Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (aafw) is back for its 27th year, flooding Sydney’s Carriageworks with impeccably dressed editors, designers and models from across the globe. B&T spoke to Ari Foo, area director of Sales and Marketing for SKYE Suites about the brand’s sponsorship of the iconic event.
B&T: SKYE Suites has been supporting AAFW for the past three years, how did this partnership come about?
AF: As a smaller independent brand without the benefit of chain hotels regional and global marketing support, we were looking for a partnership to grow our brand recognition that still aligned with what the SKYE brand represents. AAFW was a perfect fit for us being a nationally and globally recognised event. The alignments with luxury, design, fashion made total sense to achieve the desired outcomes.
B&T: Tell us more about this partnership -how has aligning with AAFW supported your goals for SKYE Suites?
AF: This is the third year we have aligned with AAFW as their official accommodation partner. Design and fashion go hand in hand, so this partnership made perfect sense to us. SKYE Suites has design in its DNA, our hotels are designed by renowned Architect Koichi Takada with interior design by Juliet Ashworth from CHADA, combined, they have created our luxurious urban resorts.
Our brand appeals to business and leisure guests offering everything travellers are looking for, whether that be extra space, in room technology, location and proximity to transport and entertainment along with the most comfortable beds for a perfect night’s sleep.
To kick off the week, SKYE Suites will host the official AAFW 2023 ‘Welcome to Sydney’ event which is attended by fashion buyers, media, government, and tourism body representatives.
B&T: SKYE Suites has been the home of MAFS for the past 4 years, how has this brand alignment been valuable for you?
AF: The fact that Married at First Sight have continued their partnership with the SKYE Suites Group is testament to our ability to deliver, not just for the talent but for the production crew who have greater needs. The entire production period is 3 months, so this means a lot of work goes into making sure the cast and crew are well taken care of during their stay with us.
Our iconic property has clearly struck a romantic chord with viewers evidenced by the hundreds of enquiries and bookings we receive, specifically asking about the hotel after seeing us on Married at First Sight, even general conversations in day-to-day business highlights the exposure the show has had on the hotel. 2023 was the show’s tenth season and gave us another chance to showcase our point of difference as a luxury apartment hotel. Footage from the show allows us to beam vision from our hotel straight into homes around Australia, and the rest of the world where the show is aired (Europe, UK, Israel, NZ, and the USA). Viewers can see we offer close to double the space of traditional hotel rooms and all our additional in room amenities offering designed to offer total comfort and flexibility.
B&T: What does the future look like for SKYE Suites?
AF: The brand is now well established and has solid consumer recognition that we didn’t have 3-4 years ago, and I feel that the level of recognition now far exceeds the overall scope of our business which has been a fantastic outcome of the partnerships we have developed. The next stage for SKYE Suites is to continue growing our business organically and as a brand continue to invest in partnerships that further our journey.
