Staying in Style: Luxury Brands Take to the Hotel Business

MILAN — Despite the economy and the travel industry’s recent doldrums, a number of designer houses and luxury brands are forging ahead with their hotel businesses. Fashion executives see the opportunity as means for brand extension, as well as a way to promote their home lines to worldly consumers.

Late last week alone, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton revealed it will open two more Cheval Blanc hotels as part of a new division called LVMH Hotel Management. The two hotels, in Oman and Aswan, Egypt, won’t be owned by LVMH, but it will collect management fees.