The world’s most expensive hotels charged record prices last year as wealthy travellers splashed out for access to amenities such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy and sound baths, defying a slowdown in the broader luxury sector.
Revenue per available room — a key measure of growth in the industry — at ultra-luxury hotels jumped 10.6 per last year, more than three times the annual growth rate for the wider hotel sector, according to figures from analytics company CoStar shared with the FT.
That growth came as average daily rates for an ultra-luxury room climbed to an all-time high of $1,245, up more than 8 per cent on 2024. Occupancy rates rose 2.3 per cent, signalling that the wealthiest travellers did not get “sticker shock” from higher prices since the pandemic — unlike customers at the lower end of the market.
The resilience comes as hoteliers have prioritised higher-paying travellers whose wealth has grown from surging stock markets, and are willing to pay a premium for the claimed health and lifestyle benefits of the most luxurious amenities at high-end hotels.
“Hotels could never get away with these sorts of rates before the pandemic,” said Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy PC Agency. “But we’ve come through a period more recently where inflation appears to be more acceptable, and these consumers — who are hugely resilient, at least at the moment — seem prepared to pay whatever it takes.”
The fortunes of ultra-luxury hotel operators contrast with the rest of the accommodation sector and the broader market for luxury goods, where weak demand is leading to widescale discounting for designer products such as shoes and handbags.
Consultancy Bain estimates that sales of luxury personal goods, such as clothes and jewellery, fell by about 2 per cent to €358bn in 2025.
Revenue per available room slightly lower down the price scale — at upscale hotels and in the broader luxury category — rose between 2.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent in 2025. While that was slower than at their ultra-luxury rivals, it compared with declines for economy and midscale operators as budget-conscious consumers reduced spending.
The divergence was pronounced in the US, reflecting rising inequality as the wealth of people owning assets such as stocks has grown while the living standards of lower-income households have stagnated or fallen.
“Wealthy people have exposure to the stock market, which is at all-time highs,” said Brandt Montour, an analyst at Barclays.
Labour shortages and rising operating costs have prompted some hoteliers to favour a strategy of charging more per room, rather than chasing as many guests as possible. Some of the priciest hotels, such as Las Vegas Sands Corporation’s Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, have even cut the number of rooms to accommodate larger and more expensive suites.
By prioritising higher rates, hotels can “take better care” of guests and attract “a more sophisticated customer”, said Silvio Ursini, executive vice-president for Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts, a joint venture between LVMH-owned jewellery brand Bvlgari and Marriott International.
Bvlgari and its peers have expanded their range of high-end amenities, particularly those that claim to enhance guests’ health, in order to underpin their increasing pricing power. The group’s new hotels will offer services including hyperbaric oxygen therapy and dry-float beds to cater to wealthy travellers’ growing preoccupation with their own longevity.
“Today, with medical science being so advanced, the issue is not really how old can you get,” said Ursini. “It’s how healthy and agile you’ll be.”
Irene Forte, founder of the eponymous skincare brand and a wellness consultant to her father’s luxury hotel chain Rocco Forte Hotels, said longevity and aesthetic technologies were now “just expected” by the wealthiest travellers.
Rocco Forte’s newest hotel, The Carlton Milan, which opened in November, has a “relaxation room” complete with vibration sound beds, which use built-in speakers to send low-frequency vibrations through the body.
The hotel’s spa offers treatments including pressotherapy — which uses air pressure to stimulate circulation — and laser facials. Regular rooms start at about €1,400 a night, and it has a presidential suite costing as much as €17,500 at peak times.
Ultra-luxury hotels can justify higher prices by saying they are constantly investing in the latest technology and wellness “solutions”, said PC Agency’s Charles. “It’s no longer just about being a place where you sleep and eat,” he said. “It’s about being a place where you feel rejuvenated.”
Tom Rowntree, vice-president for global luxury brands at IHG, said wealthy consumers increasingly perceived travel as “an investment in how well [they] live”.
Six Senses, the wellness-focused brand bought by IHG in 2019, is due to open a new hotel in the former Whiteleys department store in Bayswater in April. It will be the first in London to have a magnesium plunge pool — a feature designed to offer silky water that soothes muscles.
Other amenities on offer include electromagnetic field therapy, intended to accelerate the body’s natural healing processes, and “red light saunas”, which target red and near-infrared wavelengths at the skin.
Hoteliers said being able to offer the services was crucial, even if many guests will never use them.
“Fundamentally, luxury is about choices,” said Roland Fasel, chief operating officer at Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of Claridge’s and The Berkeley.
Richard Clarke, an analyst at Bernstein, said ultra-luxury hotels had “found their confidence” to raise prices as they welcomed an emerging cohort of younger travellers, including those made rich by soaring crypto prices.
But other analysts questioned how long the trend could last, with Barclays’ Montour saying higher fees risk becoming “a principles issue” for wealthy customers.
“At those price levels there is zero tolerance for anything but flawless execution,” said Meredith Jensen, analyst at HSBC.