In a global hotel landscape dominated by ever-expanding portfolios and sub-brands, Langham Hospitality Group has affirmed it focus lies on refining and strengthening its existing brands.“We’d rather have three or four brands which are meaningful, that people aspire to stay in,” Jeffrey van Vorsselen, Managing Director of The Langham Melbourne and Regional Vice President Operations – Pacific, told LATTE at International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Asia Pacific in Singapore earlier this month. “It’s not about how many brands you’ve got – it’s about the value of your brands.”With new luxury hotel brands coming onto the global market, Langham sees little benefit in simply joining the numbers race. The company’s strategy hinges on delivering consistent, high-quality guest experiences across its flagship Langham properties and newer concepts like Cordis, purpose-driven Eaton and the emerging Ying’nFlo.And while many other companies are using third parties in order to expand their portfolios, Langham is deliberately choosing a different path. “We don’t all have to follow what they do,” van Vorsselen added.
Langham’s restrained approach to brand expansion doesn’t mean a lack of vision, however. Innovation is an intrinsic part of its formula, van Vorsselen stressed, with even its most established hotels encouraged to evolve and localise – but without losing the Langham identity.For example, the Langham Gold Coast, while ultra-modern and strikingly different from the group’s historic flagship properties on the exterior, it remains “true to the DNA” inside. The Langham Melbourne, meanwhile, will undergo an extensive transformation in order to keep its design contemporary.Although Langham does have global growth ambitions – with a bullish target of 100 hotels by 2040 – the company remains selective about how and where it grows, with van Vorsselen highlighting the Asia Pacific region as an important focus.
