Reto Guntli is a renowned luxury hotels photographer from Switzerland, famed for his luxurious lifestyle photography. Over the past 20 years, he has produced more than 50 books for prestigious publishers like Taschen, teNeues, and Thames & Hudson, often focusing on architecture, interior design, and travel.
His work captures high-end hotels, resorts, and properties across the globe, making him a favourite for branding and editorial shoots by top hospitality groups. He frequently collaborates with photographer Agi Simoes, and their work has been featured in magazines such as Architectural Digest, Vogue, and Condé Nast Traveller.
In this episode of Where2FromHere, luxury hotel expert Renae Leith-Manos speaks with Reto Guntli about his impeccable work throughout the years, luxury hotels as well this take on environmental issues, especially in South East Asia. Sitting in his home base in Zurich, Switzerland, Reto Guntli shares how his professional career originated from two hobbies, which were travelling and photography. He worked to pay his way travelling around the globe and he liked it.
Reto talks about when he lived in Japan for a while when he was 21 and it was there he developed a deep connection with Asia. Today all these years later, he sees how fast the luxury hotel industry in Asia is growing and he is still bewildered by it, though he said it's something he knew was coming. Reto reveals his dream is to live in Bali and build a home there.
In his new book "This Must Be Paradise", Reto Guntli photographed 25 resorts with Carbon Zero Future and he talks about what this means and why he focussed on sustainability and carbon zero as a concept this with Renae. Reto is volunteering on a platform called Now Transforming Travel to address the environmental issues and how travelling and luxury hospitality industry can actually suppress the level of environmental pollution in that part of the world.
Reto has some favourite luxury hotels he talks about in this podcast and they are all over the world, including The Palace on Lake Zurich, Switzerland in his home town and Le Selman in Marrakesh, Morocco. By the end of the episode, Reto Guntli shares some insider photography tips that anyone can use for better travel photos.
Chapters on the talk between Reto Guntli and Renae Leith-Manos:
1:39 How Reto Guntli started his career
4:18 Reto's black book of celebrities
5:53 How Reto started travelling and photography as a hobby and turned it into a profession
9:52 Reto Guntli's view on the future of the luxury hotel industry in the world--especially Asia
12:11 How rapidly luxury hotels and hospitality industry is growing in Asia Pacific
14:41 What does carbon zero future in Reto's newest book "This Must Be Paradise" mean?
15:47 Environmental issues particularly in SEA need to be addressed as much as the love for luxury hotels
19:05 Now Transforming Travel, a platform Reto volunteers in to address pollution and environmental issue
23:29 The two books that put Reto Guntli on the map: Inside Asia
25:44 Reto Guntli's favourite luxury hotels
27:45 Photography tips from Reto Guntli: Lights and angles
32:40 Pleasures a photography book brings
34:26 Where To From Here, Reto?
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Host & Executive Producer: Renae Leith-Manos
Editor: April O'Donnell, JC Tomelden
Graphic & Design: Giang Nguyen
For more luxury travel go to: www.renaesworld.com.au
For more on Reto Guntli books: https://www.retoguntli.com/books:
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