JW Jeju, make sure the programming focuses on mindfulness, enjoying the ocean view, and making peace in the domain or designated room you have. There are indoor and outdoor pools, as well as hot springs with a Korean-style sauna called jjimjilbang. The concept [food and drink] is going to be very unique. In this hotel there will be a place to eat that we suggest you visit to try homemade local dishes, and they call it Miss Kim.
And I should point out that this mansion was designed by award-winning architect Bill Bensley. Bill has done several projects with us, adding the JW Marriott Phu Quoc, which is a university fantasy from the 1950s to the time of the French Revolution. He knows what luxury is and he knows what Instagram is.
You argued that you had a list of cubes. Can you share some percentages?
My favorite destination is Japan. I need to enjoy being local again because I worked in Japan for 3 years. I love the culture, the food and all that the country has to offer. I’d love to move on to this new set of hotels that we’ve called Project Michi-no-Eki, where we have those roadside resorts that are connected to a hotel that we’ve built, and those localities offer a glimpse into the culture, religion, or things that talk about local produce and the fun of the food and other people there. I want to make the outer edge of Japan out of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
And the place of time that I need to pass is Europe: to go to London, Paris and seek to perceive what this new culture is in the global component that faces a very complicated scenario with the new geopolitical environment.
And last but not least, to return to the Middle East. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with all their cultural richness.