COMO Group CEO: Fans of COMO hotels can soon sign up for a loyalty card
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COMO Group CEO: Fans of COMO hotels can soon sign up for a loyalty bill of fare
COMO Grouping CEO Olivier Jolivet tells CNA Luxury that the card will give members access, privileges and rewards across the COMO Group, which includes Club 21 shops as well equally F&B outlets at COMO Dempsey.
COMO Group CEO Olivier Jolivet. (Photo: COMO)
17 Jul 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 06:04PM)
"Minor is beautiful," announced Olivier Jolivet, CEO of COMO Group.
Sitting in the Club Lounge on the third floor of the Four Seasons Singapore for our conversation, my petite frame cushioned comfortably on the cream-coloured sofa, I wouldn't disagree.
"COMO doesn't want to be the biggest; our ambition is to exist one of the all-time," he continued.
Indeed, COMO hotels and resorts take been occupying an ultra-sectional niche as an upscale purveyor of beautiful boutique accommodation even before boutique became a thing.
True luxury is unimposing; it doesn't need to shout. And for the past 22 years, the somewhat social media-shy brand has quietly cultivated a portfolio of 15 luxurious properties, attracting those in-the-know and winning the hearts of well-heeled loyalists who resonate with COMO'south stiff brand ethos anchored on wellness and sustainability.
The latest addition to the fold, COMO Castello Del Nero, sits on a 740-acre manor in the world-famous Chianti vino region of Italy. All l rooms and suites in the 12-century castle have been exquisitely refurbished by Milanese designer Paola Navone, who has done an extraordinary job of blending the old and the new, with the castle'southward celebrated terracotta flooring, fresco walls and vaulted ceilings remaining untouched amid the melding of a more than modern 'COMO artful'.
Adjacent UP, NEW YORK CITY AND NISEKO
COMO'south journey into the Italian countryside represents its first foray into continental Europe and, according to Jolivet, at that place are plans to open up one new holding per year in key destinations around the world. First upward: New York City and Niseko, Japan.
"Japan is important to the loftier-terminate segment in Asia, and we're besides looking at South America, potentially French republic and more in Italy," he shared.
The group, still, is in no hurry to expand. The family business is headed by Christina Ong and together with husband Ong Beng Seng, the billionaire couple'southward fashion and hospitality empire spans loftier manner retailer Club 21, London-listed purse maker Mulberry and Hotel Backdrop, which owns the Iv Seasons and Hilton hotels in Singapore, among much else.
The privilege of being un-beholden to investors must be a fabulous way to run a business, I suggest.
"It's fantastic," Jolivet best-selling. "We don't need to publish our results every quarter and we don't have the force per unit area of the financial markets. So, nosotros don't care, we just want to do it right."
"COMO doesn't desire to be the biggest; our ambition is to be one of the best." – Olivier Jolivet
COMPLEMENTARY LIFESTYLE CONCEPTS
True luxury is, therefore, too uncompromising.
"We are very demanding," he admitted. "Our requirements are quite hard to meet because we want the best for the customer and we don't desire to compromise then we are taking our time."
Trading its "soul" for profit is clearly something COMO is rather opposed to. "Before, COMO was a bit reluctant to exist seen as too commercial," he said.
But has that hurt the brand, especially in this age of social media? "I don't think so; I think information technology has helped the brand smooth," came the response.
In fact, information technology could be said that COMO's brand equity has profited from this anti-commercial stance, as the heightened sense of exclusivity continues to describe a pocket-size just fiercely loyal circle of brand devotees to its newer businesses, too.
The COMO name has extended across hotels and health in recent years, with a new entity, COMO Lifestyle, comprising a fine selection of restaurants and establishments collectively known as COMO Dempsey all located inside the lifestyle destination.
There's COMO Cuisine, with its fresh, healthy concept inspired by the grouping'due south COMO Shambhala wellness concern; the world's first Michelin-starred Peranakan eating place Candlenut; The Dempsey Cookhouse and Bar with glory chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; Ippoh Tempura Bar, an outpost of Osaka'southward legendary premium tempura restaurant by Ginza Ippoh; and specialist purveyor of epicurean foods and wines, Culina.
Then, there is, of form, Dover Street Market Singapore, the multi-make concept store conceived past Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons fame, which added a little more than edge to Singapore'south mode scene with its cult brands and offerings.
More recently, COMO Dempsey welcomed the arrival of Maggie & Rose, a Family Members' Gild from London, terminal calendar month.
What'due south inspired this new lifestyle push?
"We're ready; we're at the correct maturity of the concern, nosotros have the competency, and we have the young, local talent that understand the brand and can grow the visitor organically," Jolivet explained.
This flourishing of complementary lifestyle concepts, which the group intends to replicate in other cities, is also behind the impetus for a new "COMO Bill of fare" that Jolivet said will be launching soon, which will grant members access, privileges and rewards across all its brand entities, and then some.
Such personalised loyalty programmes, he predicts, will exist "a fundamental success factor in the hospitality sector."
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BEYOND BASIC: DESTINATION EXPERIENCES
The company has begun doing things a little differently since Jolivet arrived ii-and-a-one-half years agone from Aman Resorts, another ultra-luxurious hospitality player with Singaporean roots, where he spent 9 years as CEO in its London headquarters.
For starters, there's been a much larger emphasis on offering experiences unique to the destination at its backdrop around the world, as a supplement to the stay.
COMO Uma Paro and COMO Uma Punakha both in Bhutan, for example, just completed a Himalayan Moving-picture show and Photography Expedition with award-wining photographer Michael Turek.
In Bali, COMO Uma Canggu and COMO Shambhala Estate take teamed up with professional surfer, Sally Fitzgibbons – currently ranked third in the Women'southward World Surf League – to launch their beginning all-women surf and wellness retreat.
Over at COMO The Treasury in Perth, the wilderness escape package takes guests to the spectacular vistas of the Kimberley outback three hours away in Western Australia as guests explore deep gorges, cascading waterfalls and ancient rock art. Or, head due north to the Ningaloo Reef, a World Heritage Site renowned for its marine life where the largest numbers of turtles, tropical fish and manta rays congregate, and y'all may even get to swim with whale sharks in winter months.
"If you desire to fight in the hospitality segment, peculiarly the loftier-end segment, yous tin can't sell rooms. Rooms are basic; the divergence betwixt a good hotel and an fantabulous hotel is the soft side: The service, the people, the experiences, the memory you tin can become from the stay. That's what we need to create," Jolivet explained.
The company besides intends to have its brand to the seas with private lease yachts in COMO-branded boats for Chill expeditions.
"You need to be focused, precise and experiential for them to remember. We don't sell rooms; nosotros sell experiences," he added.
With Jolivet at the helm, it appears that COMO is on a mission to corner the luxury market on land, bounding main and shortly, heaven, with the brand hitching a ride aboard Singapore Airlines with its latest collaboration to supply healthy meals for its business and outset class passengers.
"It'southward great that ii Singaporean brands that are well-known around the world – Singapore Airlines more than than COMO for sure – can combine their strengths to offering healthy nutrient, which people have been waiting for, even on the airplane," he said.
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YOUNGER, SAVVIER LUXURY TRAVELLERS
As market consolidation continues to milk shake upwardly the global hospitality sector, what are some of the current trends influencing how the industry shapes up for the future?
"I think hospitality is heading towards major changes and you will have 2 groups: The big boys and those affiliated to the big boys who are looking at maximising occupancy and cutting downwardly rates and costs, versus the small-scale players who are focusing on certain niches of the market; small but dedicated to the client'southward experience," he observed.
Interestingly, Jolivet has also noticed the median historic period of the luxury traveller shifting south.
"The younger generation is not as financially-savvy as the previous generation," he noted. "They like to spend and savour the present moment. They also like to experience more, and then it's non simply nigh sitting on the beach and getting a suntan; it's well-nigh exploring, learning, enjoying the moment and posting Instagrammable pictures. So a normal hotel that just provides rooms is non plenty for what these travellers are looking for. And it'southward non merely an Asian or US trend; information technology's a global trend."
He's also acutely aware of how social media has changed the hospitality game.
"Earlier coming into the hotel, customers already know everything about you; the size of the room, what you're going to serve for dinner, the proper noun of the chef… Information technology tin can be quite stressful then we have to modify [our approach]. And don't oversell – just over-deliver."
One matter'southward for sure, COMO is one brand that will never play the pricing game; the commodification of rooms is merely not in its blood.
Assured Jolivet: "We're not interested in going into a price war. In the upscale segment, you need to have a certain consistency; when you buy an Hermes pocketbook in Jan, it'due south the same price in August."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/people/como-hotels-como-card-240046
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