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Four Seasons: growth driven by development pipeline and enhanced commercial strategy

Luxury hospitality company Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts continues to solidify its position through the strategic expansion of its portfolio of hotels, resorts and residential developments.

The company is also extending its luxury lifestyle offering through the growth of Private Retreats, its portfolio of luxury villa and vacation home rentals; its bespoke Private Jet experience; and through the Four Seasons at Home luxury goods collection.

Despite industry-wide challenges caused by the pandemic, Four Seasons outlook for 2022 builds upon the success of the past year, including the addition of highly anticipated new hotels, resorts and residences in key markets, and the extension of its standalone residential collection with new properties opening last year in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Supporting this growth, the company’s longstanding shareholder, an affiliate of Cascade Investment, L.L.C. (Cascade), closed this month on its acquisition of a majority stake in Four Seasons from its long-term investment partner, an affiliate of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC). The transaction marks a pivotal point for the company, further demonstrating Cascade’s commitment to provide Four Seasons with resources to accelerate growth, support the company’s properties and owners, and expand its strategic goals. KHC retains a 23.75% stake in Four Seasons and remains strongly dedicated to the company’s considerable opportunities.

John Davison – “Always remaining focused on our long-term goals and staying true to our strategic pillars has been the key to the company’s success”.

2022 marks an important moment in the evolution of Four Seasons as we sharpen our development focus in key markets, strengthen our leadership position as an iconic luxury brand and capitalise on new opportunities that will continue to drive and diversify our growth.

Realising these opportunities means investing in our greatest competitive advantage – our people. For more than 60 years, the strength of Four Seasons has been grounded in our unmatched commitment to service excellence.

As we grow with intention, so too do the opportunities for our people, ensuring we create an environment in which they can flourish.

Thriving employees ultimately deliver an exceptional guest experience. And as we adapt to the pandemic with innovations such as our Lead With Carehealth and safety program, the deep connection between the success of our employees and the service delivered to our guests has never been more important to Four Seasons long-term success.

John Davison, President and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Private Retreats at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley

Four Seasons is building on the momentum of its successful 2021 openings in strategic markets, including in Napa Valley, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Taormina, Italy.

The company continues to accelerate expansion plans worldwide with four openings planned for 2022, including exciting new developments in Tamarindo, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Along with the accelerated pace of new openings, the high valuations and increasing demand for existing Four Seasons properties managed on behalf of owners speaks to the strength of the Four Seasons brand.

Four Seasons has more than 50 new projects under planning or development, including in Italy, Spain, China, Japan, Colombia, Belize and across key markets in the US, all of which will add to the company’s existing portfolio of 122 hotels and resorts and 48 residential properties in 47 countries around the world.  

Four Seasons has a strong, strategic growth trajectory – an extensive pipeline of projects that will open in key global destinations, with visionary development partners who share our commitment to excellence. Our residential business in particular is a key pillar in our growth plans, with a five-year pipeline of USD 7 billion in gross sales value comprising more than 30 projects worldwide.

Our continued growth in residential, a space in which we’ve been a leader since 1985, speaks to our deep understanding of the luxury consumer – those who want to live and experience the Four Seasons lifestyle. With our development partners, we continue to capitalise on the right opportunities in markets that are relevant to luxury consumers, elevating our residential offering and ensuring that Four Seasons is the address of choice in every location where we operate.

Bart Carnahan, President, Global Business Development and Portfolio Management, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Four Seasons Private Residences Dubai at Jumeirah

New standalone Private Residences, developments not connected to a hotel or resort, set to open in the coming years include Four Seasons Private Residences Dubai at Jumeirah – a project that fully sold out before public sales began – Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin and Four Seasons Private Residences Marrakech at M Avenue. These new standalone developments join the company’s current collection in London, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Other upcoming residential developments connected to an existing or soon-to-open Four Seasons property include Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis, Nashville, Mumbai, Cartagena and Belize.

As Four Seasons extends its portfolio globally, the company does so with consideration for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities.

Four Seasons claims to be committed to sustainable hospitality, including reducing carbon emissions, conserving water, eliminating waste, and sourcing responsibly.

To further its commitments to address waste and protect local ecosystems, the company aims to remove all single-use plastic from the guest experience by the end of 2022.

Four Seasons has a long history of employee care, community support and philanthropy. Central to Four Seasons employee experience and social impact programming is the company’s commitment to supporting cancer research, and the advancement of diversity, inclusion, equality and belonging at Four Seasons corporate offices and properties worldwide.

Last year, Four Seasons announced the appointment of Marc Speichert as the company’s first Chief Commercial Officer.

Four Seasons’ personalisation and guest-focused lens extends to Four Seasons digital ecosystem and investments in technology across these platforms continue to roll out globally, focused on gaining deeper insights to enhance the guest experience.

The evolution of the company’s digital capabilities, driven by Four Seasons award-winning App and Chat and FourSeasons.com, will further personalise every touch point of the guest journey.

With usage growing by nearly 300% since 2019, the App’s industry-leading technology empowers guests and residents to control their Four Seasons experience, engaging with real Four Seasons employees on property who deliver curated service characterised by personal connections and emotional intelligence.

New App and Chat features to be rolled out also include the introduction of a mobile key and mobile payments, as well as enhancements to the restaurant and bar digital experience.

Contact your GTM Account Manager to book rooms at Four Seasons properties, anywhere in the world.


New Coronavirus travel restrictions announced

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published updated travel restriction information for passengers travelling to a number of international destination countries.

The restrictions vary by destination country and, in some cases, by nationality. They include details of mandatory self-isolation, immediate quarantine, completion of Health Clearance Forms on-board flights, visas and e-visas being invalidated and the ending of some visa exemptions.

The countries for which travel restrictions have been updated are Antiga and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Chinese Tapei, Cook Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmr, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

For the updated travel restriction information on each of these countries, please visit the IATA website, here https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm

American Airlines applies for additional service at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

American Airlines has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate additional services to Tokyo Haneda from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

American’s application is a result of the U.S. and Japan reaching a tentative agreement to expand access at Haneda, which would open up to twelve additional daytime slot pairs for U.S. carrier operations.

American Airlines President Robert Isom said,

Tokyo is an important hub for our Pacific Joint Business with Japan Airlines. Enhanced service at Haneda would give our customers better access to downtown Tokyo and open up JAL’s domestic network with flights to destinations like Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka.

American currently operates one daily flight between Los Angeles and Haneda, which began in 2016. An additional flight from Los Angeles would provide American’s customers with even more options and a convenient schedule between Tokyo and the airline’s West Coast hub. Additionally, Dallas Fort Worth, American’s largest hub, serves as an important gateway to Asia with proven local and connecting traffic. With two daily flights, customers travelling from Haneda to Dallas Fort Worth would be able to connect to and from more than 800 daily flights and more than 200 destinations throughout American’s vast network.

American’s proposed Haneda service would be operated as part of the airline’s Pacific Joint Business with JAL. The Pacific Joint Business was established in 2011 and covers travel among 11 countries in Asia and North America. It allows the two airlines to coordinate schedules, network and service to give more than 3.1 million annual customers access to up to 23 daily trans-Pacific flights from 15 gateway cities in Asia and North America.

UNITED AIRLINES APPLIES FOR SIX NEW ROUTES FROM HANEDA AIRPORT

United Airlines applies to serve Tokyo from six US airports

United Airlines has announced that it has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation for a total of six daily non-stop flights to Tokyo Haneda Airport from Newark Liberty International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Guam’s A.B. Won Pat International Airport.

Pending completion of an aviation agreement between the U.S. and Japanese governments later this year, and slots awarded by DOT, the flights are expected to begin service by the summer of 2020.

United has presented a proposal maximised to meet consumer demand: the flights from five U.S. mainland hub cities and Guam will connect Tokyo Haneda with 112 U.S. airports, representing approximately two thirds of U.S.-Tokyo demand, or more than three million annual Tokyo bookings.

With United’s proposed routes representing five of the six largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. mainland and a combined population of nearly 56 million, the new flights requested in this proceeding will provide consumers with more choices and more convenient options when selecting Tokyo Haneda for their travel plans.

United President Scott Kirby said:

If awarded by the DOT, these new nonstop flights would expand United’s best-in-class Japan route network to better meet demand from U.S. consumers and businesses. Tokyo is a hub of 21st century global commerce and innovation. Our proposed flights to Tokyo Haneda will offer an unrivalled experience and maximise choice and convenience for our customers traveling between the United States and Tokyo for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

United’s proposed daily flights from Newark/New York, Los Angeles and Guam would supplement the airline’s existing daily flights between those hubs and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, while United would shift existing daily nonstop Chicago, Washington D.C. and Houston flights from Tokyo Narita to Tokyo Haneda.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers’ best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to this announcement, United recently released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats. The multimillion-dollar investment in improving inflight entertainment options will benefit the more than 29 million people expected to fly United’s DIRECTV-enabled planes this year.

Finnair Super Deals To The Far East.

Fly Finnair to the Far East this winter for prices (excluding airport taxes) starting from just £49 (Delhi)! Be quick though, the selling period for this offer ends on the 11th December.

Fly from either London, or Manchester to : Hong Kong SAR, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore or India. Flights are via Helsinki, advertised as the shortcut route between Europe and Asia, due to the Trans-Siberian route flown by Finnair. There are some blackout dates, namely the Christmas holidays, but depending upon your destination, travel to some destinations is permitted right through to 30 June 2013.

Finnair is a One World alliance carrier : http://www.oneworld.com/

Amazing Finnair Prices to Asia!

Book air fares to China & Japan from just £62!

For a limited period only Finnair are selling flights from London & Manchester to various destinations in China & Japan, however, the selling period ends on 12th November 2012. The headline fare of £62 applies to Chongqing in China. The highest fare to any of the following destinations is only £123 (prices exclude airport taxes and fuel surcharge) : Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka & Nagoya.

Whilst the sales period ends on 12 November, travel can take place right through to 31st March 2013.

NB. Finnair flights connect via Helsinki, which is widely regarded as an efficent airport to transfer in, with minimal time spent on the ground.