From luxury brands in bed with high-end hotels, to cryptic ways to pay for your vacation, and new methods to measure your sustainability, Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks looks at the latest trends in the industry.
From luxury brands in bed with high-end hotels, to cryptic ways to pay for your vacation, and new methods to measure your sustainability, Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks looks at the latest trends in the industry.
Luxury Collaborations
Luxury brands and hotels make ideal bed fellows. Just ask Ovolo Hotels whose Inchcolm Brisbane has launched Australia’s most indulgent hotel package at $49,999 per night for 40 guests. The package includes a Grey Goose Vodka martini tower and 5-hour beverage package, followed by an exquisite 3-course dinner personally created by renowned chef Ian Curley or Masterchef winner Diana Chan, all to the sounds of a live jazz band or DJ. This exclusive package includes an overnight stay in rooms which have been styled to reflect glitz and glamour.
www.ovolohotels.com
Cryptocurrency Holidays
Despite the on-again/offagain frenzy surrounding crypto, several hotel players are adopting it with gusto. The Kessler Collection has made history as the first US luxury hotel group to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, and the first in the world to partner with BitPay, the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services. At the same time, boutique hotel group Pavilions Hotels & Resorts is accepting direct bookings via cryptocurrency with a payment link which is valid for 90 minutes.
www.pavilionshotels.com
Climate Calories
You’ve heard of Climate Change now feast your eyes on Climate Calories. The progressive team behind Crystalbrook Collection has taken sustainability to the next level with menu items at its 14 restaurants and bars across the group being labelled with Climate Calories which will measure the environmental impact of its food and drinks. The idea is to demonstrate whether ingredients have been locally sourced, minimise waste, feature ethical meats, supplied in eco-friendly packaging, and are culturally considered.
www.crystalbrookcollection.com
Working-holiday-visa intakes for 2026 are tracking 18% above pre-COVID. The implications for backpacker occupancy are not small.
Copacabana Palace Rio de Janiero, Brazil
In this Q&A, our local Victorian brokers Chris Boschetti, East Victoria, and Hugh Thomas, West Victoria, talk about high buyer demand, the diverse occupancy drivers for their zones, stamp duty concessions for regional assets and the benefit to traditional accommodation businesses the upcoming Airbnb surcharge is likely to have.