Hong Kong Will Ease Quarantine on International Arrivals

Hong Kong announced plans to further ease its arrivals quarantine requirements. As of this Friday, overseas visitors will be subject to three days of compulsory hotel quarantine, down from the current seven. They will have to undergo a further four days of medical surveillance, during which they must test daily. If they test negative each day, they will be free to take public transport and visit shopping centers but will be restricted from visiting venues where the checking of vaccine passes is required, such as bars and gyms.

More than 50 luxury hotels are set to open in Jakarta and Bangkok within the next five years, highlighting the expectations of a strong economic recovery in two of Southeast Asia’s largest cities as Covid-19 travel restrictions are eased. The latest was the Park Hyatt Jakarta which opened on July 8, billed as the Indonesia’s first six star hotel. A study by Nikkei found that 13 four star and higher-ranked hotels are scheduled to open in Jakarta from 2021 to 2026. Germany’s Tophotelnews suggests Bangkok is expecting a more rapid pace of high end hotel openings with 28 four star and 13 five star hotels expected to launch in Thailand’s capital from 2021 to 2024. The hospitality industry sees both Jakarta and Bangkok as promising for MICE.

Accor is teaming up with PT. Mega Hotel Lestari in introducing the first ibis Styles in Semarang in Indonesia. The ibis Styles Semarang Simpang Lima is located at Jalan Pahlawan No. 2/2A Simpa Lima Semarang, connected to Ciplaz Mall Semarang. The hotel has 127 rooms with four different room types – Classic, Superior, Deluxe and Family Room. The hotel offers an all-day dining restaurant, function room and a gym.

The Araneta Group is planning to launch the Gateway Mall expansion in Manila, in the Philippines, in December and an ibis Styles Hotel there by early 2023. Araneta said the P5 billion Gateway Mall 2 will have 190,000 square meters over 11 levels offering new choices for shopping, dining, entertainment and leisure. Adjacent to Gateway Mall 2 will be the new ibis Styles hotel. The P2 billion hotel will be the first under the ibis Styles brand in the Philippines, operated by Accor. The hotel will have 300 guest rooms and six functions rooms as well as a roof deck with an overhanging swimming pool and a bar. Gateway Mall 2 and the ibis Styles Hotel will complete the 400,000 square meter mixed-use Gateway Square superblock which includes the Gateway Mall, Gateway Office, Gateway Tower, Novotel Manila, the Smart Araneta Coliseum and Parking Garage South Building.

Indian Hotels Company Limited said they are gearing up for an aggressive expansion, seeking to grow the Taj brand to 100 hotels globally and 75 properties across their Vivanta and SeleQtions hotel brands. They plan to expand their footprint to Tier II and Tier III cities in India, including Manali, Bekal, Nainital, Tirupati, Kanpur and Udaipur, already signing management contracts for properties across cities. IHCL operates 242 hotels with another 63 in the pipeline. The mix of owned and leased, and managed properties in its portfolio is at 54/46. The Taj and Ginger hotels brand runs 89 each while SeleQtions operates 28 hotels and Vivanta has 36.

Grand Vivanta Vacations, calling itself India’s leading luxury resort and hotel management company, announced robust expansion plans for the upcoming financial year. Grand Vivanta Vacations said they are all set to launch new properties across 9 locations in India – Shimla, Goa, New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Coorg, Chennai, and Panchgani. The upcoming launches are a part of Grand Vivanta Vacations’ long-term vision and growth plans, intending to become India’s biggest chain of hotels and resorts. Grand Vivanta has a target of launching 100 properties by 2026. Their second phase of the expansion will focus on prime travel destinations like Leh, Manali, Amritsar, Nainital, Ranikhet, Agra, Gangtok, Shillong, Puri, Vishakhapatnam, Pondicherry, Kovalam, Alleppey, Munnar, Ooty, Kodaikanal, South Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ranthambore, and Bandhavgarh.

Absolute Hotels Services Group announced the launch of Absolute Hotel Services’ white label management portfolio, Absolute Collection. AHS said they signed the Paasha Atelier Bali, Indonesia, to the soft brand. Under the Absolute Collection, AHS will offer project management guidance and development services, manage day to day hotel operations and more. The debut project comprises the redevelopment of an existing resort in Kuta which will be relaunched as Paasha Atelier Bali post renovations, targeted to open later this year. Absolute Collection hotels and resorts are divided into three categories: Design, Relax and Dynamic. Paasha Atelier Bali will be part of the Relax collection of hotels, family-friendly leisure hotels and resorts that incorporate nature and reflect the unique personality of their local neighborhood. The property is located in the heart of Kuta, just a 10-minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport. The property will feature 175 guest rooms and full facilities, including a swimming pool, fitness center and food & beverage outlets. AHS said they plan to add more properties to their Absolute Collection portfolio before the end of 2022 and are having active discussions for potential openings in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, India and the Maldives.

Banyan Tree Group recently announced its expansion into Japan. The introduction of four brands there marks the Group’s first-ever entry into Japan and further reinforces its stronghold in Asia. Through a partnership with Wealth Management Group, Dhawa Yura and Garraya Nijo Castle have just launched earlier this month, while Banyan Tree Higashiyama and Banyan Tree Ashinoko Hakone are set to open from now through 2026. Separately, Banyan Tree Group signed a new partnership with Terraform Capital that will lead to a newly built Cassia in the ski resort of Niseko. In addition, Banyan Tree announced a strategic partnership with Intrance Hotels & Resorts Inc., focusing on conversion projects that will further propel their growth in Japan.

Star Asia Group and its affiliates announced it made a strategic investment in two listed Japanese hotel operating companies – Greens Co and Washington Hotel Corp. Star Asia Group also currently owns over 76% of Polaris Holdings Ltd., which is the owner and/or operator of 45 hotels with 8,135 rooms across Japan and the Philippines. Star is now one of the largest shareholders in Greens and Washington.

Personnel Move

Wynn Resorts subsidiary Wynn Design & Development has named Derek Sands as an executive vice president for the UAE. This follows the announcement that Wynn Resorts’ Al Khaimah property will open in 2026. Sands has been with Wynn Design & Development for eight years, president of their Asian division, from 2017. He has already moved to the UAE.