Selina hotels lure Milennial and Gen Z travellers with the launch of branded music festivals and wellness retreats. Olivia Palamountain reports
Groovy hospitality brand Selina is adding to its portfolio of hotels with music festivals and large-scale events via new sub-brand, Sims.
With hotels all over the world and a target audience of twentysomething and thirtysomething travellers and digital nomads, the move into music festivals is a natural fit.
The brand is one of few geared towards a Millennial and Gen Z crowd, with design-led accommodations that comprise added coworking, recreation, wellness and local experiences.
Comparable brands include Marriott with its Aloft and Moxy brands; IHG with its Even brand; Accor-backed brands Mama Shelter and The Hoxton; and Tru by Hilton.
Selina will produce the festivals mostly at its own venues and also plans expand into running wellness retreats for companies via a strategic partnership with Mantra, a global retreat operator – something it hopes will ramp up profits to pre-pandemic levels.
“We remain focused on achieving profitability as we grow and scale our platform, and continue to progress towards near-profitable margins,” says Rafael Museri, Selina’s co-founder and CEO.
As reported by Skift, Selina believes there’s a mismatch between supply and demand, given that the lodging spending by young people will soon account for a majority of hospitality revenue.
It forecast that more than two million young people would visit its property for lodging, co-working, or food and beverage this year. The company plans to grow its “coworking, recreation, wellness, and local experiences in sought-after destinations,” which it said would give the company an edge in appealing to millennial and Gen Z travelers.