Debut of Aman's Sister Brand Janu

Savills Vietnam issued a report saying despite improvements in 2022, occupancy and room rates in Ho Chi Minh City have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. The occupancy rate of 45% last year was 20 percentage points higher year on year but was still 23 percentage points less than the figure in 2019. The average room rate reached 1.6 million VND (US$67) per night last year, up 21% year on year. Five star hotels saw occupancy increase by 24 percentage points year on year and average room rate up 44%. The growth was driven by business travelers and MICE guests. Savills said HCM welcomed 3.5 million international visitor arrival last year. That was only half what 2019 had. This year the city is targeting five million international visitor arrivals and 35 million domestic holidaymakers, earning tourism revenue of 160 trillion VND (US$6.74 billion). Supply at the end of 2022 reached 15,500 rooms from 111 projects in the city, increasing 8% year on year, nearly reaching the pre-pandemic level. The pipeline is the saving grace right now, with only Sotetsu Hotel and Macxy Hotel expected to launch by 2025 as other future projects were postponed or have no specific construction schedules. That follows eight new projects with about 1,300 rooms this year.

Thai hotel operators are ramping up plans to expand investment at home and abroad according to Nikkei. The article discussed Centara Hotels and Resorts planning to build at least six hotels over the next few years, setting aside 23 billion baht. They are planning to open a Centara hotel in Osaka, Japan on July 1 and another five hotels in Thailand. Dusit Thani is targeting Japan with a new hotel slated to open in Kyoto in the next few years. They will build 14 hotels in 2023, pushing total room capacity to 13,000 in 17 countries. Budget hotel operator Erawan Group is planning to increase the number of its Hop Inn hotels, hoping to have 100 locations open by 2015, up from the current 50. Minor International opened hits high end NH Boat Lagoon Phuket resort this year, boosting the total number of hotels and resorts to 531 across 56 countries. The optimism stems from the China reopening as the Tourism Authority of Thailand upped the number of Chinese tourists expected to between 7 million and 8 million visitors in 2023. The previous forecast was around 5 million. In 2022 Thailand welcomed more than 11 million foreign tourists and this year the TAT is forecasting 25 million to 30 million foreign arrivals, expected to pour 2.38 trillion baht into the economy. In 2019 there was 39 million tourists. Kasikorn Research Center is projecting the hotel occupancy rate to hover around 60%, up from 30% in 2022.

The huge fire in Hong Kong Thursday night into Friday which received so much attention was the 48 story luxury Kimpton Hong Kong hotel that is under construction in Tsim Sha Tsui. The 492 room hotel development caught first shortly after 11 PM on Thursday and was finally extinguished around 8:30 AM on Friday. The Middle Road site is being redeveloped by Empire Group Holdings. The blaze spread to some nearby buildings including Chungking Mansions.

Ennismore announced the arrival of the first Maison Delano in Asia. Maison Delano Seoul will be located in the heart of South Korea’s capital when it opens in 2026. It will include 81 guestrooms and 52 branded residences and a selection of culinary and mixology experiences. The hotel will become home to a member’s club, a sunken garden courtyard, spa and gym, as well as an indoor and outdoor infinity rooftop pool overlooking the tree canopy of Gangnam Park. The hotel will be located in the district of Gangnam in the southern part of Seoul.

The first Momentus hotel in Asia officially opened on March 1, 2023. Momentus Hotel Alexandra in Singapore is a 442 key property that is expected to appeal to both astute business and leisure guests. The seventh level of the hotel is complete with a 25 meter long infinity pool, bounded by two F&B outlets and a swim up bar. The hotel includes the Momentum Club, their executive level accommodations with gives guests access to a myriad of bespoke services such as personalized check-in and check-out, breakfast buffets, all-day refreshments and evening cocktails. The Momentum Club Lounge is located at the highest floor, level 19.

Melia Hotels International will open two new INNSiDE hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. INNSiDE is a collection of unique urban and beach hotels designed for those with curious minds who have a fluid lifestyle when it comes to work and leisure. First to debut will be the 238 room INNSiDE by Melia Kuala Lumpur Cheras, the first to open in Malaysia, flinging open its doors this month. The hotel is situation in the vibrant commercial hub of Cheras. The hotel will have two vibrant multi-functional areas, the Big Ideas Space and the Recording Studio, both on the fifth floor, near an alfresco palm tree-fringed infinity pool with an expansive sun-lounging deck. The 208 room INNSiDE by Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit, in the Thai city’s trendy ON Nut neighborhood, will include an expansive co-working space on the thirty-second floor. Further up the sky high school bar and open-air swimming pool that will occupy the two topmost floors.

Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts is planning to expand its footprint beyond Sri Lanka and Maldives and has started evaluating options. They want to leverage the Cinnamon brand for international expansion. Right now they have 15 properties, eight resorts and three hotels in Sri Lanka with 2,100 keys and four resorts in Maldives with 450 keys. They are looking at India, Middle East and Asia for expansion. Their strategy is an asset-light model. CH&R is planning to open its sixteenth property, the Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort, in the island nation of Sri Lanka by the second half of CY24. The project will include residential towers, mall, office towers, two hotels with 800 keys and a casino. They are currently looking to tie up with the best operator to run the casino.

Aman’s sister brand, Janu, is set to open its first hotel, Janu Tokyo, this coming autumn. The hotel will be in Tokyo’s ‘Modern Urban Village’, Azabudai Hills, the Janu Tokyo will feature 122 guest rooms, a vibrant dining scene, one of the largest wellness facilities in the city as well as invigorating and restorative experiences to rekindle the soul. Azabudai Hills is an 8.1 hectare hub created and managed by Mori Building Co. Ltd. The 13-story Janu Tokyo is located in the B-2 District Tower. The majority of the 122 rooms will have private balconies with views of the Tokyo Tower. The rooms range from the 55sqm Deluxe Rooms to the 284 sqm Janu Suite with an abundance of connecting rooms. Janu Tokyo will be home to six restaurants as well as a bar, lounge and garden terrace. The Janu Wellness Centre will span over 4,000 square meters, one of the largest wellness facilities of any luxury hotel in Tokyo. The full development of Azabudai Hills will include Aman Residences, Tokyo, located in a separate building from Janu Tokyo. The urban residences are set to complete in 2023 and will offer 91 exclusive homes as well as lifestyle services and a residents-only 1,400sqm Aman Spa.

Bloomberry Resorts has rescheduled the opening of its new resort casino in the Philippines to next year. Solaire Resort North in Quezon City will launch in the first quarter of 2024. Solaire North was previously expected to open before the end of 2023 but the original opening time was in 2022. The 1.5 hectare property will be in Quezon City.

South Australian property developer Makris Group is in talks with lenders to back its $500 million expansion of Gold Coast’s Marina Mirage shopping precinct. The planned expansion includes a new luxury hotel, additional retail and dining outlets and 90 luxury apartments.

Personnel Moves

Rosewood Hotel Group has promoted some executives: Lucy Werner has been promoted from Senior Vice President of Commercial to Chief Commercial Officer. Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed, Head of Social Impact, will advance to the role of Vice President of Social Impact. Rosewood veteran Agnes Park, who started her journey with the Group in 2017 in Los Angeles, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and General Counsel from her previous position as Vice President of Legal and Deputy General Counsel – Global.