Lux Escapes grows fast

LUXURY Escapes has “fast- tracked” its way to over $300m in top-line revenue in about 4.5 years of operation, making it “Australia’s fastest growing company under five years old,” gm Blake Hutchison told TD.

Speaking at an event in Sydney last night celebrating the launch of season three of the TV show Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays, Hutchison said this year over 400,000 Australians would take a holiday with the company.

He attributed the popularity of the company’s deals to the “overwhelming” amount of choice that consumers face.

“If you go to an OTA or you go in to a travel agent, there’s just an infinite number of hotels you could stay at,” he explained.

“What Luxury Escapes does is narrow it down to one hotel, gives that hotel a huge amount of marketing visibility and it takes that hotel to a customer base which has been essentially trained to respond to a Luxury Escapes offer.”

Hutchison said the company’s model worked to provide hotels profitable demand from a customer who was going to stay a little longer, due to Luxury Escapes only offering five- or seven-night stays.

Looking ahead, Hutchison said Luxury Escapes was working on its flights offering and growing its customer base in South East Asia ( TD 24 Oct).

It is also ramping up its business development team to expand its destinations and allow customers to link up multiple escapes.

This month Luxury Escapes voluntarily withdrew from the AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme ( TD 02 Jul).

LUXURY Escapes celebrated the return of the third season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best

Holidays with a sneak peek of the TV show in Sydney last night.

The 13-part series, which explores destinations ranging from the Maldives to Kenya, will premiere at 6pm on Sat on Network Ten ( TD Tue).

Luxury Escapes general manager Blake Hutchison told Travel

Daily the series was “another way to talk to our audience,” emphasising the show was “not a sales proposition,” and instead a means to promote to the masses the diversity of destinations the company now offers.

Pictured are: Trent Ellen, partnerships and contracting manager, Luxury Escapes; Sophie Falkiner, co-host Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays;

Chelsea Healey, consumer marketing manager, Luxury Escapes; Sonia Pilovska, head of tours, Luxury Escapes; Shane Jolley, co-host Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays and Blake Hutchison, chief revenue officer and gm, Luxury Escapes.