Ultra-luxury hoteliers can expect new competition from French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the Wall Street Journal reports.

LVMH also said it created LVMH Hotel Management to “oversee the group’s activities in the luxury hotel sector” and to “maximise the value of its brands,”.

Two new hotels, named Cheval Blanc after LVMH’s vineyard, are currently being built in Oman and Egypt and are proposed to open in 2012.

The Maison Cheval Blanc in Oman is on the 11 square- kilometer island of Al Sodah and includes 32 private villas, LVMH said.

The development in Egypt is on the private island of Amoun in Aswan and will include about 40 suites overlooking the Nile, the company said.

LVMH added that, “other projects are currently under study in exceptional destinations”.

The first LVMH Cheval Blanc hotel opened in French ski resort Courchevel in 2006, but this move marks the brand’s intentions to expand and develop the hospitality aspect of its business.

LVMH’s hotels will be a showcase for many of its brands. The Cheval Blanc in Courchevel has a Givenchy spa, and visitors can buy its Louis Vuitton and Dior merchandise in the hotel.

Like many top hotel operators, LVMH is limiting its exposure to the volatile hotel industry.

It won’t own the real estate or finance construction, but will instead run the resorts under management contract, a similar model to other high-end chains such as The Ritz-Carlton.

Source: WSJ – Photo: Getty Images