“Luxury private accommodations” is one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. Even hotel brands now are building villas and residences as a part of their expansion. TDM interviews Wolf Worster, CEO at Sirreti Group to get a better insight into Sirreti, ultra luxury rental properties and more….

Travel Daily Media (TDM): Can you share with our global readers a little bit about Sirreti, where does your international membership extend and which new markets you are targeting?

Wolf Worster (WW): I founded The Sirreti Group in 2021 to support the International luxury and ultra-luxury vacation rental sector. The vision was to create a business community as a networking hub that also delivers on-going education and continued professional development, a series of global events and workshops and an annual conference. Sirreti as an independent source also created The Sirreti Insights Report, which informs members of the very latest trends, data analysis and expert commentary on the luxury & ultra-luxury vacation rental market. The Sirreti Group are considered to be the thought leaders in this sector and now have members from over 30 International markets (65% being in Europe). We are not a booking platform and we take no commission from awarding an accreditation to The Sirreti List. The Sirreti Group exists purely to champion excellence and drive innovation within its community of ultra and luxury rental properties and provides insight and knowledge for their members and the media about this specific sector.
We are looking forward to accepting new members shortly from the Caribbean, South Africa, the UK and Italy.

TDM: How have you seen luxury travel trends change post covid? How is the luxury villa rental market evolving? Kindly share reports / statistics.

WW: Yes, the growth in “luxury private accommodations” is one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. New markets are being created, property management firms are using more technology than ever before, and we see the ultra high-end rates of new villas be significantly higher than ever. Our most recent members are properties with rates of over $30,000 per night. The other trend we see is more hotel brands building villas and residences as a part of their expansion.

TDM: What is your definition of luxury and uber luxury villas?

WW: I get asked this often and it is really the guests who have defined this. The answer ranges depending on the demographic of the guest. Some say it is the service (house manager/butler/daily maid service), the destination (high profile location), the views, the physical space, and even privacy defines luxury for some. Uber luxury, or ultra luxury as we refer to often related to the price point as well – the $30,000/night properties we are now seeing more often.

TDM: What are the main challenges of your business and which main hurdles passed have put you in your current strong position?
WW: One of the challenges is ensuring our members provide consistency,  deliver quality of service and amenities – something they can control within the walls of their properties. It is vital that they adhere to strict minimum levels of service, better qualified and trained teams and on property staff.

TDM: What kind of mutually beneficial relationship do you share with luxury travel agents? How do you help them plan the perfect getaways for high-net-worth individuals?

WW: All of our members (almost 2,000 properties in total) must work with the travel trade to optimise their business – from marketing material, training, familiarisation trips to competitive attractive commission levels. Our members must also meet a minimum standard of properties and services thereby giving luxury travel agents the ultimate reassurance that their client needs will be met and hopefully surpassed.

TDM: Kindly give us a peek into the SIRRETI MEMBERS’ MEETING to be held in November 2024. Apart from the networking and meetings, what can members look forward to?

WW: The travel trade will be introduced to some amazing global properties some never marketed before. Further, we are proud to include some very interesting speakers at the event including a high-profile luxury brand communications expert. He is widely regarded as the pioneer of luxury residential branding – a concept he introduced me to almost two decades ago. His clientele includes Quincy Jones, Giorgio Armani, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez, Pink, Brad Pitt, and Oprah Winfrey. Our members will be treated to an informative dynamic environment with guest speakers as well as networking opportunities – it is intense but it’s also a lot of fun.