The next season of HBO’s acclaimed comedy-drama The White Lotus will break from tradition – for the first time, the series will not be filmed at a Four Seasons hotel.
According to multiple industry reports, HBO has chosen not to renew its marketing partnership with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, ending a collaboration that helped define the show’s signature luxurious aesthetic. Instead, the production is expected to partner with another global hotel brand or boutique property, with filming set to take place in Paris and the South of France beginning next year.
Since its debut, The White Lotus has become synonymous with Four Seasons resorts, each season reimagining one of the brand’s properties as the fictional “White Lotus” hotel. The show’s first three instalments were filmed at Four Seasons Maui (Hawaii), Four Seasons San Domenico Palace (Sicily), and Four Seasons Koh Samui (Thailand).
The collaboration proved a marketing goldmine for Four Seasons. After season one, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea recorded a 425% surge in website visits and a 386% jump in booking searches. Season two’s Sicilian backdrop boosted traffic to the San Domenico Palace website by 193%, while the Thailand resort featured in season three saw a 40% increase in online searches following the announcement.
While the hotel chain benefitted immensely from the exposure, HBO’s decision to move on reflects a creative and branding shift as The White Lotus continues to reinvent itself with each season. Creator Mike White has hinted that the next chapter will expand thematically and geographically, exploring “power, privilege, and pleasure” through a European lens.
Meanwhile, Four Seasons president and CEO Alejandro Reynal said the brand remains focused on broadening its presence through a “luxury ecosystem” approach. Speaking at 50 Best Talks: #Unpacked at Four Seasons London at Park Lane, Reynal explained:
“Our guests can stay, live and travel with us. Through a guest-centric mindset, we have created this luxury ecosystem which we can tap into. The guests have brand loyalty, so it’s about how we can continue to serve their needs from a luxury ecosystem perspective.”
With the show moving on and Four Seasons doubling down on its global expansion into private residences, jets, and yachts, both brands seem poised for new directions – even if their iconic collaboration has come to an end.
