Relais & Chateaux has announced that it is to launch a new website in June, featuring more content than its existing online platform, including blogs and videos.
International president of the boutique hotels and restaurant association Philippe Gombert said each of its 540 members would have a page on the website, which will be translated into seven languages.
"This will become our best form of communication," said Gombert. "We will have much more content on there than we have at the moment, more videos and blogs from our chefs.
"The website will showcase all of the Relais & Chateaux properties."
He said one of the main aims of the new website was to create links between the different members to encourage guests loyal to one to visit another in a different destination but ‘with the same spirit’.
In the UK, Gombert said Relais & Chateaux members were still focused on trying to woo back business from North America, which fell away during the financial crisis in 2008.
"They have not recovered all of this lost business yet, so this remains their main focus. They are doing pretty well – turnover in UK and Ireland is up 13% to 14% this year – but they want to focus on the US market and in encouraging guests to go from one Relais & Chateaux property to another."
Relais & Châteaux is an exclusive collection of more than 540 hotels and restaurants managed by a family of independent owners and chefs.
The selection process includes an application reviewed by the Network Commission, an interview with the president and finally a review of all the information by the board of directors.
