LVMH sells its California hotel El Encanto: a strategic repositioning?
The LVMH group is selling off its only hotel in the United States. A tactical choice as it prepares to open a future Bvlgari hotel in Miami.
Luxury giant LVMH has announced the sale of the Belmond El Encanto hotel in Santa Barbara, California. This prestigious resort, nestled in the hills overlooking the Pacific, has been sold for $82.2 million to a consortium led by Culver Capital and brothers Tyler and Justin Mateen – the latter of whom co-founded the Tinder app.
The LVMH group had acquired this property in 2018 when it bought the Belmond hotel company, a key player in high-end hospitality on an international scale. The Belmond El Encanto, inaugurated in 1918, is a place steeped in history. It has played host to several iconic figures from Hollywood cinema and continues to seduce with its 90 suites and bungalows, spread over three hectares, in an elegant Mediterranean style.
The establishment now joins The Leading Hotels of The World, a closed circle of luxury hotels including La Mamounia in Marrakech and The Ritz in London.
LVMH withdraws… only to come back?
However, this withdrawal does not mean that LVMH is withdrawing from the upscale hotel sector in the United States for good. At the same time, the group has confirmed its intention to open a new hotel under the Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts banner in Miami Beach by 2028. A strategic location in a city renowned for its tourist appeal, art of living and international clientele.
And Paris?
Although the operation concerns the United States, the subject resonates in Paris, the luxury capital where LVMH already owns several emblematic addresses, including the Cheval Blanc Paris located in the Samaritaine. This strategic repositioning suggests a desire on the part of the group to concentrate its investments on projects with very high visibility or symbolic potential, rather than maintaining a scattered presence.
Read also: Loro Piana in turmoil: luxury subcontracting called into question
