Nepal's Bust of a Peak Season

Nepal hotels are complaining they are not seeing the deluge of reservations they would expect at this time of year. The VP of Hotel Association Nepal said a quarter of the hotel rooms are vacant. The Association has 2,000 hotels as members. Only 25% of their 10,000 room nights have been sold. They claim nearly 20% of small and medium-sized hotels have closed as they had not expected the industry to slow down to this level. This is the peak tourist season where foreign thrill seekers flock into the country to go trekking or mount expeditions into the Himalayas. The association said the tourism recovery had reached 50% of pre-Covid levels. When the government announced they were building two international airports, the hotel industry went on a building boom, with billions of rupees being poured into dozens of hotel projects across the country. In 2017 there were three 4-star properties, now there are 20. An international airport has been constructed but tourists are not coming directly to Bhairahawa, the birthplace of the Buddha. The airport was built to boost trade and tourism. The hotel associations in the country all agree that the government must address this situation and find a way to attract tourism.

Asset World Public Company Limited signed a hotel management agreement with IHG to launch the Kimpton Pattaya and further demonstrate confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. The Kimpton Pattaya will be AWC’s second Kimpton hotel, located in central Pattaya as part of the Aquatique, and will expand AWC’s diverse portfolio of hospitality and lifestyle destinations. The launch comes after signing a multi-property agreement with IHG in 2020. It will be located in AWC’s Aquatique mega mixed-use project. This will be the fifth Kimpton in Thailand, scheduled to open in 2028 and will follow AWC’s Kimpton Hua Hin, expected to open in 2025. The Kimpton Pattaya will have 193 rooms and offer a variety of specialty restaurants & bars, a rooftop bar, a swimming pool, gym and wellness center along with meeting facilities with a Ballroom.

ANA Holdings and IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan signed a comprehensive commercial agreement. The agreement will develop the strategic alliance that started in 2006 with a series of joint campaigns activated throughout the year. The marketing will utilize ANA Group’s airline network and IHG’s hotel network, raising awareness of both in and out of Japan. The campaign will be called IHG ANA Hotels X ANA WOW! Experience Campaign.

Marriott International’s Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts brand unveiled Le Meridien Melbourne, marking the brand’s debut in Australia. The hotel is located in a prime location overlooking Parliament House, Spring Street and the east of Melbourne. The site was originally built for a hotel in the 1850s and has been through many iterations as a theater, cinema, nightclub and live performance venue. The property offers 235 guest rooms, including 14 suites. It includes Le Splash, the showpiece rooftop pool and terrace, Intermission lobby café, and low lit restaurant Dolly. The hotel offers 420 square meters of total conference space.

Pan Pacific, a member of the Singapore-listed UOL Group, has expanded its portfolio of Parkroyal hotels to the Malaysian island of Langkawi, a UNESCO Geopark. The 301-room Parkroyal Langkawi Resort is located on Tengah beach and features a choice of guest rooms and suites that range in size from 437 square feet for a deluxe room to 1,248 square feet for a two bedroom apartment. One- to three-bedroom villas range from 2,615 square feet to 3,982 square feet, featuring a lounge area and private plunge pool with direct access to the beach. There is an all-day dining restaurant, a spa, two pools, jogging trail, fitness center, variety of meeting and event space, and a kids’ club with an outdoor playground. Upcoming openings for Pan Pacific include Parkroyal Serviced Suites Hanoi and Parkroyal Serviced Suites Jakarta, in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The company expects to grow its portfolio to more than 50 hotels, resorts and serviced suites in over 30 cities across Asia Pacific, North America and Europe by 2024.

Artotel Group said they are acquiring hotel operator management company Milestone Pacific Hotel Group, strengthening its position to become a leading Indonesian hotel operator. Milestone Pacific Hotel Group has six brands, Maxone, Nite & Day, Zia, Ruma Ruma, Marc and One of a Kind, managing 45 hotels located in several provinces and second-tier regions in Indonesia. The hotels managed by MPHG target the middle and economy-class markets. With the majority stake in MPHG, Artotel officially manages more than 100 hotels with different hotel brands, spread throughout Indonesia from Aceh to Papua. Artotel Group specializes in boutique hotels with art and lifestyle concepts and also provides a wide variety of accommodation options, from luxury, boutique, to economical hotels that can meet the accommodation needs of Indonesia’s large domestic market, for both business and leisure. In 2020, Artotel only managed 17 hotels. They expect they will have another 50 hotels under management from the first quarter of 2023 to 2025.

Stotrak Hospitality has joined with Kool-Stays, announcing the opening of Hotel Luxury Inn in the Queen of the Hills, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. It is the second hotel of the group to mark its presence in the city. The development reinstates Stotrak Hospitality’s growing presence in leisure destinations pan India. The hotel features 26 rooms and suites. Stotrak already operates hotels in Mussoorie, Deharadun, Ranthambore, Jaisalmer and Nahan. The new hotel offers a rooftop multi-cuisine restaurant, intimate lobby lounge and more.

Middle East Highlights

Marriott International signed an agreement with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company, a wholly owned unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to open eight hotels in Madinah. The planned properties will be part of the Rua Al Madinah Project. The anticipated openings will feature approximately 4,400 rooms across eight of Marriott’s brands – The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft Hotels and Courtyard by Marriott. The Ritz-Carlton, Rua Al Madinah will offer 151 rooms and suites. JW Marriott Rua Al Madinah is expected to feature 252 rooms and suites while Le Meridien Rua Al Madinah and Westin Rua Al Madinahwill have 533 and 361 rooms and suites respectively. The Four Points by Sheraton Rua Al Madinah will feature 777 modern rooms and apartments, while the Aloft Rua Al Madinah and Courtyard by Marriott Rua Al Madinah are expected to offer a combined 1,810 rooms and suites.

Ennismore announced it would open Mondrian Abu Dhabi, the brand’s first project in the United Arab Emirates, in collaboration with Al Hazoom Group. The hotel is expected to open in 2024, located in the city’s bustling downtown area alongside the Abu Dhabi canal. The project has already broken ground and will feature 221 rooms and 80 serviced apartments, as well as six unique food and beverage venues, a ballroom, four meeting rooms, a spa, a swimming pool, kid’s club, retail area and a fitness area. Mondrian Abu Dhabi will also offer a chic crystal-clear lagoon. The lagoon will feature an infinity pool design, lounges and daybeds surrounding the water’s edge.