Chinese Hotel Chains Expand into Southeast Asia

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended July 20th. Hotel RevPAR in China was down -8.4% on a year over year basis. It was up against a +36.9% comp in the year ago week. For the week, hotel occupancy was down -0.9% year over year while ADR made up most of the decline in RevPAR for the week with a drop of -7.5%.

China Daily reported on China domestic hotel chains expanding their operations outside of China territories. The article discussed how these chains are making inroads in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries, the first nations to embrace the increasing arrivals of Chinese travelers and the article is not talking about the major homegrown hotel chains. The article mentioned iElectronic Sports Hotel, an under-the-radar company, that is constructing its first overseas facility in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, offering more than 80 rooms to esports enthusiasts, already making a US$2.75 million investment. Malaysia is said to have over 1 million game users, all said to be loyal fans of Chinese eSports games. More hotels catering to eSports enthusiasts are likely to be established in other Malaysian cities as well as Vietnam, Thailand and the Middle East. Elong Hotel, with properties already in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan as well as Cambodia, is looking to open a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia by the end of this year. Another example is Hotel MONday, one of the international brands invested in by Shenzhen-based Delonix. The parent company has also been actively preparing its Model J hotel in Jakarta for an opening. The CTG Hotel Holdings Corp, a unit of China Tourism Group, has made breakthroughs in the Southeast Asian market, engaging in brand franchise cooperation with international hotel groups such as IHG, Wyndham and Hilton. They signed agreements to manage nine hotels in Thailand, with four already opened. The number of outbound tourists from China exceeded 87 million in 2023 and is expected to surge to 130 million this year.

Numerous foreign-owned hotels have opening their doors across Japan in 2024 with the weak yen helping to drive a surge in overseas visitors. The trend is especially prominent in Osaka and Kyoto. Hilton is expanding with four new accommodation facilities. The DoubleTree by Hilton Kyoto Station opened in March with 266 rooms. By this autumn, the Hilton Kyoto will open in the Kawaramachi-Sanjo area in the city center. In Osaka, the DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle, with 373 rooms, opened in May near Osaka Castle Park. The hotel is in the building developed by Daiwa House Industry Co. In September of this year, Hilton will debut its Canopy brand in Japan with a hotel in the Grand Green Osaka redevelopment area north of JR Osaka Station. In 2025, Hilton's Waldorf Astoria brand will open in the same area. Hilton is not the only one rushing to open hotels in this region. Hyatt's 167-room Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka opened in June, IHG is planning to have three existing hotels in central Osaka renovated by the end of this year, just to name a couple more.

Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corp bought two Tokyo hotels for $115 million. US$60 million, or 9.6 billion Japanese yen, was used to purchase the 76-room Mimaru Tokyo Shinjuku West and about 8.8 billion yen, or US$55 million was spent to buy the 169-room Amanek Shinjuku-Kabukicho. Japan REIT has a portfolio of 49 hotels with 12,516 rooms. The Mimaru opened in 2020 with the Amanek openings its doors last year.

Sayaji Hotels announced the grand opening of two Enrise properties in Ahmednagar and Nagpur in India. Enrise by Sayaji in Ahmednagar has 30 luxurious rooms. The hotel, located on Nagar Manmad Road, features state-of-the-art banqueting facilities, the Klove Lounge and Momentt Multi-Cuisine Restaurant. Enrise by Sayaji in Nagpur is located near Lakshmi Nagar Square, Nagpur District. The property features 38 well-appointed rooms and grand banquet facilities. The dining options include the Momentt Multi-Cuisine Restaurant. Sayaji Group of Hotels is said to be renowned for its 'Yours Truly' service, with hotels catering to both leisure and business travelers.

Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd announced the opening of Sterling Aravalli Udaipur in Rajasthan. This marks the third resort in the royal city of Udaipur and the sixth in the state of Rajasthan. The resort has 67 well appointed large rooms, a fine dining vegetarian restaurant called Airavat, a swimming pool in the center courtyard and the soon-to-be-unveiled Signature Spa and Lounge Bar. Sterling Holiday Resorts has three resorts in Udaipur, with offerings for multiple segments including Leisure, Conferences and Destination Weddings.

Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd announced the opening of a 42-room hotel in Jamshedpur, its first in Jkarkhand state. The hotel features a recreation bar, pan-Asian restaurant, banquet, fitness center, and other public areas. Jamshedpur is considered to be Jharkhand's financing and business district.

Sarovar Hotels, in collaboration with SVS Hotel Ltd., announced the opening of Sarovar Portico in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The hotel is situated on the Ambala Highway and is the city's first branded hotel. The Sarovar Portico in Saharanpur has 97 appointed rooms across three distinct categories – deluxe rooms, executive suites and suites. The hotel includes Flavours, an all-day dining restaurant. The largest banqueting and conferencing facilities in the city are part of the amenities, spanning over 48,000 square feet. Sarovar Hotels is part of Louvre Hotels India. SVS Hotels is the owner of the Sarovar Portico Saharanpur.

Crimson Hotels Private Limited announced an expansion into the Kingdom of Bhutan. The company has opened two new hotels – Econostay Lhaki Yangchak Residency, Thimpu and Econostay Lhaki Yangchak Residency, Paro in the 'Land of Happiness." With the addition of these two new hotels in Bhutan, the group now has eight operational hotels in three countries with the other two in India & Nepal.