Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide announced a brand refresh to strengthen its global operations and enrich the end-to-end guest journey. Seibu Prince Hotels will streamline their brand identity, offer a consolidated membership program and enhance the user experience, beginning its roll out this coming April. They will unify their brand identity under a single brand – Seibu Prince Hotels & Resorts. That will include The Prince, Grand Prince Hotel, Prince Hotel and Prince Smart Inn as well as six additional brands through StayWell Holdings and hotels and golf courses through Prince Resorts Hawaii. There will be one unified loyalty program – Seibu Prince Global Rewards with four levels of membership. All this will be brought in with a new website and app.
Japan’s fifth largest city, the island of Hokkaido, is the location of the latest addition to Accor Group’s MGallery Collection. The Hotel Sosei Sapporo MGallery Collection features 118 rooms. Sapporo is the birthplace of Japanese beer and the hotel’s restaurant is inspired by old German breweries. The hotel, originally established as a private residence from the pioneer district, pays tribute to Japanese traditions right from the entrance.
Accor’s Novotel Hotels, Suites & Resorts brand unveiled Novotel Sihanoukville Holiday Resort, marking the brand’s debut in Cambodia. The hotel is located directly on Independence Beach with the 215 key resort offering breathtaking views over the Gulf of Thailand, four dining options and family-friendly facilities. The hotel offers eight room configurations, ranging from 32 square meter Standard Rooms to expensive 96 square meter suites. Other amenities include a beachside infinity pool, separate kids’ pool, Lost City Kids’ Club, 315 square meter Independence Ballroom and more.
Marriott Hotels has debuted its first hotel in Penang, Malaysia. The hotel has 223 rooms, the brand’s Greatroom welcoming space, 24 hour fitness center, steam room, an outdoor infinity swimming pool, M Club premium lounge, Kids Club and a variety of dining experiences and meeting and event space. Moxy Hotels from Marriott also announced the soft opening of Moxy Putrajaya, marking the brand’s entry to Malaysia. The hotel offers 480 guestrooms, expansive lobby, fitness center, swimming pool with pool deck and lounge area, all day dining, Sky Bar, five fun rooms for all kinds of gatherings and more.
Marriott’s Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts brand announced the opening of Le Meridien Shenzhen Bao’an in the core area of Qianhai Bay of Shenzhen in China. This marks the brand’s debut in Shenzhen and increases Marriott’s total group portfolio there to 21 with 14 different brands. The new hotel is located 13 kilometers from Shenzhan Bao’an International Airport. The hotel features 332 guestrooms and 21 suites, Le Meridien Hub which is the brand’s reinterpretation of the hotel lobby, buffet style all-day dining venue, Latitude 22 lounge/bar and Le Scoop for gelato and sorbet. The hotel offers over 2,000 square meters of meeting and function spaces, fitness center and an outdoor swimming pool.
GOCO Hospitality has teamed up with Fullerton Fund Management to invest in wellness properties across Asia Pacific, aiming to democratize wellness destinations and capitalize on the sector’s growth. The investment initiative will be facilitated through the Fullerton Thai Private Equity fund. The partnership is set to target a variety of investment opportunities, including the acquisition of financially distressed properties, value-added renovations, rebranding and wellness-focused repositioning. Over the next 18-24 months the collaboration aims to deploy capital strategically in new assets across the Asia Pacific region, focusing on creating value through GOCO’s wellness expertise and management practices.
Lemon Tree Hotels plans to open 30 new properties in India this calendar year, potentially adding more than 2,000 rooms. That will include the opening of a Lemon Tree resort in Bhutan and the launch of three or four hotels and resorts in Nepal. Last year Lemon Tree launched 1,375 new rooms across 14 hotels, including India’s biggest hotel – the 669 room Aurika Mumbai Skycity. The company plans to expand in key tier-1, 2 and 3 markets and is also looking to expand its Aurika Hotels & Resort brand with two new resorts. The 110 key Aurika Kasauli is slated to open towards the end of this year and the 132 key Aurika Rishikesh will open early next year. Lemon Tree expects conversions to drive the growth this fiscal year.
Indian Hotels Company announced the signing of its first hotel in Dibrugarh, Assam under the Ginger brand. The hotel is a Greenfield project on a fully fitted lease, designed around the brand’s lean luxe design. IHCL is partnering with Vela Hotel & Resort LLP for the Ginger hotel in North East India. The 77 room hotel will feature Qmin, the brand’s all-day diner, fitness center and meeting rooms. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have six hotels in Assam, including four under development.
BWH Hotels said they will focus on intraregional guests for its properties in Asia and Thailand this year as ongoing geopolitical tensions have hampered long-haul travel. They cited high airfares for flights connecting Asia and Europe due to the Ukraine-Russia war. Medical tourism has been hampered by the Israel-Hamas situation. They also blamed the US presidential election, saying this leaves uncertainty in terms of the global economy. At present BWH Hotels operates over 200 hotels in the region with the best performing hotels in Thailand, Japan and Singapore. BWH is aiming to sign at least 34 more hotels in Asia this year and will open 16-20 in the region with about 6-7 in Thailand.
Personnel Move
Langham Hospitality Group has appointed Lawrence Ng as its new Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He succeeds Shane Pateman who takes up the position of Managing Director of the Langham Huntington, Pasadena and Regional Vice President, Operations of North America. Ng previously held the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Greater China at Marriott International.
