Elegant Resorts hails successful 2025 at annual supplier awards

Elegant Resorts hailed a successful 2025 at its annual supplier awards ceremony in London on November 3.

 

Gordon McCreadie, who stepped up as managing director of Elegant Resorts and If Only following the departure of Lisa Fitzell in February, said departed revenue and intake revenue are up 14% and 12% respectively year on year.

 

Elegant Resorts’ average transaction value has also increased by £2,200 compared with the previous year and now sits at £23,300 per booking.

 

McCreadie added: “For 2026, our forward bookings are nearly 20% up [year on year] so we’re going into 2026 in the strongest position than we ever have before, so things are positive.

 

“I know there’s a lot of doom and gloom out there, but the luxury sector seems to be more robust than other sectors.”

 

Trade sales are up more than 14% compared to 2024, with McCreadie labelling travel agent partners “a very important part of our growth strategy”.

 

Sales through Elegant Resorts’ Chairman’s Club and Private Travel Designers are also both up 12% year on year.

 

McCreadie said the operator had invested “heavily” in technology this year to improve its interaction with customers and support teams internally.

 

The brand is investing in a new CRM system to give it “greater access” to customers and their buying habits in order to be “more bespoke” in how they interact with them.

 

The operator has also bought in a new documentation solution as well as a new internal project management platform to help teams be “more structured and organised”.

 

McCreadie said Elegant Resorts was also at the “final hurdle” of getting its Travelife sustainability certification.

 

He said: “That’s been two years in the making. It’s been a lot of work to get to where we are, and we can see how important this accreditation is to the business and to us as an organisation. Customers and partners are looking more around the sustainability side of our business, so to have that accreditation is a big one for us.”

 

Simon Jeffries, head of product and sports division Elegant Sports, said Africa, Asia and America are selling “really well” and now combined make up more than 20% of Elegant Resorts’ total sales. Cruise bookings are also up 48% year on year.

 

“We’re becoming known among our customers as not just beach specialists," Jeffries said. "Whatever the destination, luxury will always be the common denominator. It’s not about diluting what we do, it’s about understanding our luxury customers and what they want in 2025 and beyond."

 

Jeffries also credited the launch of Elegant Sports in July, claiming half of enquiries for the specialist operator are coming from travel agents.

 

“That shows us there’s actually a real need from the travel agent community to work with a small operator they can rely on and that they can trust to sell these packages,” he said.

 

“The world of sports, I’ve learned very quickly, is very different; you really need to know what you’re doing. We have a team that absolutely knows what we’re doing and with the backing of our colleagues at Portland Travel Group, we feel it’s a very successful venture.”