Originally Posted by
Vince Chan
I have always thought IC as a inferior brand comparing to JW and Conrad, because among 180 ICs in the world, almost half of them can barely meet upscale requirement.
If you traveled a lot, you will see consistency. If you only been to Hong Kong, Bangkok or Osaka, you will probably thought IC is a premier brand.
Unfortunatelly IC is not a consistent luxury brand. There are single properties where you feel luxury such as at Carlton Cannes or Le Grand Paris Club Level, but not Frankfurt Germany or Vienna.
Originally Posted by
Vince Chan
JW is not top but it't not that bad either.
Thought I haven't been to mainland China for almost 10 years, I have checked Flyertea forum from China and Have the information that in China JW's recognition is very close to St regis in China.
I know some of the older JW in domestic US is quite ordinary, but internationally it's very good, so is Grand Hyatt. Big Difference. And while Shangrila is considered Luxury in EU or North America and Japan, it's only upper upscale at most, in Asia,especially in mainland china, you can find this 5 star chain in most cities competing with Sheraton not Four Seasons, it is not exclusive at all.
JW has a high recognition in Asia, same as Conrad. As real luxury hotels. The hard product is much better than in Western Europe and probably also the US, and the service is generally significantly better in Asia than in our world, which depends also on the attitude of the local people which is more service orientated. I hate coming back to Germany after stays in Asia (just like 10 days ago) and feel the grumpy manner of my compatriots.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
I'll agree that JW in Asia is probably closer to the luxury level than it is in the U.S.
Which almost makes you wonder: why do they slap that brand on less-than-luxurious properties in the U.S.? Doesn't that harm the image of the brand worldwide? Or did this all evolve when travel and branding in general were much more regional in nature: an Asian JW guest might not ever know or care what the brand was like in North America, and vice versa?
Similar story for Conrad: in Asia, they're really close to luxury. Great service, wonderful lounges, etc. In the U.S., they're....good. They're nicer Hiltons, basically.
Fully agree. I never understood this. In Asia JWs and Conrads can compete with the genuine luxury brands, needless to say, recognized by rich and known locals, who prefer the class of their restaurants, even at Marriotts, Sheratons and Hiltons (which are considered here more derogatively as "hotel" cuisine by better people, correctly IMHO). JW is also in East Europe considered as luxury brand, such as the JW Grand Bucharest.
So if Mr. Sorenson considers "JW" as a top 3 luxury brand worldwide and he believes in what he says (I believe in what I tell my customers about our brand) he should act accordingly and exhaust the possibilities of the brand, not only in Asia or Eastern Europe, but also in Western Europe and the US. It is not God-given that Aman, MO, FS and so on are considered by many here to be the top of the luxury hotels world nowadays. J.W. Marriott and Conrad Hilton attracted the rich and beautiful in the 60s and 70s to stay and celebrate at their hotels. So why not revive those times.