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“ What Small Luxury Hotels of the World does by reputation is it packages a mark of quality, it brings a stamp of recognition and that is valuable. SLH ultimately is, in my opinion, a statute of quality� Daniel Koetser, Le Grand Bellevue
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A warm welcome Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ (SLH) matches independently-minded guests with independently-spirited hotels. We’re passionate about finding small, character-filled hotels that actively go above and beyond to set themselves apart. Our hotels are the stars of SLH and we provide the platform to make them shine on a global stage. By joining us, you will benefit not only from a wealth of experience, but also from our partnerships with other luxury brands and established names. By being part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ your visibility and profile will be enhanced, your revenue will be maximised and your independence preserved.
Filip Boyen, Chief Executive Officer For Small Luxury Hotels of the World™
Agenda 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Why Small Luxury Hotels of the WorldTM? Worldwide presence and distribution Dedicated support every step of the way Worldwide exposure through marketing, social media and public relations Worldwide sales support and opportunities Be part of a community of independently-minded hoteliers How to apply
TM
1. Why Small Luxury Hotels of the World ?
1. Why Small Luxury Hotels of the World ? TM
The SLH Way •
SLH matches independently-minded people with independently-spirited hotels. We’re committed to finding unique luxury hotels that set themselves apart from the norm
• To us, independence is a dedication to individuality and a zealous desire to stay original. We don’t follow the trends at SLH, we make them • You won’t find repetitive style or tedious design at an SLH hotel, only unique properties with a collective penchant for excellence
Who we are • We provide an independent spirit in the way that we talk to our customers. We’re confident, friendly and inspiring •
Our brand champions the independent and unique, steering clear of the dull. We love the satisfaction of finding a gem of a place, and we like to offer our customers that same satisfaction
• True luxury doesn’t conform, it’s rare and unique. That’s why we believe in the intimacy and authenticity of small hotels for more information visit
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What we do SLH provides a platform and solution that enables independent hoteliers to compete in a global market against international players. We offer a tremendous amount of support across a range of services, including: • Tailor-made sales, marketing and PR that connects the right hotels and destinations to relevant customers. The simple goal is to drive high value reservations • One-stop distribution. Our reservation platform can handle all GDS, voice, website, mobile and third party website distribution. Your content, rates and inventory are distributed to the eyes of over a million travel agents worldwide and millions of web users • Access to luxury travel agencies worldwide. We have a strong sales team, a superb calendar of sales events, a global database of more than 25,000 luxury agencies and the unique and instantly recognizable ‘LX’ GDS Code • Access to a loyalty database of over 415,000 regular customers • Outreach via our global PR network that spans 14 countries and 10 social media channels • Bookings through slh.com and multi-lingual SLH voice agents • A global team of dedicated revenue account managers to support you every step of the way for more information visit
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2. Worldwide presence & distribution
2. Worldwide presence & distribution
Hotel Property Manage
Our brand offers you access to independently-minded guests looking for an independently-spirited hotel. We provide up to 40% total revenue for many of our hotels, so it’s important for us to provide you with an efficient, user-friendly system across multiple distribution channels. We provide you with 24-hour access to one of the most advanced Central Reservation Systems (CRS) in the world. Hosted by Trust International, our CRS is a powerful tool that has the potential to reach millions of prospective guests by distributing your hotel rates, availability, and content to several channels worldwide, all from one easy system.
EG Micros Opera, Mic
Reservations download
SLH Central Reserva
slh.com slh.com Our site is visited by over 12,000 customers daily, providing a user-friendly experience across all platforms. It features enhanced imagery and leading functionality, and is designed to meet the needs of both hotels and guests around the globe.
Global Distribution Systems (GDS) We are identified by the prestigious GDS code “LX�, representing our reputation for luxury. The importance of this recognised distribution brand is that it links your property with a renowned group of high-end hotels and creates instant recognition with influential travel agents, telling them your property is of superior excellence. for more information visit
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GDS
Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, Worldspan
Voice
D
Voice We provide 7 dedicated agents based in London, New York and Orlando, as well as a further 125 agents in Singapore, Frankfurt and Orlando via our partnership with the Trust Communication Centres. Collectively, our reservation agents speak over 13 different languages. This ensures we can offer a truly international voice and an efficient booking service that covers 28 different countries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our agents are trained to convert booking enquires into revenue for your hotel, ensuring every opportunity reaches its maximum potential.
ement System (PMS)
cros Fidelio, Protel...
Rates & inventory Upload
DHISCO Online Distribution Database (ODD) Becoming a part of our brand means you’re automatically loaded into the DHISCO ODD, formerly Pegasus ODD. This is a system used by many internet travel portals and online travel agencies, making your hotel highly visible to an international audience.
ation System (CRS)
DHISCO
SLH Internet Booking Engine IBE
slh IBE
(Internet Booking System)
OTAs
Via Direct connect & SLH Channel Manager
By using the SLH IBE (white label booking engine) to power reservations on your property website, you can manage your inventory and rates through just one system. Our IBE is currently one of the most cost-effective booking systems on the market. It has a mobile responsive design and can be fully customised to match the look and feel of your website. You can also add amenity upgrades such as airport pick-up, and it’s compatible with OTA price comparison widgets and the majority of the metasearch engines.
Online Travel Agencies - OTAs The SLH Central Reservation System (CRS) frees you from the burden of manually maintaining 3rd party extranets. It connects you to a wide range of OTAs via direct connectivity to the CRS and medium to lower producing OTAs through the SLH channel management solution. This will guarantee worldwide coverage, real time availability, and rate/inventory updates.
PMS/CRS 2-way Interface You can have a two-way interface with the SLH CRS (this feature is dependent on your Property Management System supplier). You are guaranteed automatic reservation delivery and real time availability and rate management directly from your PMS. for more information visit
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3. Dedicated support every step of the way
3. Dedicated support every step of the way Your dedicated Revenue Account Manager will introduce themselves to you as soon as you’re a part of the team at Small Luxury Hotels of the World, providing you with all the information you need to get the most from your investment. It’s vital to be fully connected to the SLH brand by actively engaging in the opportunities and initiatives that are offered to you. This way, you’ll be sure to maximise your hotel’s potential and, in turn, generate bookings. Your account manager will be with you every step of the way to ensure your hotel is thriving. To do this, they will: •
Focus on developing and maintaining open communication between SLH and your property by phone, email and face-to-face visits
•
Ensure your hotel connects to our brand and follows recommendations and appropriate initiatives. They’ll also happily advise you on the distribution landscape and distribution solutions available to you
•
Work with you to ensure your hotel is accurately represented on all SLH channels in both content and imagery, as well as conducting regular audits to ensure optimum visibility to maximise conversion
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•
Be responsible for proactively managing and providing ongoing support, working with you to review how your hotel benefits from brand marketing and PR activities as well as assisting you in preparing your directory page
• Conduct business review calls with your hotel to analyse revenue production using a comprehensive individual monthly report that can be downloaded at myslh.com. They will then go through the Hotel Overview report with you to create action plans and follow up accordingly
myslh.com
Hotelier newsletters
myslh.com is a resource centre that contains information about SLH distribution, marketing, PR and sales. This is a dedicated space for opportunities, allowing you to participate in revenue-building initiatives and register online for industry events and exhibitions. myslh.com is your gateway to manage your SLH reservations and to access useful training videos.
On a monthly basis you will receive our hotelier newsletters and quarterly marketing updates to keep you informed of brand initiatives and news.
Training
In order to help you better understand the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand, we offer a training programme on all SLH systems to enable you to maximise revenue through the proficient use of all systems. Our in-house training managers are located in London, New York and Singapore, and are available to conduct training online, in-house or by invitation to our regional offices.
We understand the art of delivering the utmost in quality, and we like to provide you with the same level of service your hotel provides our customers.
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4. Worldwide exposure through marketing, social media & public relations
4. Worldwide exposure -
Activation Marketing
Our brand’s tagline is a representation of our customers – independently minded. They’re travel savvy and know a thing or two about hotels, so we don’t want to patronise them by listing a hotel’s perks. We want to use personal stories to bring each property’s interesting quirks to life. Our customers are less concerned with the iPod dock in their room and more interested in the delicious home-made ice cream that’s served from a wooden hut on the beach or the charming lakeside restaurant specialising in traditional local food. Whatever it is, we’re continually looking to uncover the idiosyncrasies that define and unite our small luxury hotels.
Iconic Annual Directory Each hotel is showcased in our annual directory. 200,000 copies of this beautiful book are distributed to our travel trade and media partners, our most loyal VIP members and are proudly displayed in every room of every SLH hotel.
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The Club is a guest recognition programme designed to reward our loyal customers. The Club has over 415,000 members and is designed to help you identify guests who are loyal to our brand. Our loyalty club has been developed to ensure you’ll be rewarded with high-value reservations. Other than voice reservations, bookings made through the club generate the highest average room rate and length of stay. In addition, Club Members spend more on spas, food and beverage and other incidentals than non Club Members. We use Club Member data to execute regular targeted email marketing campaigns to promote SLH properties and drive reservations.
Club Reviews Only Club Members who have stayed at an SLH hotel can write an official review, which keeps our online feedback authentic and trustworthy.
Targeted Marketing Campaigns Take advantage of being part of a global community of hotels! With over 520 hotels in our collection, Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ is able to engage in a series of marketing campaigns that promote hotels by the exceptional experiences they offer.
Email In 2015 we sent over 14,000,000 targeted emails, with each campaign carefully adapted to its audience. We segment all of the campaigns we send to ensure we take note of nationality, preferences and past stay history. This detailed analysis enables us to deliver industry-leading open and click-through rate performance stats. SLH emails can be broadly categorised into 3 sections – regional, themed and tactical. Regional – focusing on a particular region, bringing it to life through the eyes of the independently-spirited SLH properties Themed – focusing on a variety of themes that represent our independentlyminded brand. Themes revolve around the unique experiences our hotels offer Tactical – carefully considered promotions to drive immediacy of booking. For example, suite promotions to drive higher ADR production into SLH properties.
4. Worldwide exposure - PR & Social Media
Spreading the word – PR & Communications We have a global team of PR professionals who raise awareness of Small Luxury Hotels of the World through an integrated communications plan aimed at high-end consumers and travel agents. With a focus on the unforgettable experiences SLH hotels offer, we’re able to provide language-specific and culturally-relevant PR support in 20 countries around the world. Our in-house teams in London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai and our PR ambassadors in other key markets ensure you have access to an extensive global database of media contacts. Our PR team is dedicated to promoting your property to the relevant media outlets to create a genuine impact in the global media, ensuring your hotel is being represented on the world stage. The PR team work to garner effective publicity for our hotels through the following: • Monthly press releases for global media contacts to highlight new hotels and communicate strategic messaging • Pitching relevant and topical feature angles to key luxury publications, communicating our diversity and authenticity • Offering downloadable high-resolution images, accessible to media outlets via slhimages.com • Building mutually beneficial relationships with luxury media by hosting both private meetings and networking events • Regular communication highlighting current publicity opportunities (such as media hosting) via an interactive webpage • Management of a comprehensive media monitoring service to track all coverage • Daily communication with hotels to share coverage and leads, as well as monthly and quarterly newsletters highlighting upcoming opportunities and relevant campaign updates
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Spreading the word Social Media We have a community of over 400,000 people across SLH’s social channels. We actively communicate across a wide range of social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We see social media as the perfect place to promote Small Luxury Hotels of the World, inspiring our independently-minded followers with aspirational content on our unique luxury travel experiences. We see social media as a vital tool in ensuring our followers receive the latest news, campaign opportunities and offers, influencing our followers rather than acting as a sales channel. Our posts capture the imagination of potential guests, driving traffic to relevant hotel and destination pages. We use a variety of posts including original content, responding to consumer queries and guest feedback and reacting to topical news stories and current affairs where we can capitalise on existing high levels of engagement. We have expanded our social media presence into China to allow you to capture new customers in a major market. We now have a strong presence on the popular Sina Weibo network, which is China’s answer to Facebook. Why not follow us and start the conversation… www.facebook.com/SmallLuxuryHotelsoftheWorld @SLHLuxuryHotels @SmallLuxuryHotels www.google.com/+slh www.linkedin.com/company/small-luxury-hotels-of-the-world/ uk.pinterest.com/SLHLuxuryHotels www.youtube.com/user/SmallLuxuryHotels www.blog.slh.com e.weibo.com/smallluxuryhotels
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4. Worldwide exposure e-commerce
slh.com – an awardwinning website With over 10,000 pages of content, 15,000 high-quality images and 400,000 visits a month, SLH.com promotes your hotel to high-value customers throughout the world. Our website and booking engine were recently relaunched to offer enhanced functionality to showcase your hotel and drive reservations. The website has been designed responsively so guests can enjoy a seamless experience on mobiles, tablets and desktops. Our website features include: • Rich, engaging copy carefully crafted to capture the uniqueness of your hotel • An interactive photo gallery hosting fullscreen images and video • A bespoke, user-friendly booking engine with real-time prices and availability • Interactive Google maps • Ongoing reviews of your hotel published by SLH Club members • Hotel copy translated into Spanish and German • Advanced search functionality to ensure your hotel is found as quickly and easily as possible • Fully-optimised destination pages to inspire users for more information visit
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Your hotel’s copy, images and offers will also be promoted through dedicated pages on our Chinese website.
Digital marketing
We recognise the importance of search engines like Google, Baidu (China) and Yandex (Russia) in driving traffic to your hotel pages on SLH.com. We have extremely strong organic rankings for ‘luxury hotel’ search terms through ongoing search engine optimisation, and we run highly targeted PPC campaigns to generate incremental traffic. We utilise state-of-the-art digital acquisition channels, including programmatic advertising, social amplification and native content sharing to target customers most likely to make reservations and raise brand awareness.
slh.com success
We’re here to ensure your hotel is being represented in the best way possible. Last year we generated over $23 million, with a share of revenue of 21%. We experienced a 9% increase of website visitors in 2015, with average monthly visits of over 400,000.
A world of choice through mobile Wherever your potential customers are and whichever device they use, we’re there to support them. Our new mobile app for iPhone and Android is free to download and offers independently-minded users a great way to engage with your independently-spirited hotel, even when they’re on the go. for more information visit
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5. Worldwide sales support & opportunities
5. Worldwide sales support & opportunities
Worldwide sales support & opportunities Our specialist sales professionals have developed close relationships with the travel trade to raise awareness of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ brand and to reinforce the status of our exclusive LX GDS code.
Consortia and Travel Trade Exposure Small Luxury Hotels of the World’s partnerships with all major consortia, multiple outlet agencies, business travel specialists and global corporations will drive further business to your property. As part of our corporate sales strategy, we work with the online RFP submission tool, Lanyon. This enables hotels to submit consortia and corporate RFP’s all at once. There are close to 20 consortia programmes to choose from including ABC, CCRA, Radius, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, BCD and HRG Worldwide.
Showcase events and roadshows As a Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ property, you’ll be invited to join us on a series of events and roadshows designed to give you the opportunity to meet some of the most influential industry insiders, including luxury travel planners, bookers and key global media partners. The events and roadshows are hosted worldwide and take place in key source cities such as London, Paris, New York, Moscow, Hong Kong and more. There is also the unique opportunity to participate in AMEX showcases around the globe.
Trade exhibitions In addition to our own events, you’ll also be invited to take part in a number of global trade events including ILTM Cannes, Americas and Asia. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in our impressive stand, which is always located in prime positions. for more information visit
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“ SLH is giving you the visibility among those markets where you are still unknown. It’s really a key that is opening many doors that otherwise wouldn’t open” Samuel Alvarez, Marugal Hotels
“ You can really talk to the best and most important players within the industry like American Express and Virtuoso and when you go to these players it is very important to be a part of a well-recognised brand like Small Luxury Hotels of the World” Alcide Leali, Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda
Travel Agent website We recognise that travel agents are critical to the success of the brand. We’re proud to offer a dedicated website especially for these specialists in the luxury travel business. This website provides travel agents with extensive travel and hotel information, as well as fantastic opportunities that will support their daily business activities and help them promote Small Luxury Hotels of the World. www.slh.com/travel-agents/
“ A quick note to thank you and your team for organizing an excellent Roadshow. I must say SLH did an incredible job putting some great meetings and introductions together, I believe we are lucky to have such a positive and genuine partnership helping to drive the brand forward” Stephen Meehan, General Manager, Nimb Copenhagen
American Express Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ has a long standing partnership with American Express which includes preferred partner status with the Platinum and Centurion programmes. Platinum members are affluent professionals, decision-makers and frequent travellers who are used to the finer things in life. They’re a community of cosmopolitan, family-orientated men and women who travel widely for both business and pleasure. Centurion members are on a continual quest for the best and most exclusive, and they are a discerning and style-conscious community of the highest earners and spenders in the world. (American Express) SLH has created dedicated websites for its Platinum and Centurion card members. The websites can be viewed at: www.slh.com/amexplatinum www.slh.com/amexcenturion The websites showcase all hotels in the SLH portfolio. for more information visit
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6. Be part of a community of independently minded hoteliers
6. Be part of
a community of
independently-
minded hoteliers
The strength and credibility of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ is dependent on the quality of our individual hotels. We employ a strict application process so that only the very best hotels with the highest standards are accepted. In assessing a hotel’s suitability for joining the brand, we believe that the totality of the guest experience is as important as anything else. We’re looking for independentlyspirited luxury hotels to cater to our independently-minded customers.
Inspection Programme We like to make sure our brand is being represented by all our hotels at all times. To do so, we have a created an inspection programme as way of regularly monitoring the quality and service of SLH hotels. We think it’s of the utmost importance to retain the integrity of our brand on a global scale, and to make sure our independently-minded guests are offered only the best independently-spirited hotels. To ensure quality, we run an anonymous guest inspection programme at no cost to you other than accommodation and food/beverage charges incurred at your property by the inspector. Our Quality Assurance programme is robust, and we’re in partnership with Revinate to provide a holistic approach to evaluate hotels based on a wider criteria. We integrate Club reviews, complaints and wider online reputation, viewable by live feed. Inspections are carried out on an annual basis, and if hotels fail an inspection they will be re-inspected within 6 months by an independent company. Those that don’t reach the required standards will be removed from our collection. The aim of this assurance programme is to keep our finger on the pulse of our hotel partners, rewarding the high performing hotels and guiding those struggling into the right direction. So you can see the level of quality, you are able to match your score against other SLH properties. for more information visit
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“ Small Luxury Hotels of the World brings together a community of independently-minded hoteliers. It’s very much like a think tank which is important because you belong to a group of unique and hand-picked hotels” Samuel Alvarez, Marugal Hotels
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“ Independently minded means that you have the luxury of pursuing a line which corporations probably wouldn’t agree with. It’s being bold & imaginative” Daniel Koetser, Le Grand Bellevue
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7. How to apply
7. How to apply
There are four stages to applying:
Stage 1
Stage 2
A formal application must be completed and submitted for review. Successful hotels will be asked for a non-refundable deposit of GBPÂŁ1,000 which is required before the assessment visit. This amount is credited against the initial fee if the application is successful.
Upon receipt of the application form and deposit an initial visit and inspection will be arranged. The visit enables you to discuss the beneďŹ ts of joining and determine the potential return on investment. It also enables Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ to assess whether your hotel meets the criteria.
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Stage 3
Stage 4
The report generated from the visit, along with the application, is reviewed by the COO and CEO of SLH. If they see the hotel will add value to the Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ brand, they will be recommended to the Board of Directors and then to the Chairman for final approval.
Successful applicants will receive conďŹ rmation of acceptance and a contract to sign. The contract is standard for all hotels and states all terms and conditions of joining SLH. The process is completed when the signed contract is returned together with the payment of the initial joining fee.
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