The Future of Luxury Travel? Look to Retail, Says Raffles Boss
Photo Caption: Raffles CEO Omer Acar at Skift Global Forum 2023. Skift
Skift Take
Omer Acar runs some of the most old-school luxury hotel brands in the world, in Raffles and Orient Express, but looking ahead, he's thinking about how to move with the times. The answer: Services over goods.
The current generation of high-spending hotel guests don't care about your thread counts, fruit baskets or pillow chocolates, says the CEO of one of Accor's most ornate hotel brands. Raffles boss Omer Acar states that repeat business in luxury hospitality is achieved through intangible, romantic metrics such as personalization, respect and appreciation of ones' time.
"I define luxury as time – the time that you don’t get to spend with your family or give yourself," said Acar at the Skift Global Forum 2023. "You can’t recreate that. So when it comes to hospitality
