Hilton Promises 75 New Hampton Properties in India

Hilton announced the signing of a strategic licensing agreement with NILE Hospitality to open 75 Hampton by Hilton hotels in India. This follows an earlier agreement Hilton signed with Olive by Embassy to bring 150 Spark by Hilton hotels to the country. Under the agreement with NILE, the first upper-midscale segment Hampton by Hilton hotels will debut across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar. Hilton adapted the Hampton by Hilton brand to the Asia Pacific market and has been growing rapidly in China for over a decade.

Marriott International announced a year of growth in Greater China in 2024, with 161 deals signed, corresponding to nearly 31,000 rooms. That works out to an average of three projects signed each week. So far in 2025, they have signed an agreement with SCHotel Investment and Management Group, marking the expected return of the Design Hotels brand to mainland China, expanding its brand offerings. 2024 brought a 73% increase in the number of rooms signed in Greater China, solidifying Marriott's presence in the luxury space. The second St. Regis Hotels & Resorts brand hotel and second EDITION Hotel in Shanghai, along with the Ritz-Carlton in Xiamen and Wenzhou, W Hotels in Sanya and Hangzhou and the Luxury Collection and the third JW Marriott Hotel in Shenzhen were all part of that increase. Marriott also expanded their premium brand presence by signing over 30 agreements, up 88% over 2023, including a deal that will have them enter seven new destinations with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels and Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts branded hotels. Marriott is expanding its Tribute Portfolio brand in mainland China in a deal signed with Delonix Group last year. Marriott's select brands accounted for over 75% of the signings in Greater China last year, including new deals for Four Points by Sheraton and Fairfield by Marriott.

IHG Hotels & Resorts said they opened over 50 properties in Japan, continuing its plan to double its presence with the introduction of three new brands to the market. The company launched its Six Senses, Vignette Collection, and Garner brands in 2024. Six Senses Kyoto launched the brand in the country while hotels such as the RIGHA Royal Hotel Osaka and The Windsor Hotel TOYA Resort & Spa became the first two members of The Vignette Collection in the country. Midscale conversion brand Garner made its debut by opening three properties in Osaka. In 2025, IHG plans to return its midscale brand, Holiday Inn, to Tokyo and Kyoto. They will continue to expand their Crowne Plaza footprint to new destinations, including Okinawa, while their luxury InterContinental brand will open for the first time in Sapporo.

Singapore recorded 1.63 million visitor arrivals in January, up 17.3% over December and a gain of 14.8% year on year. Around 73% of the 1.63 million visitor arrivals, 1.19 million, were overnight visitors, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. The overnight visitor count was up 10.3% year on year. The top three source markets for Singapore's inbound visits in January were China with 376,470; Indonesia with 251,770; and Australia with 141,340. China had the longest average stay length at 3.66 days. The STB said they expect 17 million to 18.5 million arrivals this year, generating S$29 billion to S$30.5 billion in tourism receipts. The final tally is not confirmed, but STB said 2024 tourism receipts may have been 2019's record even though arrivals were only 86.5% of 2019 levels.

Accor said they are looking at tier 3 cities in India to capture growth in the market. Accor operates eight brands in India with 65 hotels and has 30 hotels under construction. Accor furthered this with the entry of the Pullman Hotels & Resorts brand into South India. The Pullman Chennai Anna Salai opened with 232 rooms and 11 suites, including four Superior Suites, six Deluxe Suites, and one Presidential Suite. The hotel is a conversion following the Rs 100 crore refurbishment of Raintree Anna Salai. Amenities include a spa, outdoor pool, and a fitness center, along with two restaurants. Part of the refurbishment included an additional boardroom while every guest room was renovated. The hotel is owned and was developed by Ceebros Group.

OYO's parent company, Oravel Stays, announced the launch of its European holiday home brand, DanCenter, in India. DanCenter will debut in the country with luxurious villas in Siolim, North Goa. DanCenter was acquired by OYO Vacation Homes in 2019 and has since expanded its presence across Europe. The company is in advanced discussions with the real estate group Provident Group on launching premium serviced apartments in Goa. DanCenter currently manages 12,000 properties across Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

HBX Group and Minor Hotels announced the global expansion of their preferred distribution partnership at MarketHub Asia 2025 in Macau, China. Minor Hotels will add 181 properties from Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Middle East to their distribution partnership. The group will also designate HBX Group as a preferred B2B distribution partner. HBX Group's global network will now have access to over 560 Minor Hotels properties across 58 countries. Looking ahead, Minor Hotels announced its intent to add nearly 300 properties to its portfolio over the next three years, which will also join the preferred distribution partnership.

The Peninsula Hotel project in downtown Yangon has been shelved. Nikkei Asia said the US$130 million hotel development planned by Peninsula has been shelved due to the political situation in Myanmar. While not saying it was canceled, Peninsula will take a loss of US$20.51 million spent already on development work. The project was planned on the site of the former Yangon Railway Headquartersand was to be a joint venture with Yoma Strategic Holdings, First Myanmar Investments FMI and Peninsula parent, Hongkong and Shanghai Hotel Group, with the latter owning 70% of the project and Yoma holding the remainder. The hotel was to have 88 rooms and actually began construction in 2014, originally expected to be completed in 2022.

Personnel Move

1834 Hotels, considered Australia's leading white-label hotel management company, announced the appointment of Rod Harrex as its new Chief Operating Officer. Harrex was most recently Chief Executive of the South Australian Tourism Commission.