Thirty years ago, the concept of “luxury backpacking” was considered a joke by the hospitality industry. When Bernhard Bohnenberger—known in the industry as “BB”—first began building the Six Senses brand, critics mocked his ambition to charge premium rates for high-end, experiential travel. At the time, investors viewed his vision as unhinged, and even his own general managers were quietly replacing local amenities with imported French luxury water, fearing that guests would reject anything less than traditional opulence.
Today, that skepticism has vanished. The market has caught up to Bohnenberger’s vision: what once cost $1,000 a night now commands $5,000. Following the $300 million sale of Six Senses to IHG in 2019, Bohnenberger has spent five years developing a new venture that seeks to address a growing gap in the high-end market.
From Opulence to Authenticity
Bohnenberger’s new project, the Discover Collection, is not a mere sequel to Six Senses. Instead, it is a response to what he describes as the “spiritual hollowing out” of the modern luxury sector.
As luxury travel has become more standardized and polished, it has arguably lost its soul. The current trend in ultra-high-net-worth travel is shifting away from gold-plated faucets and toward intellectual and emotional enrichment. Bohnenberger is targeting a specific demographic: the seasoned traveler who has experienced traditional luxury and found it lacking in substance.
The New Luxury Standard: Expertise Over Service
The Discover Collection aims to replace passive consumption with active, expert-led engagement. The difference lies in the quality of the experience:
- Traditional Luxury: A guest goes scuba diving with a standard dive master.
- The Discover Model: A guest goes scuba diving with a marine biologist.
This shift highlights a broader trend in the hospitality industry: the transition from service (having things done for you) to access (having unique, expert-led experiences). For the Discover Collection, luxury is defined by the depth of knowledge and the rarity of the connection to the destination, rather than the brand name of the bottled water on the nightstand.
Why This Matters for the Industry
Bohnenberger’s move signals a maturation of
