The next building block in the evolution of the Luxury Escapes brand has been laid with the opening of the company’s third retail store.
Traveltalk was among a small group of media invited to attend the unveiling of the swanky boutique premises in Westfield Chermside in Brisbane. The 186-square-metre store is the company’s first bricks and mortar retail outlet in the Sunshine State.
Andrew McEvoy, Luxury Escapes Chairman, welcomed guests at a cocktail party ahead of the official opening. Those attending included partners, suppliers, influencers and special guest Natalie Bassingthwaighte (below).
“You’re all partners, customers and friends and we are really appreciative of your business,” Mr McEvoy said.
“This is our third store, following our openings in Chadstone in Melbourne, Bondi Junction in Sydney and now here in Chermside.”
Describing the look and feel of the store, Mr McEvoy quoted Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab, who labelled it as ‘great airport lounge meets Apple concept store’.
“It’s not a hole in the wall travel company. We want you to feel like you’re on holiday when you walk in.
“60 per cent of our business books online, another third will book by calling someone and the final six per cent come in here. But what happens in here is the booking is exponentially higher than online or a sales call because the consultants here look after everything.
“It’s also a branding exercise for us. A lot of people don’t know us, surprisingly, even though we have 18 million members globally, and then they come across this beautiful store and realise that we are real.
“The big feedback we get on a lot of our deals is that they are too good to be true and when they see a physical place like this they feel confident and they know that our deals are true.”
George Berry Studio led a multi-million-dollar transformation of the site, creating a relaxed and premium haven for Queensland travellers to enjoy face-to-face and personalised travel advice on the best destinations and deals from in-house expert travel experts.
“While some Australians are starting to use AI tools to help map out their trips, when it comes to actually booking the holiday, personal service and human interactions still matter,” added Mr McEvoy (above).
“We did a recent survey that found 45 per cent of Aussies prefer to speak to a real person when booking. Our new boutique in Queensland will give Brisbane travellers a really great way to plan and book a holiday, in particular for those high-value trips, or ones that require an extensive or complicated itinerary.
“Sometimes travellers know exactly where they want to go. Other times, they’re looking for a little inspiration and our team will give it to them in spades, along with barista coffee and celebratory bubbles when they make their booking, so the whole experience is more luxury airline lounge versus a traditional retail outlet.”
In an opening day promotion, customers got to spin a prize wheel to take a share of the $100,000 prize pool. Guests walked away with holidays to Thailand, luggage and prize vouchers.
Speaking about the choice of site for the new store, Mr McEvoy called Queensland the “ultimate Australian holiday destination”.
“You’re a big fan of your own state and interstate travel is huge here. You guys get holidays and the big thing for us is that you also take them.
“We’re big in Bali, the Maldives, Fiji, Vietnam and Thailand and Queenslanders are great travellers and we’re really happy that we’re here and working with you all.”
