Speaking at its supplier awards event at The Savoy, managing director Lisa Fitzell also highlighted how the company has set up a plan to be carbon neutral by 2026, already having reduced its carbon footprint by 64% via series of initiatives.

“We will also be looking at how we can grade the hotels we work with more in terms of these kinds of categories,” Fitzell said.

The supplier awards event – which was the operator’s first to be held in person since before the pandemic – saw more than 110 hoteliers, airline representatives and DMCs gather at the hotel, where Fitzell told them 2022 was turning into “a phenomenal year”. Revenue is 15% up on 2019 despite Elegant Resorts being 3% down on passengers, she said.

She said the leap was driven by a consistently higher average booking value which had “gone through the roof”. “We’ve seen a 15% rise in that – up from around £15,000 to £21,000 – and in particular, we’re seeing average bookings through agents of £35,000,” Fitzell said. “Up until September, a week didn’t go by without a £100,000 booking and we’re very grateful for that. We know there are issues out there, but we are not feeling it. Our customers are more loyal than ever.”

Redmond Walsh, CEO of Portman Travel Group – of which Elegant Resorts and If Only are part – said: “We got through it because we looked after our customers and long-term relationships with suppliers who worked with us. We will close out 2022 in a very ambitious way and have big plans for 2023.”

Elegant Resorts has been building a portfolio of Private Travel Designers – independent travel consultants who work for the operator – and Fitzell said sales through them were up 35%. “We will double the number of Private Travel Designers in the next few years, and a new manager will oversee their growth, with workshops and systems integrations planned in 2023.”

As part of “heavy investment in the product team”, around 85 new products have been introduced, and a Wellness Collection will be launching in the new year, reflecting the boom in wellbeing travel. “Our clients are investing even more in themselves now, and this will help us move along with them,” Fitzell said, adding a big focus had been on her own staff’s welfare.

She said the company’s “strong team” has expanded by 30% overall. “We haven’t had a mass exodus. Our vision is to be the best at luxury travel and also be the best place to work. Having a community of people who want to come into work is important. The numbers work themselves out if you build the culture.”

She also said If Only had been “completely transformed” since it was bought by the group in 2019 adding that team had done “a phenomenal job on moving the product upwards”.

The operator’s Chairman’s Club was also set for a relaunch, Fitzell added. “They are such an engaged community, and we entertained around 400 of these clients over the past year. We will tweak it so it’s more reflective of where we are as a business today. We will also launch a cruise club so we can market to them in a new way as cruise gets ever more popular.”

Awards presented included Best Newcomer – 02 Beach Club and Spa, Barbados; Best Sustainability Initiatives – Costa Navarino, Greece; Most Supportive Tourist Board – Barbados Tourism Marketing; Most Supportive Cruise Line – Regent Seven Seas; Best General Manager – Nicolas Khairallah, Gili Lankanfushi, Maldives; Travel Personality – Lisa Darchambaud (Mautourco and Gili Lankanfushi); and Long-Standing Contribution – Olivier Louis, One&Only Dubai.