Langham’s Three Hotels in Xiamen   

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended February 17th. Remember that the timing of Chinese New Year was very different with CNY week start date of 2/10 this year and 1/22 in 2023. For the week, hotel RevPAR in China was up 54.6%. Even with CNY that was an impressive result since it was still up against a +62.1% comp in 2023.

Minor Hotels and its China joint venture partner, Funyard Minor JV Co., (China) announced the upcoming debut of Avani Hotels & Resorts in China. The Avani Huajian Xinyi Guangdong Resort and Avani+ Xinyi Guangdong Resort will be located in a protected national forest area of Guangdong Province. This will be one of the first international upscale hotel brands in Xinyi when they open in the first half of the year. Avani’s design-led properties will anchor the development plans for an area that will comprise several hotels, commercial blocks, and residential holiday villas. Located in the foothills of Shuanghe Village, beside the calm waters of the River Huanghua, Avani Huajian Xinyi Guangdong Resort will feature 86 spacious rooms and suites, all-day dining restaurant, an AvaniFit gym and Xinyi’s first infinity sky pool. Surrounded by bamboo forest, Avani+ Xinyi Guangdong Resort will take its perch in the mountains above Ma’an Village. The property will have 96 modern rooms and suites, some with private balconies and pools, and will feature a contemporary all-day dining restaurant, a bar, an infinity pool, an AvaniFit gym, AvaniKids club and other facilities.

Langham Hospitality Group has signed management agreements for three hotels on a single plot. The newly built properties are part of Xiamen Seaworld which is China Merchant Group’s mixed-use development that is perched on the western shore of Xiamen’s main island. The hotels will open in 2025 and will each showcase a different brand from Langham Hospitality Group. The brands include The Langham Hotels & Resorts which caters to the luxury segment, Cordis Hotels & Resorts, and Ying’nFlo which serve the upscale and midscale select service segments respectively. The properties will join the group’s existing hotel in Xiamen, the Langham Place, and take the total number of LHG hotels in China to 20. Xiamen Seaworld is CMG’s first Seaworld complex to be built outside of Shenzhen. The Langham, Xiamen, Seaworld will occupy the larger of the towers and include a sky lobby that occupies the hotel’s top floor and include an 880 square meter ballroom, close to the meeting rooms, covering a total area of 1,200 square meters. Culinary outlets will have ample floor space including its very own T’ang Court, an offshoot of The Langham, Hong Kong’s restaurant. The Langham Xiamen, Seaworld will also house an expansive branch of LHG’s iconic Traditional Chinese Medicine-informed wellness hub, Chuan Spa. In-room wellness offerings will also be available at the Cordis, Xiamen, Seaworld, which will be located in the second of the two towers. Cordis guests will have access to The Langham’s ballroom and meeting and event facilities while The Langham guests will benefit from a reciprocal arrangement that permits use of the Cordis’ 543 square meter ballroom and 755 square meters of meeting facilities. The second tower will also house LHG’s first mainland China branch of Ying’nFlo, their latest hotel brand which caters to the young and young at heart. The main attraction of this property will be the signature open space, which will be the largest of its kind anywhere.

Brigade Enterprises Ltd. announced ambitious expansion plans in Chennai, India. The company signed a joint development agreement with PVP Ventures Ltd for a residential project in the city. Brigade Enterprises also plans to construct a 250 room resort on the East Coast Road, its first such project in Chennai. Brigade said discussions are underway with hoteliers to manage the resort’s operation. The partnership with PVP Ventures is proposed to involve the development of a 2.5 million square feet high-rise residential project in Perambur, North Chennai, spread across 16 acres. The project is part of Brigade’s plan to increase its total room count by 1,200 keys over the next four years. The addition of the resort under the Brigade Badge aims to enhance the company’s portfolio and contribute to the growth of the hospitality sector in the region.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation has decided to redevelop Mapusa Residency, which is in disarray, by handing it over to a private entity which can bring it up to 3-star hotel standards. GTDC is offering 5,203 square meters of land in the heart of Mapusa in India, including all assets, so a private player can come in and operate a new city hotel for a 30 to 60 period. The new hotel could feature a spa, swimming pool, fitness studio and even a multiplex. GTDC said the concessionaire will have to develop, operate and maintain a 3-star or higher city hotel with a minimum of 40 rooms along with a multi-cuisine restaurant and a banquet hall for events. The private company will have to pay GTDC 5% of the annual revenue on a quarterly basis.

Suba Group of Hotels announced the launch of Click Hotel in Mundra, Gujarat. Mundra is recognized as India’s largest private port. Click Hotel, Mundra is described as a smart sustainable affordable luxury hotel. Suba said it is elegant, budget-friendly yet luxurious and a full-service business hotel designed to cater to the new age business travel. The hotel features 45 premium contemporary rooms, an in-house multicuisine restaurant – Cinnamon and a banquet venue. The hotel was developed by Connex – The Econ Hotels.

The Economic Times reported Edelweiss Alternatives has lent Rs 700 crore to Vatika Hotels, which owns The Westin Gurgaon in India, by partly buying out existing debt from Piramal Group and Goldman Sachs India. Vatika Hotels is a special-purpose vehicle under the umbrella of the Vatika Group. The private credit firm took half of the loan from Piramal Group and bought another portion from Goldman Sachs. In total Vatika Group refinanced debt worth Rs 1000 crore within the last 7-8 months.

Indian Hotels Company Limited has expanded its brand portfolio through a strategic alliance with Kolkata’s Ambuja Neotia Group for Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels, which was recently acquired by Ambuja. The Ambuja Neotia Group owns more than 750 keys across its portfolio, managed by IHCL with another 200 keys being added. Eventually, IHCL expects to assume the management responsibilities for the brand but for now, they will provide Tree of Life with sales, marketing, distribution, training, loyalty and branding support.

Success Universe Group, a co-investor in Ponte 16 in Macau, said the investment in the Ponte 16 casino-hotel complex Phase 3 will be between HK$500 million and HK$600 million. The extension will have an all-encompassing shopping mall and an open-air plaza at the heart of Phase 3. The plan has been presented to the Macau government and they await approval. Over HK$100 million will be allocated for renovations of Sofitel Macau.