J.MAK Credits 10 Years of Success to Partnership With Travel Advisors

Earlier this month, high-end hotel and destination management company (DMC) marketing firm J.MAK Hospitality celebrated its 10-year anniversary. 

To discuss the impressive milestone, we caught up with founder Jon Makhmaltchi, who shared  how travel advisors have played a critical role in the long-term success of the hospitality company. J.MAK now represents nearly 100 hundred hotels and 12 destination management companies, as well as villa properties, yachts and private jet products. 

Makhmaltchi, who started his hospitality career at Hyatt Hotels before working 10 years as vice president of development, sales and marketing for Small Luxury Hotels of the World, also spoke about trends he’s seeing in the luxury market today, and a few increasingly popular destinations where travelers are less likely to encounter crowds in 2023. 

First off, what specifically does J.MAK Hospitality do? 

First and foremost, our brand works closely with the travel advisor. And it's really about exposure: providing these hotels, DMCs, private jet and private yacht companies with more exposure to the travel advisor. They may not know everyone, so we become almost an extension of their sales and marketing — and even their public relations. It's really to help them navigate the waters of the advisors.

The key is connecting people — not only the property, but also the people behind the properties, with the advisors they might not know. Or maybe they know of them, but they haven't met in person. I think when you celebrate the connection of people in the industry, when that general manager gets to meet that travel advisor who just sent them a $500,000 booking, there is real excitement behind that. 

What made you want to start J.MAK?

I loved working for [Small Luxury Hotels of the World]. I'm very grateful for my years there, but I found that the focus on the advisor was not strong enough.

J.MAK was really born out of the sense that I wanted to focus strictly on the advisor — they were my friends, they were fun to work with. I thought they were oftentimes overlooked, and I thought that the focus should be on the independent advisor.

J.MAK was really born out of the sense that I wanted to focus strictly on the advisor — they were my friends, they were fun to work with. I thought they were oftentimes overlooked, and I thought that the focus should be on the independent advisor. Not necessarily the network or even the agency, but those bookers who were really making a difference. That's where J.MAK started.

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Are there some noteworthy trends you’re seeing in the luxury space for 2023?

A constant lately is this idea of traveling together, right? “Togethering.” I have two children, and  often when I travel, I bring either a nanny, my sister or my parents in tow. And I'm seeing larger groups of people traveling again, and they might be looking for a villa or a villa-like product in a hotel. That way they can put grandma in one room, and the kids in another room, and then have a primary suite hidden from everybody else. Then, they might need an office, and they might want to be on the beach and so on. 

And we're definitely seeing the consumer — through the advisor — asking for that type of villa product that's associated with a hotel, where they have all of the services that you might find at a hotel, such as housekeeping or maybe room service. 

Are there some unexpectedly popular destinations you’re seeing people book in 2023?

[Before,] everyone was going to Paris. And it’s not that I don’t love Paris. I do. We’ve got a wonderful collection there. When the pandemic started to loosen up and they could go, people went to those places that they were dying to visit — and maybe they were dying to have their favorite meal in Paris.

But now, I think we are seeing different things. We are seeing people go to more remote locations, whether it's two hours from New York City, like our Troutbeck property, which is almost in the middle of nowhere and yet has all of these amenities you might find in a place like New York — great food at great restaurants, a spa and so on. 

I think people are returning to places like Indonesia. We have Nihi Sumba Island, which was named the No. 1 hotel by Travel + Leisure for many years. Although it's a longer flight to get there, I think people are more interested in going someplace where they are really going to be able to enjoy the nature around them. They [might be] going for the surf break at Nihi, which is world renowned, or maybe they are going for The Sumba Foundation, which is about helping people in that particular part of the world. 

I think these bucket-list things are coming back where people are going to alternate destinations, looking to get away from places where they saw everything so concentrated during the pandemic.

What should we expect from J.MAK in 2023? 

For us, it's more of what we already do. We call them ChezMAK events, and they are more intimate. … They are [advisor] events really meant to replicate a house party or dinner party, where it's a closer, deeper relationship in a home setting.

And we've got to evolve. Things have changed, and there are more advisors in more places. We don't just need to go to Los Angeles and New York. We need to get to places such as Nashville and Austin and other secondary cities. That's the idea. It's bringing our home style to more places.

And we really want to thank all of our partners. J.MAK wouldn't be 10 years strong if it were not for all these amazing advisors and hoteliers. I'm very humbled. I never thought that J.MAK would grow to 100 hotels. It was never in my wildest dreams. I think hard work and the American dream are still alive. Every day I pinch myself, thinking how in the world did this happen? It's just incredible.