The creative edge: How to stand out and thrive in the APAC market

Luxury travel in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market is enjoying double-digit growth. According to statistics shared by the Statista Research Department, the luxury hotel and restaurant market is expected to grow by 10% between 2020 and 2025.

What’s more, high-net-worth individuals will drive much of this growth. According to a new comprehensive report from the Luxury Group by Marriott International, 70% of high-net-worth travelers are planning a trip within the APAC region.

To explore how to win over affluent travelers in APAC, we sat down with Marjorie Tann, Oaky’s Customer Success Manager, and Saahil Karkera, Oaky’s VP of Customer Success, for a LowKey by Oaky podcast episode. Keep reading to discover insights on how creativity and upselling can help you stand out in a saturated market, and learn how to convince internal stakeholders to embrace a creative approach to attract high-net-worth individuals.

The changing face of the luxury market in APAC

As the luxury travel market matures in APAC, it’s crucial to identify guest personas you need to cater to. According to Marriott International’s The New Luxe Landscapes: Emerging Luxury Trends in Asia Pacific report, there are three major guest personas you need to keep on your radar:

• “Venture Travelists” - a new generation of bleisure travelers seeking unique, exciting experiences.

• “Experience Connoisseurs” - mainly millennial travelers interested in cultural and immersive travel.

• “Timeless Adventurers” - older travelers desiring bespoke, high-end experiences.

Although they have different reasons for traveling and expectations, they have one thing in common—a desire for unique experiences. In fact, for 87% of high-net-worth travelers, luxury travel means unique, exclusive experiences, as per the New Luxe Landscapes report. These travelers are increasingly seeking experiential and creative offerings, which are critical for hotels to attract and retain guests.

How injecting creativity into upselling helps set you apart

To appeal to these affluent travelers, you need to extend your focus from standard offerings like room upgrades, breakfast deals, and early check-in/late checkout. Instead, you should prioritize the specific personal needs and passions of your guests and then integrate these distinctive guest preferences with your unique selling propositions and location advantages.

This is where creativity comes in. By applying creativity in upselling, you can tailor your deals to be more relevant and exclusive. Here’s how:

• Embrace local experiences

Align your upselling strategies with your unique location and cultural selling points.

Localized experiences that reflect the region’s culture or traditions, such as culturally specific tours or authentic food experiences, not only resonate with guests but also serve as a powerful differentiator for hotels. After all, travelers choose to explore the APAC region for its rich diversity and vibrant traditions.

• Cater to younger generations with “Instagrammable” offers

On top of their own passions, younger, affluent travelers are also more likely to be driven by social media trends. They’re looking for exclusive, shareable experiences.

Hotels can adapt by offering quick, visually appealing experiences that can be easily shared on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Training staff to assist with capturing these “Instagrammable” moments can further enhance guest satisfaction. It can also help boost visibility, as younger generations are also using social media as a search engine and inspiration for their next adventure.

• Let your F&B deals shine

Food and beverage (F&B) services are currently the most successful category for upselling in APAC. As much as 40% of total deals are coming from this category

In fact, according to the New Luxe Landscapes, gastronomy is the key driving factor among high-net-worth travelers. Nearly 90% list it as important, while 40% rank it as very important.

What’s more, guests are willing to pay more for unique gastronomic experiences, making F&B a valuable area for creative deal structuring.

How to convince internal stakeholders to take a creative approach to the guest experience

Do you feel the need to pivot your hotel offerings to make them more creative? If so, how can you ensure that all stakeholders are aligned with this vision?

To achieve this alignment, hotel teams, particularly revenue managers, should collaborate closely with general managers (GMs) to ensure that innovative initiatives are aligned with the hotel's main objectives (e.g., revenue growth, enhanced hotel reputation, etc.).

This might require having to work “backwards” in order for the hotel to go forward. After you have an understanding of the goals, go back to map out how your initiative can meet those key objectives. Presenting data-driven insights and showcasing the impact of personalized services can have on social proof, such as positive guest reviews, can help gain support from GMs.

Let creative upsell examples around the globe ignite your creativity

APAC hotels can take inspiration from successful creative deals in Europe but should localize them to suit their market. Guests have traveled thousands of miles to immerse themselves in local experiences and savor the region’s unique flavors. As such, it’s essential that hotels integrate local traditions or cuisines into deals or create luxury packages like "Treat me like a Maharaja" to offer a royal experience.

You can also look at the finalists and winners of the Oaky Awards 2024 which include hotels located in the APAC region for more location-specific inspiration.

For example, the Anantara Golden Triangle in Thailand made our creative upselling shortlist for their “Royal Enfield Sidecar Experience”. Guests are treated to an exhilarating ride in a sidecar exploring the northern jungles. In fact, they’re the only hotel in Thailand to offer a ride in a sidecar.

Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort serves as a perfect example of how you can look at your immediate surroundings for inspiration. They offer a 2-hour tour during which guests get the chance to plant dragon fruits at a local eco farm.

Final thoughts

With luxury travel in APAC on the rise, capturing a share of this segment is a lucrative opportunity for every hotel. Shifting your focus toward experiential travel and injecting creativity into your upselling offerings, while taking newly emerged personas into account, will help you set yourself apart and provide guests with what they seek.

Make the experiences exciting and shareable. As the younger generation of travelers is a growing market, crafting experiences with social media in mind will not only help you remain relevant but will also reward you with abundant social proof.