Austria
- Lifestyle brand strengthens TUI Group’s growth segment Hotels
- Brand footprint to grow from ten to around 100 hotels as early as 2020
TUI Blue will become TUI Group’s global flagship hotel brand: its portfolio will grow from ten to around 100 hotels by 2020. TUI Group is expanding the brand’s footprint, continuing to consolidate its leading position in the global leisure hotel sector. The Group is planning to build TUI Blue as the world’s largest leisure hotel brand within the next few years. From Summer 2020, the Group will cluster the tailored offerings of its hotel brands TUI Blue, TUI Sensimar and TUI Family Life under the TUI Blue flagship brand. The expanded portfolio of TUI Blue hotels will enhance the visibility and relevance of the brand. Customers will benefit from a wider choice of TUI Blue hotels around the world. Apart from their strong footprint in southern Europe and the Caribbean, TUI Group and its Hotels & Resorts segment also focus on other growth regions including South East Asia and the Indian Ocean, which also offer great potential for TUI Blue.
“Hotels remain a strong and attractive growth segment, and TUI has many years of experience as a hotel developer, investor and operator. TUI is the leading international tourism brand. What we were lacking was a hotel brand with a global presence incorporating TUI in its name,” says Fritz Joussen, CEO TUI Group. “Since the development and launch of TUI Blue three years ago, the TUI brand name has become part of the hotel experience. After the successful launch phase of the first ten hotels, building the brand as our global flagship hotel brand is the consistent next step for us to significantly expand our hotel segment, go even more global with the brand and increase the target audience.“ Erik Friemuth, Managing Director TUI Hotels & Resorts, adds: “Comfort, quality, design and authentic experiences of the country – these are the hallmarks of TUI Blue. It is a modern, casual, low-key brand, attractive for different target groups and life phases.“
TUI Blue will provide clear guidance to holidaymakers and travel agents searching for hotel offerings to fit the customers’ preferences. Existing TUI Blue guests particularlyinterested in experiencing an authentic taste of local experiences will find the right hotel in the portfolio offered under the name ”TUI Blue For All“. In line with the previous TUI Sensimar hotel brand, ”TUI Blue For Two“ is an adults-only concept for guests placing the focus of their holiday experience on the time spent together, whereas ”TUI Blue For Families“ offers many different activities designed for all ages and has specifically been tailored to meet the needs of large and small families.
TUI Blue hotels already achieve top net promoter scores. With its new flagship hotel brand, TUI will considerably expand innovative services relating to the hotel stay. Individual services such as ”Select Your Room“ will be available to an even largernumber of guests. Moreover, the technology concept relating to the Blue app will be launched in all hotels so that all guests will benefit from the digital service assistant.
TUI’s other hotel brands and concepts will not be affected. Alongside TUI Blue, TUIGroup’s growth strategy will continue to focus on its traditional RIU brand, its two clubbrands Robinson and TUI Magic Life, and the 5-star resorts run under the TUI Sensatori brand. The strategy pursued to further expand the Group’s market presence is not only being implemented by TUI’s own hotel companies but also supported anddriven further ahead by partnerships with joint venture partners, including Atlantica and Grupotel, and third-party hoteliers. They all embrace and deliver the brand promise made by TUI and TUI Blue.
In the next Summer season and in the Winter 2019/20 season, TUI Sensimar and TUI Family Life hotels will continue to be offered under their current brand names. From Summer 2020, the hotels will reopen under the TUI Blue flagship brand. Further information on the offerings for the individual target groups and comprehensive customer communications activities will follow this autumn.
