At the recently concluded AHICE Southeast Asia held in Singapore, one of the key points of discussion was luxury hospitality and how, like other aspects of the industry, it continues to evolve and thrive despite current global crises.
During the panel The Luxury Market Outlook moderated by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) senior vice-president for advisory in Asia Cleavon Tan, growth sectors in the region are shifting from Singapore and Bangkok to emergent locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Likewise, the industry is prime for investment and remains resilient despite socioeconomic and geopolitical upheaval.
Resilience and growth
Speaking at AHICE, Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s regional vice-president for development in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines Bastien Touzeau opines that the luxury hospitality sector isn’t just resilient, but also happens to be a prime segment for industrial growth.
Touzeau remarked: “We are seeing that there is a very rapid growth in terms of travellers, whether they are within Asia, or about to come into Asia.”
He cited a recent report from Mordor Intelligence which pointed out how the luxury Asia-Pacific hotel market will bring in around US$37 billion in revenues by end-2026, up from the US$34 billion recorded at the end of 2025.
It is also likely that the sectoral revenue will reach US$58 billion over the next five years, an encouraging prospect for the sector as a whole.
Touzeau added: “When it comes to Hyatt, we are seeing that more than 60 percent of our hotels in our Asia Pacific portfolio are in that luxury premium segment. Looking ahead, we have more than 90 luxury lifestyle properties that are going to open in the region. So all those signs show that there is going to be growth for the luxury segment within Southeast Asia.”
Perspectives from the resort sector
For The Lux Collective’s chief operating officer in the Asia Pacific Nitesh Pandey, one trend that hospitality professionals need to keep an eye on is experiential luxury.
Pandey said: “I think experiential luxury is definitely there to stay and to grow. However, if you are in generic luxury, you may have challenges in the future.”
For experiential luxury to thrive, differentiation is absolutely critical, especially now that the industry is shifting from a post-COVID recovery mindset to a more disciplined approach to growth and development.
As Pandey puts it: “In this approach, guests are more focused, guests are more very critical of what they want. Owners are very analytical at the same time, so building the guest experience is always the way forward.”
Pandey warns however that there is a need to strike a balance from the owners’ point of view, especially as resorts and luxury accommodations cost more to maintain and operate.
He said of this: “Owners are looking for leaner management, more staff efficiency, a greater use of technology to back up the house and control costs.”
Introducing the modern luxury traveller
Bryan Chan, vice-president for development in Southeast Asia and Korea for IHG Hotels & Resorts,
According to Chan: “There was a statistic wherein by 2030, 80 percent of luxury travellers are going to be millennials, Gen Z, or Gen Alpha. I think that's really big because that's kind of that YOLO experiential traveller willing to set aside more money for luxury or experiences. So they’re the ones driving the growth of the sector.”
Chan added that the luxury hospitality sector is further segmenting, especially now that we have conventional luxury and ultra-luxury.
Barefoot luxury in tropical destinations continues to gain sway within the Asia Pacific, and hotel management companies and luxury hospitality firms are all scrambling to cater to the growing demand for more bespoke experiences, solid proof that luxury hospitality remains a sector worth keeping an eye on.
