Trade sales for Elegant Resorts for the first 10 weeks of the year are up 14% compared with the same period in 2024.
New managing director Gordon McCreadie said bookings through agents and Elegant Resorts’ Private Travel Designers team – which together account for about 30% of the operator’s total sales – were “outperforming” other channels.
“As a business we’re trading at +10% so trade’s outperforming the other channels which is really great to see,” he said.
“Obviously we’d always like more but we appreciate agents have got choice, and we just need to give them a reason to choose us.”
McCreadie said Elegant Resorts’ recent brand refresh, which saw it introduce a new colour palette, logo and design assets, had helped “drive consumers to agents”.
McCreadie moved from general manager of sister brand If Only to managing director of both operators at the end of February following the departure of Lisa Fitzell after a seven-year tenure. He said his focus in the new role was “about fine-tuning, rather than radical change”.
“In my view, we just need to find what makes Elegant, Elegant. I don’t know if it’s maybe lost a little bit of that. It’s [about] finding its mojo again and getting it back to where it belongs. And we see the trade as a key part of that,” he said.
The operator’s trade strategy for 2025 will be focused on “re-engaging more agents” through a range of events, including two fam trips, set to take place in Marbella and Mauritius, as well as luxury incentives, wellness days and dinners.
McCreadie praised the operator’s agent loyalty programme, unveiled last October, which sees top-performing agent partners receive priority placement on fam trips, training sessions, marketing support and access to Elegant Resorts’ luxury concierge service, among other benefits.
“There’s a lot more players in the luxury market than there were a decade or so ago and Elegant has maybe not been as creative in how we interact with agents so it’s [about] bringing a fresh approach to that, to mirror the fresh approach we’re bringing from a brand perspective,” McCreadie said.
Elegant Resorts will unveil its new sports travel brand, Elegant Sports, “in the next few weeks”.
The new sports division was announced last July when the operator hired Carrier’s former head of product and commercial Simon Jeffries.
As the brand nears launch, Elegant Sports has recruited Jennie Carter, who joins with 20 years’ experience in luxury sports travel, as product and operations manager.
The operator will offer packages and tickets to major sporting events including the Grand Prix, rugby and cricket in partnership with Destination Sport, owned by Elegant Resorts’ parent Portman Travel Group.
“I think it’s a market segment that’s been overlooked, other than [by] those small, niche operators. And for us, there’s a ready-made client base here who will hopefully embrace it and look to book a few trips,” McCreadie said.
Both Elegant Resorts and If Only have reportedly seen an increase in tailor-made bookings, with Asia up 75% year-on-year and Australasia up 250% year-on-year.
“What we’re seeing with those [destinations] is it’s not just single-centres. So in Asia, it’s Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Japan. In Australasia, it’s Australia, New Zealand, Fiji. So it’s customers looking to be a bit more immersive and looking to do more things, not just a simple stay,” McCreadie said.
The Caribbean, Elegant Resorts’ “core” destination, is up 12% year-on-year, while Europe has been “a little slower” though McCreadie was confident a late-booking market would see the operator emerge from Q2 “ahead of prior years”.