Banyan Tree to Double by 2025

Banyan Tree Group, closing out the 2022 fiscal year with 63 properties across its global portfolio of 10 hospitality brands, expects to get to 113 hotels by the end of 2025. They added eight newly built or converted hotels in 2022 and the Singapore-based group is on track to double its footprint by 2025, expanding its presence in 23 countries. The group’s development pipeline to 2025 will deliver 50 new hotel openings or conversions. Among the five new brands they launched last year, Garrya is poised to overtake Banyan Tree as the Group’s fastest-growing brand. Banyan Tree brand currently constitutes 50% of the group’s portfolio. The group is looking to add 12 more properties in the next three years with a bunch in China leading the way. Banyan Tree Veya will plant a flag in the hills of Baja California in Mexico in 2023. The Angsana brand will add three resorts in Vietnam, with Ho Tram and Quan Lan both expected to open this year. The extended-stay Cassia brand has four more properties in the pipeline while Dhawa just made a fresh debut in the Maldives and will open two in China in early 2023. The new Homm brand will expand with Homm Saranam Baturiti in Bali opening this month. As for Garrya, it launched last year with hotel openings in China, Japan and Thailand and will open in Indonesia, four resorts in Vietnam and two in China, all by 2025.

Radisson Hotel Group announced the opening of Lewit Hotel Pattaya, a member of Radisson Individuals in the beach resort town of Pattaya. This marks the group’s seventh operating hotel in Thailand, following the recent openings in Phuket and Hua Hin. Lewit Hotel Pattaya is located a short walk from the beach in Jomtien, on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard. The hotel features 100 rooms, a restaurant open for breakfast and lunch, a fitness center, pool with water features and a sundeck.

The grand opening of Ember Hotel, a boutique lifestyle hotel located at Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand was announced. The hotel is housed within 10 renovated shophouses and is described as an exquisite blend of artistic vision, local history and contemporary design. The hotel includes an open-fire grill restaurant and a rooftop bar. Room choices include anything from single rooms to spacious suites.

InterGlobe Hotels, the joint venture between InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor Asia Pacific, along with its other SPVs, is eyeing close to 6,000 operating rooms from 30 hotels in India in the next two years. The group currently has 27 operational hotels with an inventory of about 5,400 rooms across 14 cities under four brands – Pullman, Novotel, ibis Styles and ibis. Three under-construction hotels in Goa, Bengaluru and Mumbai will be completed within the next two years. The company will continue to build hotels in key markets. The company recently announced the opening of their new hotel – ibis Thane, located a 50-minute drive from Terminal 2 of Mumbai International Airport. This is the twenty-second ibis hotel in India. It has 186 rooms across eight floors and is expected to cater to business and leisure class travelers.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the international brand, Golden Tulip in the city of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in India. The launch helps strengthen the Golden Tulip footprint across leisure and business destinations pan India. The hotel is located in the foothills of Tiumala Hills and features 88 rooms and suites facing the hills. It also includes all-day dining restaurant Tulipe, Vegetarian restaurant Adyar Ananda Bhavan, a fitness center and over 5,000 square feet of banqueting space. Sarovar said this is their second hotel in Tirupati. The hotel is owned by Grand Continent Hotels Pvt. Ltd.

Overseas Chinese Town Enterprises Asia has sold 51 percent of Shanghai Bulgari Residences to Century Huatong for US$89 million. OCT Asia is a Hong Kong Exchange-listed subsidiary of Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Co. Ltd. OCT Asia put Bulgari Residences on sale in September as they have been under severe financial pressure, like many of China’s biggest property developers. Over the past three years, OCT has lost more than 140 million yuan on this project. Bulgari Residences Shanghai is inside the 40 story Bulgari Hotel. The property opened in 2017 beside Suzhou Creek and comprises 243 opulent apartments spread over 27 floors with access to all facilities of the Bulgari Hotel on the upper eight floors. The smallest apartment of 145 square meters goes for US$9,000 a month in rent. Occupancy in the first six months of 2022 was 57%. Century Huatong is a gaming company trying to expand to help their business. Besides specializing in Internet games, they are a supplier of automotive parts.

Dolce & Gabbana is the latest fashion house to enter the world of real estate. They have a luxury hotel in the Maldives in the works. The Italian brand has partnered with Saudi property developer Dar Global, part of Dar Al Arkan, for the project. They have not yet announced a completion date. The fashion brand also announced residential projects in Miami in the US and Marbella, Spain.

A new five star-plus Queenstown hotel building is for sale with offers over $35 million expected. Kevin Carlin built the seven story, 14 suite Carlin Boutique Hotel and Oro restaurant near central Queenstown in New Zealand during the pandemic. It opened in early 2022 and was given awards such as Best New Hotel in 2022. Carlin operates the hotel and intends to continue doing so for the next 30 years but wants to free up capital involved in the building for other projects. Carlin is also developing a five-star Radisson Hotel in Queenstown with Australian-based partner Centuria. The Carlin Boutique Hotel and Oro restaurant is being listed with Bayleys Real Estate and expressions of interest are being sought.

The PKF Hospitality Group held a spotlight event in Riyadh, focusing on Saudi Vision 2030, with the focus areas of the $800+ billion that will be spent being on tourism, health infrastructure and education. The initial push is to create a product that attracts the local traveler who currently does not have enough reason to travel within his/her own country. The millions of pilgrims who come to Saudi Arabia to visit the holy sites are the next market to be targeted before the discerning international traveler in other markets is lured. Many of the projects have already broken ground despite PKF saying there are questions on how realistic these projects are in the time frame. PKF expects some to be completed on time, the first being Trojena, the official host location of the Asian Winter Games 2029. They discussed the NEOM project, the size of Belgium, featuring a tech city, a seaside location and an international sea port, residential, retail and office space to complement the mega city between the mountains and the Red Sea. PKF said that no matter what, Saudi Arabia will surprise many and will be a changed country in the years to come. Way past 2030, many of the mega projects will be completed and house a transformed population. PKF called Saudi Arabia the single biggest opportunity for hospitality and tourism, set to continue for at least another five years.