Brands such as Shanghai's Jin Jiang International Hotel Group and Home Inns & HotelsManagement, Thailand's Dusit International, Singapore's Banyan Tree and Malaysia's HolidayVilla Hotels & Resorts are rapidly expanding to take on their more established foreign rivalssuch as Hilton and Hyatt.
The annual list, based on the number of guestrooms and hotels owned or managed bycompanies, and published by Hotels magazine, is a pointer. It is purely a numerical ranking,with the biggest 300 on the list. Eight of the top 10 in the 2011 list (based on 2010 figures) arefrom the United States and two from Europe. That's not surprising given that these regions arethe traditional 'big two'.
However, coming hot on the heels of the established giants are two Chinese companies, JinJiang International Hotel Group at 12th and Home Inns & Hotels Management at 13th. Ofcourse, quantity isn't everything, but it does indicate potential income. More hotels mean highervisibility and greater brand awareness, leading to higher demand. More rooms mean moreincome, financial power and the muscle to expand.
Of the top 50 largest brands in the world, four are from China including 7 Days Inn from 7 DaysGroup Holdings (23rd) and Shanghai Motel Chain Co's Motel 168 (36th).
Outside the Chinese mainland, companies from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indiaand Thailand are also progressing steadily. Currently, Mandarin Oriental operates 7,700 roomsand has 14 hotel projects under development, but said it will increase its portfolio of 27properties to 41 in the near future. The strategy is to grow and go to all key cities and resortdestinations around the world. The mid-term goal is to 'successfully operate 10,000 roomsworldwide', said the company's chief marketing officer Michael Hobson. Meanwhile, Shangri-La,another Hong Kong-based hotel chain, which has a 30,000-room inventory, will add 37 newproperties by 2015.
Thailand's Dusit International, boasting brands such as Dusit Thani, Dusit Princess and DusitResidence, has plans for 13 new hotels. And while JAL Hotels, which manages the Nikko, Okuraand JAL City brands, plans to add another five properties, Singapore's Banyan Tree Holdingswill double its number of properties by 2013. Meanwhile, Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts inMalaysia is looking to add 50 hotels to its portfolio in 10 years.
China is fast emerging as the common factor in all these expansion plans and all eyes are fixedon the rapidly growing hospitality market in the world's second-largest economy.
Lodging Econometrics reported that as of the first quarter of 2011, China had 1,260 projectswith 353,254 rooms in the pipeline, accounting for 62 percent of the region's total projects and70 percent of its rooms.
'Expansion in Asia has definitely helped our bottom line,' said Eikon Ito, JAL Hotels' director ofproject planning & development. 'It isn't only the revenue from the hotels that's important to us.It is also about building brand recognition with travelers, so that when visitors come to Japan orto other Asian markets where we have properties, they are familiar with our Nikko Hotelsbrand.'
However, while China continues to attract the lion's share of growth, other Asian hotelcompanies also have their sights trained on home turf and the Middle East.
'More than 40 countries are now predicted to have more than one million additional outboundtrips over the next five years. Many in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region are home toa growing middle class, keen to travel and explore overseas,' said Angelo Rossini, an analystwith the researcher Euromonitor International.
The Singapore-listed luxury resort operator Banyan Tree spotted the spending power of Asianconsumers as early as 2000. 'When we started, most of our guests were either Europeans orAmericans. By mid-2000, luxury travel from Asia started to outpace the traditional markets ofEurope, Japan and the US, which in 2006 contributed close to 70 percent of our revenues,'said Luca Deplano, Banyan Tree's vice-president of marketing. 'Now, roughly half come fromWestern countries and half from the ranks of the newly affluent Asian middle class.'
Picking up on the same trend, Shangri-La will put 12 new properties into Asia and the MiddleEast, while Furama Hotels International aims to expand in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, aswell as Indonesia and Thailand. Dusit is also moving in a similar direction: Catherine McNabb,vice-president of sales & marketing, said the group is focusing on Southeast Asia and is alsoexploring opportunities in the Middle East.
For JAL Hotels, Southeast Asian countries are the target: 'We chose to focus on this regionbecause it has expanding economies, which will create a greater need for hotel development,'said Ito.
Another rising giant is India. According to Lodging Econometrics, the country had the region'ssecond-largest hotel project in development and the third-largest in the world as of the firstquarter of 2011 and Asian companies are already making tentative forays into the market.Singapore's Frasers Hospitality is set to open three new properties in the southern metropolisof Bengaluru. Meanwhile, The Ascott and Shangri-La both have plans for the country. 'In thisindustry, a lot depends on the ability to foresee the future and move in first. If you are threeyears ahead of the closest competitor, you are in a much better position to get better returns.It's really how far ahead you can see,' explained Shangri-La's Kent Zhu, director of sales andmarketing.
In recent years, Asian hotel companies have also started venturing into Europe and the US.Mandarin Oriental hotels are already in many prominent European and US cities. FraserHospitality has properties in Europe. Shangri-La debuted in Paris last year and will soon openin London and Istanbul. Meanwhile, Banyan Tree is planning to enter Greece, Montenegro andPortugal.
Western locations are necessary to build a global business, according to Deplano: 'The hotelindustry is global in nature - our resorts and spas are located in 28 countries with a third of ourguests coming from Asia, a third from Europe and the US, and a third from the rest of the world- so positioning ourselves as a global niche player steeped in the Asian tradition is strategic.'
'These markets deliver brand presence for us. Although they will not offer the same level ofprofitability as the Asia-Pacific region because of higher operating costs, it is important for us toshow Europe and North America what Shangri-La is all about. That value cannot be measured,'explained Zhu.
Brands such as Shanghai's Jin Jiang International Hotel Group and Home Inns & HotelsManagement, Thailand's Dusit International, Singapore's Banyan Tree and Malaysia's HolidayVilla Hotels & Resorts are rapidly expanding to take on their more established foreign rivalssuch as Hilton and Hyatt.
The annual list, based on the number of guestrooms and hotels owned or managed bycompanies, and published by Hotels magazine, is a pointer. It is purely a numerical ranking,with the biggest 300 on the list. Eight of the top 10 in the 2011 list (based on 2010 figures) arefrom the United States and two from Europe. That's not surprising given that these regions arethe traditional 'big two'.
However, coming hot on the heels of the established giants are two Chinese companies, JinJiang International Hotel Group at 12th and Home Inns & Hotels Management at 13th. Ofcourse, quantity isn't everything, but it does indicate potential income. More hotels mean highervisibility and greater brand awareness, leading to higher demand. More rooms mean moreincome, financial power and the muscle to expand.
Of the top 50 largest brands in the world, four are from China including 7 Days Inn from 7 DaysGroup Holdings (23rd) and Shanghai Motel Chain Co's Motel 168 (36th).
Outside the Chinese mainland, companies from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indiaand Thailand are also progressing steadily. Currently, Mandarin Oriental operates 7,700 roomsand has 14 hotel projects under development, but said it will increase its portfolio of 27properties to 41 in the near future. The strategy is to grow and go to all key cities and resortdestinations around the world. The mid-term goal is to 'successfully operate 10,000 roomsworldwide', said the company's chief marketing officer Michael Hobson. Meanwhile, Shangri-La,another Hong Kong-based hotel chain, which has a 30,000-room inventory, will add 37 newproperties by 2015.
Thailand's Dusit International, boasting brands such as Dusit Thani, Dusit Princess and DusitResidence, has plans for 13 new hotels. And while JAL Hotels, which manages the Nikko, Okuraand JAL City brands, plans to add another five properties, Singapore's Banyan Tree Holdingswill double its number of properties by 2013. Meanwhile, Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts inMalaysia is looking to add 50 hotels to its portfolio in 10 years.
China is fast emerging as the common factor in all these expansion plans and all eyes are fixedon the rapidly growing hospitality market in the world's second-largest economy.
Lodging Econometrics reported that as of the first quarter of 2011, China had 1,260 projectswith 353,254 rooms in the pipeline, accounting for 62 percent of the region's total projects and70 percent of its rooms.
'Expansion in Asia has definitely helped our bottom line,' said Eikon Ito, JAL Hotels' director ofproject planning & development. 'It isn't only the revenue from the hotels that's important to us.It is also about building brand recognition with travelers, so that when visitors come to Japan orto other Asian markets where we have properties, they are familiar with our Nikko Hotelsbrand.'
However, while China continues to attract the lion's share of growth, other Asian hotelcompanies also have their sights trained on home turf and the Middle East.
'More than 40 countries are now predicted to have more than one million additional outboundtrips over the next five years. Many in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region are home toa growing middle class, keen to travel and explore overseas,' said Angelo Rossini, an analystwith the researcher Euromonitor International.
The Singapore-listed luxury resort operator Banyan Tree spotted the spending power of Asianconsumers as early as 2000. 'When we started, most of our guests were either Europeans orAmericans. By mid-2000, luxury travel from Asia started to outpace the traditional markets ofEurope, Japan and the US, which in 2006 contributed close to 70 percent of our revenues,'said Luca Deplano, Banyan Tree's vice-president of marketing. 'Now, roughly half come fromWestern countries and half from the ranks of the newly affluent Asian middle class.'
Picking up on the same trend, Shangri-La will put 12 new properties into Asia and the MiddleEast, while Furama Hotels International aims to expand in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, aswell as Indonesia and Thailand. Dusit is also moving in a similar direction: Catherine McNabb,vice-president of sales & marketing, said the group is focusing on Southeast Asia and is alsoexploring opportunities in the Middle East.
For JAL Hotels, Southeast Asian countries are the target: 'We chose to focus on this regionbecause it has expanding economies, which will create a greater need for hotel development,'said Ito.
Another rising giant is India. According to Lodging Econometrics, the country had the region'ssecond-largest hotel project in development and the third-largest in the world as of the firstquarter of 2011 and Asian companies are already making tentative forays into the market.Singapore's Frasers Hospitality is set to open three new properties in the southern metropolisof Bengaluru. Meanwhile, The Ascott and Shangri-La both have plans for the country. 'In thisindustry, a lot depends on the ability to foresee the future and move in first. If you are threeyears ahead of the closest competitor, you are in a much better position to get better returns.It's really how far ahead you can see,' explained Shangri-La's Kent Zhu, director of sales andmarketing.
In recent years, Asian hotel companies have also started venturing into Europe and the US.Mandarin Oriental hotels are already in many prominent European and US cities. FraserHospitality has properties in Europe. Shangri-La debuted in Paris last year and will soon openin London and Istanbul. Meanwhile, Banyan Tree is planning to enter Greece, Montenegro andPortugal.
Western locations are necessary to build a global business, according to Deplano: 'The hotelindustry is global in nature - our resorts and spas are located in 28 countries with a third of ourguests coming from Asia, a third from Europe and the US, and a third from the rest of the world- so positioning ourselves as a global niche player steeped in the Asian tradition is strategic.'
'These markets deliver brand presence for us. Although they will not offer the same level ofprofitability as the Asia-Pacific region because of higher operating costs, it is important for us toshow Europe and North America what Shangri-La is all about. That value cannot be measured,'explained Zhu.
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