US: French luxury holiday rental brand Le Collectionist has announced the opening of its first office outside of Europe, in St Barts in the Caribbean.
The expansion is seen as a key phase of global growth for the company. It will enable Le Collectionist to take advantage of the booming luxury villa rental market in St Barts, capture a bigger global market share of the villa rental industry, and increase the business’ American customer base.
Between 2020 and 2023, Le Collectionist registered a 150 per cent increase in the number of bookings in the St Barts region, accounting for 60 per cent of the total gross book value [GBV] generated in the Caribbean over the past five years.
Key properties within the St Barts portfolio include Villa Roxanne, Domaine les Roches and Manoir de Lorient. The newly opened office currently consists of two employees, with seasonal team members completing the team from December onwards.
Max Aniort, founder and CEO of Le Collectionist, said: “Expanding to the St Barts region was a natural next step for Le Collectionst, we look forward to seeing this part of the business continue to flourish.”
Founded in 2014, Le Collectionist was created to meet the growing demand for highly personalised, exclusive and incomparable holiday experiences. It curates an exclusive collection of exceptional homes, villas and chalets in 30+ destinations such as the French Riviera, the south west of France, the Balearic Islands, Portugal, Italy, the Alps, Morocco, South Africa and Costa Rica.
Last December, the company raised €60 million in growth funding to accelerate the expansion of the business through acquisitions. Prior to that, Le Collectionist had acquired Ibiza-based luxury villa rental and concierge business, Bonder & Co, in 2017, and winter sports chalet company Bramble in July 2021.
