Hyatt Hotels Corp announced plans for its continued growth in the Asia Pacific market. They unveiled a robust pipeline of landmark luxury and lifestyle hotels and resorts, expected to open in late 2022 and 2023. This includes the strategic entry of several brands into new markets, including the arrival of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in Japan, the Andaz brand in Thailand, and the Hyatt Centric brand in Southeast Asia with a new hotel in Malaysia. Notable openings this year for Hyatt include the Alila Kothaifaru Maldives in Raa Atoll in April and Park Hyatt Jakarta in July. In October this year, the Fuji Speedway Hotel will be the first hotel under The Unbound Collection by Hyatt in Japan. Also in October, the Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu will be the first of the brand in Southeast Asia. The debut of the Andaz brand in Thailand will take place in the fourth quarter of this year with the Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach. Some additional lifestyle and luxury hotel openings planned for 2022 and 2023 are Grand Hyatt Shenzhou Peninsula, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Andaz Macau, Grand Hyatt Kunming, Andaz Nanjing Hexi and Alila Donghu Wuhan.
CEL Australia has listed The Sebel Hotel Mandurah for sale as Western Australia reopens to the world post-pandemic. The 4.5 star Sebel Mandurah opened in 2009. The 84-room asset is being marketed by CBRE with Expressions of Interest closing October 4. The hotel forms part of an exclusive strata subdivision comprising studio rooms, one & two-bedroom suites, and two- & three-bedroom apartments, located 50 minutes south of the city on the Peninsula hotel site. The Peninsula Bar and Restaurant is located on the ground floor but not operated as part of the hotel, forming part of the freehold offering, leased on a long-term basis to local operators.
Andrew Tan’s flagship property firm Megaworld is opening a new Belmont Hotel within the 30-hectare Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu by the fourth quarter this year, strengthening its leadership position in the hospitality space in the Philippines. The 20-story Belmont Hotel Mactan is located beside the Savoy Hotel Mactan and will be the 12th hotel property of Megaworld. It will have 550 guestrooms and suites, comprised of a mix of Twin Suites, Queen Suites, Junior Suites, Executive Suites and specially-abled Suites. There will be pools, outdoor lounge with elevated deck, fitness center and a viewing deck.
Espire Hospitality Group has lined up an investment of Rs 550 crore to expand as well as upgraded its business in the next four years. The Indian company plans to add 20 hotels and over 700 rooms by December 2023. The company outlined a capex of Rs 550 crore for the next four years. The funds will also be utilized in phases for renovating, leasing and upgrading the existing hotels. Espire currently has 318 rooms under all its brands with six operational hotels spread across Bhimtal and Jim Corbett in Uttarakhand, Amritsar in Punjab and a newly opened Zana Lake Resort, Udaipur. Espire partnered with Six Senses for the Six Senses Fort Barwara in Ranthambore, Rajasthan and have another property in Goa under the Country Inn brand that will become operational in another three weeks.
Siliguri Builders Stores announced the opening of Ramada Encore by Wyndham Siliguri Sevoke Road under a franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in Siliguri. The hotel is located near the city center. The hotel offers 44 modern rooms and includes a restaurant, bar and state-of-the-art convention facilities. Siliguri is considered the gateway of Northeast India, located at the foothills of the Himalayas.
RARE India has added seven properties to its portfolio. The new additions to the RARE Community of over 100 owner-led, sustainable-luxury, small and boutique hospitality brands include Blue Book at Gethia in Kumaon (Uttarakhand), Camp Kooncha in Sariska (Rajasthan), Cranganor History Café & Riverside Retreat in Muziris (Kerala), LUNGMAR Remote Camp (Ladakh), Qayaam Gah in Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), Rann Riders by Kaafila in Dasada (Gujarat) and The Mirage in Andretta (Himachal Pradesh).
The Ministry of Interior in Thailand has proposed loosening laws to let small hotels operate more simply as homestays. Following that is a coalition of hotel associations calling for a relaxation of building guidelines that have made 20,000 small hotels illegal. The group of 10 hotel and tourism associations submitted a letter in late June to the prime minister requesting they loosen some of the requirements for smaller hotels that aren’t able to renovate buildings to meet the code. The groups say at least 3,000 hotels with an average of 29 rooms are caught up in this in Bangkok and across all of Thailand, the number of small hotels in this situation totals about 20,000.
Fosun International’s controlling shareholder Fosun Tourism Group was reported to have sold 28 million shares of Fosun Tourism at HK$8.57. This follows Fosun International selling a stake in Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group. That sent the drug company’s shares down -13%. Fosun Tourism shares closed down nearly 21% yesterday after the block sale was announced. This all follows a downgrade by Moody’s on Fosun International and the company’s announcement they would reorganize its business portfolio.
Leisure Hotels Group announced the appointment of Amandeep Sharma as Head of Project & Technical Services. Sharma will be responsible for planning and executing projects and providing technical support to the Group’s green field & brown field projects. The Group recently announced plans to consolidate their existing presence in North India through management contracts of third-party properties in strategic locations. Amandeep joins Leisure Hotels Group after having spent almost two decades in project design, management & execution responsibilities in Indian hotel and multinational chains like Radisson Hotel Group, IHG and IHCL.
Hotelbeds announced the appointment of Pippa Williamson as its new VP Commercial for Asia Pacific. Based in Hong Kong, Pippa will lead all core commercial activities across the region while growing the relationship with Hotelbeds’ suppliers and clients across APAC. Pippa has worked with some of the world’s leading hotel companies like Marriott, Starwood Hotels and most recently, Shangri-La.
Hilton announced the opening of Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah, located on the Palm West Beach. The hotel features 608 guest rooms and suites along with 10 culinary concepts, some opening later this year. The property includes the eforea Spa, Pirates Kids Club and several meeting and event spaces including the outdoor Ocean Terrace.
