Marriott Plans Luxury Expansion Across APAC

Marriott International announced it expects to open 14 additional luxury properties in Asia Pacific by the end of 2023. Marriott currently operates 156 luxury properties in the region. The Ritz-Carlton brand is set to expand in Japan with The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka opening in 2023. In Australia, the anticipated opening of The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne will open in early 2023 and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve anticipates debuting its fourth rare estate in Asia Pacific in the Chinese valley of Jiuzhaigou next year. Marriott will open a St. Regis in Goa as well as the St. Regis Jakarta later this year. Marriott’s W Hotels brand is slated to expand to Macau in 2023 and will celebrate its third hotel in Australia with the opening of W Sydney at ‘The Ribbon’ in Darling Harbour next year. JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort Suites will further the JW Marriott brand when it opens at the end of this year along with the JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa also making its debut in 2022. Slated to open in 2023 are JW Marriott Goa Vagator and JW Marriott Hotel Xi’an. The EDITION brand is slated to expand its footprint in 2023 with a second location in Japan, The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza. The brand’s first in southeast Asia, the Singapore EDITION will launch in 2023. Finally, Tokyo will see Japan’s first Bulgari property with the Bulgari Hotel Tokyo opening in 2023 in a new ultra-skyscraper near Tokyo Station.

Construction of the long-awaited resort at Kalgoorlie Golf Course in the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Australia has finally begun. The 122-room resort will be operated by DoubleTree by Hilton and was first announced in September 2017 with the hope the resort would be completed at the council-owned golf course by the end of 2018. Construction finally began this week with the installation of the first of about 500 pilings. The project’s original budget in 2017 was $22 million but now it is expected to cost in the vicinity of $35 to $40 million. The opening target date is now mid-2024. The hotel is being developed by Collab Capital, formerly Pacifica Developments.

PT Platnet Properindo Jaya Tbk will initiate the operation of Citi Hub Hotel, Kelapa Gading in Indonesia in 2023. The original operational target had been September 1, 2022. The progress of the building is said to have reached 75%. The hotel is being developed in the business and shopping center area in Kelapa Gading.

PT Aidia Indonesia Propertindo estimates the renovation of the Aidia Grande Hotel in Lampung will be finished by October 2022. The progress of the hotel construction is said to be 88.49% as of this month. The hotel is expected to target the government market, equipped with a three-star qualification.

The GLOW Mira Karon Beach has opened in Phuket, Thailand. The property is located a few minutes from one of Phuket’s longest beaches, holding a prime position with easy access to the ocean and the area’s dining and nightlife scene. The 154-room hotel has a selection of room types ranging from the 20 square meter Standard King to the 42 square meter Family suites. The property features two main dining outlets – the all-day Chen’s, the chill Lobby Bar as well as a Pool Bar. The hotel also has a 24 hour fitness center. The GLOW Mira Karon Beach is the seventh GLOW hotel to open in Thailand and the latest addition to the Fusion Hotel Group’s portfolio. The group has plans to open a new GLOW property in Bangkok in December 2022.

Sri Lanka’s John Keel Holdings said they will finalize a deal with a casino operator for its Cinnamon Life integrated resort. This follows the government issuing rules to regulate gaming. Cinnamon Life is expected to open in the first half of 2023 with the casino ready to open its doors in 2024. The expectation is the opening of integrated resorts in Sri Lanka will do what it did in Singapore and Manila, resulting in a surge in tourist arrivals. They are expecting a lot of visits from India and the rest of South Asia as there are no integrated casino resorts catering to those markets. We aren’t going to say Sri Lanka did it wrong but issuing 5 year gaming licenses is not the kind of things to spur investment. They did say an operator can apply for a 20 year license with a pre-payment.

Indian Hotels Company Limited said they see the target of building 300 hotels and 500 homestays as achievable while it expects to open 12 more hotels this year. In the past five years they have added almost 120 hotels to their pipeline, many of which have opened. IHCL’s current pipeline is north of 65 hotels with 180 in operation. 50 hotels were signed in the past 23 months and IHCL opened six hotels already this year. They expect to have opened 18 hotels this year by the time we get to 2023, meaning 1.5 hotels were opened a month in 2022. IHCL currently is in 100 plus destinations in India but they believe if they add homestays, that will get them to a total of 125 across the country. They see a positive outlook for India in the second half of this fiscal year as international travel is expected to resume from October to March and the MICE segment continues to see high demand. IHCL said the industry occupancy is currently 20% higher than pre-pandemic times.

IHCL also announced the signing of a Vivanta hotel in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The hotel will be located in SIDCUL, a key commercial area within the city. The existing hotel will be rebranded to Vivanta post upgradation. The hotel features 129 rooms and suites, along with multiple dining options and a bar. Recreational facilities include a swimming pool and gym, and banqueting facilities spread over 11,000 square feet. The hotel is slated to be ready to open as a Vivanta in 2023. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have eight hotels in Uttarakhand, including three under development.

Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts said India remains a key source market for their properties, particularly across Dubai, London and the Asia Pacific. India accounted for 12% of the visitor arrivals to Dubai in 1H 2022 – 8,580,000 – an increase of over 109% year over year. Jumeirah also said their Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab in Dubai will open in late 2023 with the new property to lead a new generation of Jumeirah Group’s ultra-luxury portfolio. Their international expansion continues with Jumeirah opening resorts in Bali and Muscat earlier this year with further new openings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia expected to launch in the coming months.

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts Private Limited has announced the promotion and appointment of Sandeep Basu as their associate director – development & operations. Basu has had previous roles in companies like Hyatt, ITC Hotels, The Park Hotels and Marriott’s Sheraton brand.