InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel group by room number, is shifting its China business focus from expansion to repositioning its Holiday Inn as a middle-scale option.
IHG aggressively enlarged its network in China over the past three years, especially around the Olympics, cashing in on a ballooning economy and
becoming the country’s largest hotel […]
author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com
Carlson Hotels Worldwide, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced that it will be opening and managing a second Radisson hotel in Sanya Bay, China.
The latest agreement with Sanya Zhong Gang Real Estate Co. marks the ninth hotel property currently under development in China for Carlson. Radisson Hotels & Resorts is the upscale, […]
author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com
Mandarin Oriental had no hotels in China before this year. Hong Kong and almost everywhere else in Asia (and the world), but China remained virgin territory until January, when the Mandarin Oriental Sanya opened on Hainan Island.
The design of the tropical complex was inspired by the minority culture of Hainan Island.
As well as the […]
author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com
Qingao is where one of the hotels is to be sited.
Le Méridien has announced an agreement with Wanda Group to open two new properties in China, one in Qingdao and one in Chongqing.
They are scheduled to open in 2011.
In addition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the parent company of Le Méridien, has announced an agreement with Wanda Group to add a Sheraton in Wuxi and a Westin in Taiyuan to the Starwood portfolio in China.
Le Méridien is also set to open Le Méridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa in China , as well as three Le Méridien hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai by the end of the year.
More information HERE.
Source: eTravel Blackboard
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author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com
Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland
InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a deal with China’s Shimao Group to open six new hotels (totaling 2,100 rooms) in four Chinese cities by 2013.
Hui Wing Mau, Chairman of Shimao Group, said, ‘This is the biggest multi-brand, multi-property partnership we have signed with a single hotel management company.’
The new hotels will include InterContinental hotels in Beijing and Fuzhou, a Crowne Plaza in Shaoxing, and Holiday Inns in Shaoxing and Mudanjiang.
The signature project will be the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland.
Set to open in Shanghai’s western Songjiang suburb in 2013, the 380-room hotel will form part of the Shanghai Shimao Wonderland theme park, and will be built on the cliff of a quarry. The hotel will feature only one floor above ground, with 17 floors situated below ground level.
Source: BizChina
author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com
Shanghai Shimao International Square
Shimao Property Holdings has entered into an agreement with InterContinental for cooperation in the hotels business. (Note that Shimao constructus a far wider range of buildings than just hotels.
Shimao said it plans to open 6 hotels in four Chinese cities by 2013 and that Intercontinental will manage the properties under the partnership deal.
The hotels, in Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou and Shaoxing, will provide a total of 2,100 guest rooms.
This partnership sees the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms and one of China’s leading real estate developers add a total of 2,100 guest rooms to the IHG list. (Note that Shimao already has other hotel deals operating.)
The hotels will carry the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts brands.
Source: Trading Markets and Focus on Travel News Gazette
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Marco Polo Wuhan
Marco Polo Wuhan, is a new hotel fully developed by Han Long Development, a subsidiary of The Wharf of Hong Kong.
The hotel opened it door on September 15, 2008, the occasion of the 755th birthday of famous Italian traveler — Marco Polo (arguably September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324).
This is Marco Polo Hotels’ 4th hotel in China and the latest addition to the Group’s portfolio in the country.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is the largest city in Central China.
The Yangtze River divides Wuhan into three towns, namely Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang. Thus the city has been called ‘the city on rivers’.
Marco Polo Wuhan is at the edge of an urban riverfront park with panoramic views of the Yangtze River. It is located close to the Wuhan business district area and only 30 minutes to the Wuhan International Airport, Wuhan’s main ports of entry.
The hotel is part of the Times Square residential and commercial complex. Each room has an iPod surround sound system and Internet Access. There is also as a fully-equipped fitness centre with an indoor pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. This is also equipped as a MICE hotel.
Source: Focus on Travel News
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Marriott Hotel style
Marriott Hotels is planning to expand its product offering by adding a number of new properties across its brands to its already growing portfolio in Asia.
The chain, which operates franchises under 10 brand names, has made its most extensive expansion in China, with the JW Marriott Shanghai leading the way as its flagship property in the region.
Marriott has 29 hotels in China offering 12,507 rooms for visitors across 6 of its brands.
17 new hotels for China are in the pipeline, and by 2012 it is estimated some 62 hotels or 7,000 extra rooms, across its various brands will be launched in the region.
Source: eTravel Blackboard
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Talise Wellness spa
Jumeirah, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company, has been appointed by GT Land Holdings to manage a luxury hotel in Guangzhou.
The Jumeirah Guangzhou Hotel, Jumeirah Group’s second hotel to be signed in China, will be in the center of New Pearl City Tian He District, Guangzhou’s premier and rapidly growing commercial city center.
The Jumeirah Guangzhou Hotel will feature a sky lobby, with elegantly appointed guest rooms, distinctive dining concepts and Jumeirah’s own luxury Talise Wellness spa all situated on the top floors of the 50-storey GT Land Plaza, with commanding views of city-centre Guangzhou.
Source: Gulf News
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
The Langham style
Langham Hotels International has signed a deal with Guangzhou Huihua Hotel to manage the Langham Place which is in the Guangzhou Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Luogang District.
The new hotel is set to open in 2010.
This deal marks LHI’s first expansion into Southern China, following its earlier entry into Shanghai and Beijing where three new hotels are scheduled to open their doors in 2009 under The Langham and Langham Place brands.
The hotel location — Guangzhou Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Luogang District, is a key economic area in eastern Guangzhou.
More HERE.
Source: Asia Travel Tips
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai
With a possibly rightful claim that it is the world’s most recognized hotel brand, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, has been named the Best Mid-Market Hotel Brand in the World and Best Mid-Market Hotel Brand in Asia Pacific at the Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards. This is its eighth successive year for winning this title.
The Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards reflect the views of frequent business travelers who take part in its annual survey of travel-related services. The survey results are independently analyzed by global market research company Synovate.
In October 2007, IHG announced the $1billion relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand. The brand is being relaunched to create a more contemporary brand image, enhance quality and drive consistency across all hotels worldwide.
Holiday Inn was launched in 1952 — the name was taken from a woeful film starrig Bing Crosby — and there are currently over 3,200 Holiday Inns globally, including 108 in Asia Pacific.
Holiday Inn is the largest hotel brand in China.
Source: FinChannel.com
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Sheraton hotel in Xi'an
Starwood plans to open 57 hotels in China in the following two to three years.
The to-be-opened hotels will include 22 Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, 12 Four Points by Sheraton, eight Westin Hotels & Resorts, 5 W Hotels, 4 St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, 3 Elements, 2 alofts and one Luxury Collection.
Starwood, which is about to launch aloft and Element in China in 2008, plans to introduce all of its nine brands in the country before 2010. The hotel operator will continue focusing on expansion in the luxury hotel market in spite of the speedy growth of the economy hotel market in the nation.
At the moment, Starwood runs 45 hotels in China.
Source: Trading Markets
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
7 Days Inn
The 7 Days Inn Group has formed a trans-regional alliance of domestic branded budget hotels in China.
The alliance is to provide a unified marketing platform for the medium and small scale budget hotel chain brands in China. This seems a most excellent idea.
Zheng Nanyan, chief executive officer of 7 Days Inn, said the alliance focuses on attracting domestic budget hotel chain brands with a certain brand influence to join them.
There is no charge for membership and no initial start-up capital, just a contribution for bonus points to participate in the alliance’s members development plan.
The alliance will offer support for its member hotels in the four areas of network system platform, member’s system, marketing management guidance, and hotel management guidance.
To-date, more than 300 hotels from several brands, including 18 7 Days Inn outlets, have joined the alliance. The group says that the number of outlets in the alliance is expected to reach over 600 by the end of this year.
Source: China.org.cn
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Shangri La hotel
Shangri-La Asia, the region’s biggest luxury-hotel operator, may book fewer rooms this year as rising airfares and a slumping world economy hurt tourism.
In an earnings report the hotel group said, ‘It is generally considered unlikely that hotels will experience the high levels of occupancies witnessed in 2007.’
Shangri-La’s net income fell 15% to $135.7 million in the first half, its first profit decline in four years. And the company says the Hong Kong-listed hotel operator will be ‘lucky’ to meet its 8% full-year growth target for revenue per available room, an industry gauge known as revpar.
UBS AG analysts CJ Lee and Eric Wong said , ‘While Beijing hotels saw uplift in occupancies during the Olympics in August, Shangri-La expects occupancies for the overall portfolio to remain lackluster till global economic sentiment turns more positive.’
Growth in the global travel and tourism industry is expected to slow to 3% this year from 4% in 2007, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
More on this HERE.
Source: Bloomberg.com
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Sheraton Dongcheng Hotel
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed its 100th hotel in China. The Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel will have 470 rooms, approximately 36,000 square feet of meeting space, 3 restaurants and bar, a health club, spa and indoor heated swimming pool.
The hotel is part of the final phase of the Global Trade Center (GTC) mixed-use complex development.
The complex comprises offices, retail shops, condominium, serviced apartments, and the hotel. The Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel is scheduled to open January 2011.
Starwood currently has two hotels under construction in Beijing: aloft Beijing Haidian and Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian; as well as 4 hotels in operation: Great Wall Sheraton Beijing, The Westin Beijing, Financial Street, The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang and St Regis Beijing.
Source: Japan Today
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Four Points by Sheraton has announced the launch of its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in North China.
Technically it is the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments. Following the successes of other Four Points hotels which opened in Greater China including in cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changshu, Lhasa and Taipei.
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments will be in the same style.
The Four Points in Beijing is located in the heart of Beijing’s technology district — Haidian District — a 5-10 minutes drive away from major government and business organizations, research centers, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, and major universities.
The Asia Pacific’s largest Shopping Mall — Golden Resources — is within walking distance with more than 1,000 shops, restaurants and movie theater.
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments has 355 guestrooms and 177 serviced apartments.
The hotel is equipped with 1,054 square meters of meeting and banquet space for groups up to 850 people, including a 720-seat pillar-less natural light Grand Ballroom and 7 other function rooms all equipped with state-of-the-art technology making it very much a MICE hotel.
The hotel also has an indoor heated swimming pool, fitness center and a full-service spa.
Source: eTravel Blackboard
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett
The world’s biggest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels is set to miss its target to have 125 hotels in China by the end of this year.
The British group, which operates InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels, said it is likely to miss its China target due to the Sichuan earthquake in May and the Chinese government’s move to cool the domestic economy.
The hotelier, which is the biggest international player in China, already has 95 hotels open in the country.
Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett said at first-half results briefing, ‘We are likely to fall short, but reach 125 very soon in 2009 reflecting the constraints of the government cooling the economy and the Sichuan earthquake.’
Source: Reuters
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Futian Shangri La
Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen, a new five-star, US$200 million, flagship Shangri-La hotel, has opened in the heart of Futian, the business district of Shenzhen.
The hotel is a few minutes’ walk from Shenzhen’s mass transit railway system, which links directly to Hong Kong via the Huanggang border crossing and Futian port. It also offers easy access to Shenzhen International Bao’an Airport and the Shekou ferry terminal.
The new hotel is in a a 40-storey building with 498 guestrooms, 50 suites and 53 serviced apartments.
Among the facilities available in the rooms are an iPod dock, a 37-inch LCD television in the room with a 15-inch version in the bathroom, wired and wireless Internet connectivity, and DVD and CD players.
As a MICE hotel, Futian Shangri-La has a 1,800-square-metre grand ballroom with a high ceiling of 9.5 metres and a hydraulic built-in stage. Also available is an auditorium, a junior ballroom, a boardroom and a range of 10 function rooms.
Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the Shangri-La and Traders brands.
Source: China NewsWire
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Starwood Hotels — the first international hotel chain to enter China when the Great Wall Beijing Sheraton Hotel opened in 1985 — has announced the signing of its 100th hotel in the country.
The 470-room Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng hotel will form part of the Global Trade Centre mixed-use development that comprises offices, retail stores and serviced apartments.
Starwood currently operates 43 hotels in China, and has 57 new properties scheduled to open. These include 22 Sheratons, 12 Four Points by Sheratons, eight Westins, five W hotels, four St Regis, three Le Meridien hotels, two aloft hotels and one Luxury Collection hotel.
(Perhaps one should not add this editorial comment: This is possibly the first picture provided by a hotel chain with real, live and dashed attractive models. Let us pray this is the start of a trend.)
Source: BizChina Update
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
Margaret Bowler, director Global Hotel Relations at HRG (Hogg Robinson which was founded in 1845), said in a survey of the world: ‘The hotel industry reported strong performance in 2007 - although not to the levels of 2006 with many key cities achieving single as opposed to double digit growth.’
Only five of the 50 cities surveyed for the global average room rate listing recorded a decline in rates in 2007, none of them in China.
Growth in average room rates in China is comparatively low, with the market lagging behind its BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) counterparts. The illustration shows the four countries with a neat pun on BRIC.
Significant hotel openings, particularly in the country’s financial capital Shanghai and in Beijing, have served simply to ‘mop up’ increased demand from Western hotel brands, with occupancy rates falling marginally as a result in many cities.
This effect is expected to balance out with the Olympics.
‘The Chinese market operates very differently from other markets; Chinese business travellers prefer to stay in branded hotel chains that they recognize.
As such, Western hotel chains are scrambling to establish a presence in China to encourage the growing number of Chinese business travelers to stay in their hotels whilst traveling overseas.
As the industry continues to grow there is a marked increase in the shortage of rooms with availability posing an ongoing challenge in certain cities.
Source: MICE BTN
author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com
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