If you manage digital properties across multiple brands, you already know that sitting on an ageing CMS eventually catches up with you. What's less obvious, until you've been through it, is how much the quality, knowledge and support of the team doing the upgrade shapes everything that comes after it.
From LUX* Resorts & Hotels website on Umbraco V13
The situation — a deadline, and something bigger underneath it
In 2025, with Umbraco V8 reaching the end of long-term support, the upgrade to V13 was essential. But for Fuji, Vice President at The LUX* Collective, the deadline was only one of the reasons to upgrade. They needed to work with a partner who could review and improve the websites, provide deep Umbraco expertise, and offer dedicated support.
It was important for them to gain knowledge, not just deliver and move on. So, when Fuji met Adam at CodeGarden, his brief was simple:
"We're not here for the short term: we’re here for the long-term."
Luckily, long-term is what we do, which is why our average client relationship is 7 years and counting.
Upgrading from v8 to 13
In 2025, we took LUX* Resorts & Hotels from V8 to V13. At the time, V13 was the latest LTS (long-term support) version of Umbraco, stable and ready for the next LTS, which today is Umbraco version 17 onwards.
The upgrade process was efficient, precise, and smooth, including testing, QA and expert Umbraco knowledge transfer from our Gold Partner team. We led with regular calls, clear recommendations on what to implement and what to park, leaving the team feeling more capable on the platform.
(That's how we do upgrades.)
Working with you, partnering with your team, and collaborating as a team helped us gain a great deal of knowledge from Cogworks.
Fuji • Vice President • The LUX* Collective
Born from the upgrade: strategic partnership and Gold Partner clarity
The upgrade to V13 was the beginning of more useful projects for the brand to help them drive digital momentum, including a usability test that gave the team something they hadn't expected: a perspective on their own product from outside the hospitality world.
We saw what people outside of hospitality are seeing. The approach and perspective were different — and we really enjoyed it.
Fuji • Vice President • The LUX* Collective
The future with Umbraco V13 and beyond
On Umbraco Version 13, LUX* Resorts & Hotels has a smooth upgrade path, a more confident team, and a platform they understand, ready for what’s now and next.
V17 is where the AI capability turns up a notch.
Editors can generate alt text, metadata, and content tags directly inside the CMS, in seconds, not hours, without leaving the page they're working on. Plus, support from Umbraco Copilot (a helper that helps editors create quality on-brand content).
Developers get a modern, scalable platform they build on rather than around.
And leadership gets the flexibility they need, a choice of AI providers, full auditability, and a governance layer where nothing publishes without human sign-off.
In luxury hospitality, the content operation never stops.
Multiple brands, multiple properties, multiple markets, each with its own pages, campaigns, and content to maintain. Having a stable, supported platform underneath is what makes everything else possible. For LUX* Resorts & Hotels' , the Umbraco platform is an important part of their story; partnership and knowledge are the other.
"We've had a perfect partnership. We're delighted with what you have done — not only in terms of the upgrade, but everything that followed."
Fuji • Vice President • The LUX* Collective
Want to discuss Umbraco upgrades?
No matter the version you're on, we can help you upgrade smoothly and drive digital momentum. Our Umbraco experts have 18 years of dedicated Umbraco partnership experience and have shipped over 470 Umbraco projects. Reach out to book a free Umbraco Upgrade Consultation or send us a message today.
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