kabarsula OPINION: Why independent boutique hospitality matters in Asia bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Independent hospitality has an important role to play in preserving the richness and diversity of travel throughout Asia, writes Secret Retreats co-founder and managing director, Stéphane Junca. 

In this op-ed, Junca unpacks the region’s changing hospitality landscape as travellers increasingly seek experiences rooted in place, personality and human connection. 

For more than 30 years, I have worked on both sides of hospitality across Asia – as a boutique hotel manager in Bali, a hotel development consultant in China, Director of Relais & Châteaux Asia, and today as Managing Director and co-founder of Secret Retreats.

I have also had the privilege of travelling extensively across the region. I have watched destinations change, tourism grow, new generations of travellers emerge, and the meaning of luxury evolve.

Yet one thing has remained constant for me: Asia is home. That is why, from the beginning, Secret Retreats was conceived with a very clear idea: to focus exclusively on Asia and to champion the independent hospitality businesses that give the region its extraordinary character.

Today, Secret Retreats brings together over 200 independently owned boutique hotels, lodges, cruises, villas and restaurants across Asia together with a constellation of affiliate hotels. But the collection itself is only part of the story. What really defines Secret Retreats is the philosophy behind it.

Independence is part of the experience

Asia is not one destination. It is an extraordinary mosaic of cultures, landscapes, traditions, cuisines and ways of life. Much of what makes travelling here so rewarding comes from discovering places that could not easily be replicated somewhere else.

Many of these places are created and run by independent owners who have a genuine connection to their destination, its “terroir” and the community surrounding them.

They do not have the purchasing power or the global communication and marketing reach of an international hotel group, but they can offer something increasingly valuable: individuality.

In an industry increasingly shaped by standardisation and large hotel chains, there is a real risk that hotels begin to look, feel and even operate the same, regardless of where in the world they are.

For us, preserving individuality is therefore not simply a commercial choice; it is a way of protecting what makes travel meaningful.

Supporting independent hospitality has therefore never been about simply assembling a collection of attractive hotels, it is about protecting diversity in hospitality and giving independent businesses the opportunity to be seen, heard and supported in an increasingly standardised world.

From material luxury to meaningful travel

Perhaps the most significant transformation in luxury travel has been the move away from a primarily material definition of luxury. For many years, luxury was associated with what you could see and possess: the finest hotel, the largest suite, the most exclusive address, the highest level of service.

Today, the emphasis is increasingly shifting towards what you can feel, discover and experience. Travellers are looking for meaningful, personal experiences rooted in a strong sense of place.

Luxury can be the privilege of spending time with a local family, learning about a centuries-old tradition, sharing a meal prepared with ingredients from the surrounding community, meeting artisans, or being welcomed into a village where tourism remains on a human scale.

These interactions create a deeper connection with a destination and often become the memories that travellers value most. In this sense, luxury is becoming less about material abundance and more about access: access to people, places, cultures and experiences that cannot simply be purchased or replicated elsewhere, and for which you need help to be introduced to.

And this is where knowledge and human connection become important. Travellers increasingly value someone who knows a destination intimately, who has experienced it personally and can open doors to people and places they might never discover on their own.

In many ways, this is not a new philosophy for Secret Retreats. It has been at the heart of what we have been doing from the beginning: helping our guests understand a destination, discover new experiences and connect meaningfully with local people.

A community rather than a collection

There is another element that I believe is increasingly important: community. Independent hospitality businesses can sometimes feel isolated in a marketplace dominated by large international groups, powerful distribution platforms, and increasingly sophisticated technology.

We wanted Secret Retreats to be different. Our members remain completely independent. We do not ask them to surrender their identity or become part of a standardised brand. Instead, we create a network in which they can support one another while retaining what makes each property unique.

A hotel in Sri Lanka, a lodge in Borneo, a private island in Indonesia or a small restaurant in Japan may have very little in common operationally. Yet they share something fundamental: a belief that hospitality is about people, place and personality.

That common ground creates a sense of community. We exchange ideas, share knowledge and best practices, create connections and introduce members to travellers and professionals who are looking for something beyond the conventional. The strength of the network comes precisely from its diversity.

Why Asia matters

Remaining exclusively focused on Asia is also a deliberate choice. There is a temptation in the travel industry to continually expand: more destinations, more properties, more markets.

For Secret Retreats, expansion has never been the objective in itself. Asia is large enough, diverse enough and constantly evolving enough to remain a lifelong source of discovery.

After three decades of travelling across the region, I still find places I have never experienced, people I have never met and stories I have never heard.

That sense of curiosity is one of the reasons I believe it is important to maintain a deep regional focus rather than trying to become everything to everyone.

Knowing a region well matters. It allows us to look beyond the obvious, to understand the context behind a property, and to build relationships that go deeper than a commercial listing.

The future of luxury may be less about luxury

Perhaps the most interesting evolution in travel is that the word “luxury” itself is becoming less useful.

A traveller may stay in a beautifully designed five-star hotel and have a wonderful experience. But another traveller may consider a simple room, a remarkable landscape and an unexpected conversation to be the greater luxury.

The difference is not necessarily the price. It is the meaning attached to the experience. For me, the future of hospitality lies increasingly in individuality, authenticity, responsibility and human connection.

It lies in creating places that belong to their destination rather than looking the same wherever they are in the world. And it lies in recognising that independent hospitality has an important role to play in preserving the richness and diversity of travel.

We are not trying to make independent properties look like a global luxury brand. Quite the opposite. We want to help them remain independent, distinctive and true to themselves, while giving them the strength of a community behind them.

After 15 years of building Secret Retreats, I remain convinced that the greatest luxury in Asia is its diversity. Our role is simply to help travellers discover it, experience it and, hopefully, understand why it is worth protecting.