奢华旅游放低身段渡难关

    奢华旅游业江河日下。史蒂夫•凯斯旗下的高端旅游公司Exclusive Resorts最近新开设了一个私人俱乐部Portico，专门帮助会员以相对低廉的价格享受奢华的度假设施。

    按照Exclusive Resorts的现有业务，会员需一次性交纳170,000美元的入会费，旅行期间每天另外支付1,045美元。今天正式开张的Portico俱乐部也实行类似的制度，只不过没有设定每天支付的费用。Portico会员需交纳10,000美元的入会费和2,500美元的年费，作为交换，他们能以低于市场的价格入住全球各地从楠塔基特岛到波拉波拉岛的度假村。这些设施的房价大多为500到3,000美元一晚，为人们提供五星级酒店标准的个性化服务。

    最近几年，奢华旅游业与美国其他行业一样在艰难中求生存。据酒店业调研公司STR Global的调查，2011年1-8月，度假酒店平均每日的房价涨到了252.15美元，相比2010年同期的237.06美元有所回升，但相比2008年同期的285.47美元却有所下降。

    菲利普•布吉尼翁曾任地中海俱乐部（Club Med）首席执行官，现任Exclusive Resorts CEO。据他介绍，高端旅游市场正在回暖。人们仍然希望体验奢华旅游但又不愿支付高额的费用，他的公司之所以新开Portico俱乐部，就是看准了这个商机。他在接受《财富》(Fortune)记者的采访时就当前经济环境下的旅游业及游客需求的变化发表了自己的看法。

    当初怎么想到要开设这个俱乐部的？

    6个月前我刚加入公司的时候，就把所有的事情都考虑了一遍。我琢磨了一下公司度过2008-2010年这段时间后有什么办法可以继续发展壮大。当时就有了创建Portico俱乐部的想法。我觉得这个点子很不错，可以实施，而实施的时间就是现在。

    你喜欢这个想法的什么地方？

    这个构想并不是要扩大已有的市场，而是开拓全新的市场。现在要是想去体验奢华旅游，一般有两种选择。一是住酒店，然后整个过程就没什么悬念了，大多数品牌酒店都有不少旅游线路可供选择，但它们的服务基本都是一样的。另一种选择就是租度假屋，这样可以和家人拥有更大的自主空间，但与此同时也享受不到酒店式的服务。不知道度假屋到底会不会安排管家，旅行的过程中也存在很多不确定性，没有一个完整连贯的行程安排。所以我们坚信，这两者的中间地带肯定存在市场，很多人都希望在旅途中既能体验更周到的服务，同时又能保证行程安排完整连贯、更有计划性。Portico能让人们入住宽敞的豪华度假别墅，同时享受高级酒店的待遇。

    Luxury travel is going downstream. Exclusive Resorts, a high-end travel company owned by Steve Case, is launching Portico, a new private club that lets members access luxury vacation properties at more moderate prices than they otherwise could.

    With Exclusive Resorts' existing service, members pay a one-time membership fee of $170,000, and another $1,045 per day for their travel. Portico, which officially launched to the public today, has a similar concept but it has no set rate per day. Portico members pay an initiation fee of $10,000, plus an annual fee of $2,500. In exchange, they have access to below-market prices for vacation homes around the globe, from Nantucket to Bora Bora. Most properties cost between $500 to $3,000 a night and come with a personalized service like you might find at a five-star hotel.

    The luxury travel industry has struggled along with the rest of the U.S. economy during recent years. The average daily room rate at luxury hotels rose to $252.15 in the first eight months of 2011, according to the hospitality research firm STR Global. That's up from $237.06 during the same period in 2010, but down from $285.47 in 2008.

    Philippe Bourguignon, CEO of Exclusive Resorts and the former CEO of Club Med, says high-end travel is picking up again. The company launched Portico with the idea that people still want to have a luxurious vacation, but they want to pay less for it. He spoke to Fortune about the travel industry in today's economy and the changing needs of vacationers.

    How was the idea for this club created?

    When I joined the company six months ago, I obviously assessed everything. I looked to see how after this period of 2008 to 2010 we could grow as a company. The idea for Portico was already there, so I decided the idea was a very good one and the time to launch it was now.

    What was it about this concept that you liked?

    This is not about growing an existing market -- this is creating a new market. Today, if you want to go on a luxury vacation, you have basically two choices. You can go to a hotel and you know what you will get. Most hotel brands have a wide selection of destinations, but they basically all offer the same service. Your other choice is renting a vacation home, where you obviously have more space for yourself and your family, but you don't have the service that you would find at a hotel. You might have a housekeeper, you might not. It's not predictable and consistent. We strongly believe there is a market in the middle where so many people want to have that consistent and more predictable experience with better service. Portico gives you hotel experience in a big nice luxury villa.