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Four Seasons Santa Fe hits high note with opera package

July 20, 2012

Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe

In a move to hopefully entice artsy visitors, Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe is providing an opera lover’s package offered exclusively at this property.

The property-specific package is likely an attempt to attract consumers to a resort through a partnership with the Santa Fe Opera. Four Seasons is promoting this through its Web site and customer reach.

“The Santa Fe opera package demonstrates Four Seasons’ faith in Santa Fe as a luxury market,” said Taylor Rains, account coordinator at Rawle Murdy Associates Inc., Charleston, SC.

“By showcasing a nontraditional offering within the city, Four Seasons is investing in a specific sort of luxury consumer,” he said. “The value of this program comes in the resulting diversification of interest and the subsequent acquisition of new hotel guests.

“Essentially, Four Seasons is showcasing Santa Fe as a viable luxury market for those who enjoy opera, not simply those interested in a spa getaway.”

Mr. Rains is not affiliated with Four Seasons, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe did not respond before press deadline.

Opera season
The opera lovers package allows consumers to visit Santa Fe and one of the more premier opera companies, per Four Seasons.

The package includes accommodations for two for three nights at a luxury casita or suite and the two best tickets available to one performance of The Santa Fe Opera of the customers’ choice.

Room at Four Seasons

Guests will be escorted to and from the opera in a chauffeured Mercedes-Benz.

Consumers will also get a taste of the opera dinner for two, spa credit of $200 per person and a daily breakfast at Terra restaurant.

Terra restaurant

“Santa Fe has an established following among luxury consumers,” Mr. Rains said. “With this campaign, however, Four Seasons is reaching out to new acquisitions for the property.

“By showcasing the diversity of luxury offerings within Santa Fe, Four Seasons will likely attract guests who are loyal to the brand but would not normally consider Santa Fe as in line with their interests,” he said.

Consumers can book through the Four Seasons Web site. It is available for $880 per night with a three-night minimum.

Local flavor
Many luxury hotel brands are directing guests to their properties by highlighting the best attributes of those specific hotels.

For example, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ Georgetown property in Washington is targeting affluent families with a new hotel package that incorporates its partnership with the local Smithsonian museums and galleries and is giving a portion of the proceeds to the institution’s educational mission.

The Smithsonian Experience package caters to families visiting the United States capital by encouraging visits to the nearby museums along with on-property benefits. In fact, quite a few properties of major luxury hotel brands have created packages that are localized and focus on personalized travel (see story).

In addition, the Ritz-Carlton also concentrated on its Georgetown property by establishing a series of on-property summer events that include drive-in movie showings, yoga demonstrations and garden parties that are free of charge.

The property invited locals and visitors to the events as an alternative to other waterfront bars and restaurants on the harbor in the nation’s capital, per the hotel (see story).

Hotel-specific packages bolster the individual services of a property and are tailored for a destination. These packages would not work anywhere else but the single property.

In addition, broad campaigns as well as property-specific ones seem to have the same goal – to strengthen brand loyalty by offering personalized service.

“It is necessary for large international brands like Four Seasons to market each property independently while still marketing the brand as a whole,” Mr. Rains said. “Each property offers a unique set of experiences based on location and culture.

“By incorporating this into a property’s marketing message, the hotel brand is able to reach consumers looking for a travel experience,” he said. “The overall brand identity serves to offer assurance that the luxury quality at each property will be consistent.”

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Rachel Lamb is an associate reporter on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at rachel@napean.com.