“It’s a niche, but very competitive”, and it’s the customers who ask for it. Luxury hotel brands are increasingly turning their attention to yachts, cruises and private jets: ultra-luxury customers “expect 6-star service”.
Luxury hotel brands are increasingly expanding their business to private jets and cruises to captivate their high-end clients.
Renowned hotel giants, such as chains Four Seasons, Aman e Ritz-Carltonare transforming their commercial offerings and venturing into private jet travel and cruises to retain and attract customers with ‘deep pockets’ — an appealing niche market, analysts explain.
Private jet tours
According to , which spoke to managers at the three listed hotels, Four Seasons and Aman have been leading luxury air travel through private jet travel.
The launched its multi-week jet trips in 2015 with a customized 48-seat Airbus A321LRneo. , with its elegant 19-seater, lounge-style Airbus ACJ319, began similar trips in 2013.
“We are driven by demand from our guests, who often ask us to expand into certain categories,” said Aman’s COO.
Both brands create itineraries that combine global travel with stays at their luxury properties — an immersive luxury experience.
Although they are still an addition to the company’s main activity, hotels, these new businesses create a “halo effect” for the brand — an extension of its core business and another way to maintain relationships with loyal customers, says Alejandro Reynal, CEO of Four Seasons.
As demand increased, Four Seasons expanded its hotel offerings. jet travelwith several 2025 itineraries already on the waiting list.
Cruise fashion
The Ritz-Carlton debuted its yacht collection with the launch of the in 2022. The 149-suite ship, designed with a yacht-like ambiance and a nearly 1-to-1 guest-to-staff ratio, has been a “game changer” in the ultra-luxury cruise segment — the yacht’s success has led the company to plan its third ship for 2025.
This wave of high-end cruisers has inspired competition. Four Seasons will launch its 95-suite ship in 2026, promising unparalleled luxury with features like private elevators and two-mile staterooms.
“The luxury cruise market is niche but very competitive,” Patrick Scholes, lodging and leisure research analyst at Truist Securities told Insider.
Unlike traditional cruises, these ventures give priority to exclusivity, intimacy and brand loyalty over scale.
“Our customers travel because, firstly, it is Aman and, secondly, the destination”, says the hotel company’s head of operations.
The goal is to attract customers to these offerings not because of the destination, but because of their confidence in the brand’s commitment to luxury.
“Customers expect six-star service: they better do it well”, reinforced Scholes.
