Distancing desires drive pick-up in bookings for private villas, resorts

Exclusive and typically secluded, private villas and self-contained properties are seeing bookings from people eager to resume their travel but with safe distancing in a post-Covid-19 world.

Bawah Reserve, remotely located in Indonesia’s Anambas Archipelago, has recently received bookings for extended family stays and corporate retreats scheduled for later this year, and bookings are set to rise as travel restrictions lift.

Elite Haven’s Arsana Estate in Tabanan Bali, Indonesia promises privacy and space in luxurious surroundings

Kristen Graff, director of sales and marketing, told TTG Asia: “Bawah Reserve’s remote location, limited number of suites and maximum of 72 guests at any one time make it an excellent destination to holiday in. Couple this with six islands for guests to explore and four dining outlets in addition to private and in-room dining, and you could spend your time here with very limited interaction.”

Jon Stonham, CEO of Elite Havens, believes that villas are the “perfect safe alternative to crowded hotels”.

Stonham remarked: “They provide the luxury and now, safety of privacy, space, and flexibility. (They make the best locations), handpicked for their idyllic outlook or for being close to the action.”

Resorts in Vietnam – one of the earliest countries in Asia to emerge from a brief lockdown in April – are reporting rebounding numbers.

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort’s ultra-private Bai Bac Bay villas and Sun Peninsula Residence villas have seen keen interest, revealed general manager, Seif Hamdy.

Hamdy: keen interest in InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort’s private villas and residences

Hamdy said the majority of InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort’s bookings are now “coming back from the key markets in Asia, but mostly for 3Q2020 and 4Q2020″.

He added that changes have been made to “virtually all aspects of the resort operation”, with measures including staff safety training, the addition of hand sanitisers, social distancing signage, seating limits in its restaurants, and touchless menus in guestrooms as well as all F&B outlets.

“Both (Anantara) resorts in Mui Ne and Quy Nhon (an all-villa resort) have been doing extremely well over the last month as restrictions have been lifted, domestic flights starting, and kids returning at school. Weekends are very robust in both, weekdays less so, but still strong,” said Pieter van der Hoeven, Regional General Manager, Indochina for Minor Hotels.

To ensure utmost privacy for guests along with enhanced health and safety standards, Karen Slocombe, Samujana Villas’ director of sales and marketing, said only registered guests may access the villas. The resort in Koh Samui, Thailand has reduced F&B services as well as other external services to minimise unnecessary contact.

Samujana has also partnered with Portier Technologies to introduce smartphones that guests can use on- and off-property to access all property information, chat remotely with their villa managers and access island-wide dining and activity suggestions deemed “safe” by Samujana staff.

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