The Shangri-La hotel in Pudong, Shanghai. (Courtesy Photo) Although luxury hotels in China are still feeling the effects of the  government’s anti-corruption campaign , Chinese consumers’ interest in luxury hotels is at an all-time high based on internet search results. The new “World Luxury Index Hotels” report for 2014 by  Digital Luxury Group  in partnership with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) finds that internet searches for luxury hoteliers surged 39 percent in China this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world. Luxury hotel searches originating from China made up 9 percent of the global total, placing China third behind the United States and the UK. “Such a significant increase in interest for luxury hotels from China can be attributed to a few things,” says Digital Luxury Group Founder and CEO David Sadigh. “Firstly, numerous Western hotel brands are opening in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities, building brand awareness in parts o...

Luxury hotels take collaborations with fashion designers to another level At Langham Place Mong Kok, big spenders have access to Thomas Pink's vintage Morgan, as part of the Elevated Experiences service. High fashion and luxury hotels have always been connected. But it was, of course, Versace who took this to the next level, opening his first branded hotel in 2000. He paved the way for others, such as Armani, Moschino, Ferragamo and Missoni. Last September, Versace's hotel chain announced plans for a new grand hotel in Macau, designed by Donatella Versace and billed to open in 2017. Sending an online purchase to a luxury hotel ... the concept was irresistible  DEAN WINTER, SWIRE HOTELS   The designer hotel trend has evolved in recent years. Big names such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Karl Lagerfeld, Barney Cheng, BAPE and Vivienne Tam - who worked with Hong Kong's Hotel Icon - started to design exclusive suites, rooms or uniforms for h...

Exclusivity and engagement with online forums are far from contradictory, with innovative ways to enhance status As a business professor teaching in France and Singapore, I have the privilege of interacting with executives spanning many industries - from food and restaurants to technology, pharmaceuticals, health, transport and luxury. Invariably, given my interest in social media, the discussion turns to how managers integrate social media in their business strategies. Consistently, with most managers of luxury and premium brands, I get the answer that social media is not a communication tool that luxury brands should use. Variants of this answer include that social media is "dangerous", or that "social media and luxury are incompatible". In short, luxury managers often see social media as a threat, or at best as something not very useful. Luxury brands that choose not to embrace social media make a serious mistake At first, this reaction seems appropria...

In order to gear up its spread in Thailand,  Hyatt Hotels Corporation  ( H   -  Snapshot Report ) announced the debut of a Hyatt Place branded hotel in Bangkok in collaboration with a local real estate firm Pioneer Property Company Limited (PPC). The new property named Hyatt Place Bangkok, Sukhumvit is slated to open for business in 2017. Lately, Hyatt Hotels is strategizing to beef up its portfolio in Thailand through introduction of its top class brands in the country. On previous occasion, Hyatt Hotels declared the debut of two other brands in the Thai city with the Park Hyatt Bangkok and Hyatt Regency Bangkok, Sukhumvit. The properties will come up in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Hyatt Place, the upscale select service brand of Hyatt Hotel, offers casual hospitality in a high-tech and modern environment. The brand appeals to both multi-tasking business travelers and leisure travelers. Hyatt Place has enjoyed huge success in the U.S. and expects to cater t...

There are currently 112 hotels and resorts spread across the Asia Pacific with another 70 to come over the next three years. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) , the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced the signing of Holiday Inn Incheon Songdo, in partnership with OK Center Development Co. Ltd, jointly held by Incheon Development & Tourism Corporation (City of Incheon affiliate) along with TWG Group USA LLC. Scheduled to open in mid-2014, the hotel will mark the entrance of the Holiday Inn brand into Incheon Songdo – South Korea’s first free economic zone – and its third Holiday Inn property in South Korea following Holiday Inn Seongbuk and Holiday Inn Gwangju. The 202-room property is nestled within Songdo Central Park, a green oasis in the midst of the country’s first international hub city. It is conveniently situated above the Central Park subway station and other attractions within the vicinity include Muui Island, Ulwang-ri, as well as famous ...

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express Hotels is planning to open 38 new hotels across West Asia and India in the next five years, a senior company official said. Seven new Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express Hotels are planned in the Middle East alone, adding to the 25 hotels already open in the region, Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East and Africa for IHG, said. In India, the brand will grow by over 400 per cent as 31 new Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels open across the country, including the country’s first Holiday Inn Express due to launch later this month, he said. “Holiday Inn has had a great 35 years in the region and continues to perform and grow today. It continues to demonstrate its strength as a mid-scale brand by providing guests in our markets with great experiences at good value,” he said. “We look forward to the launch of our first Holiday Inn Express in Ahmedabad later this month as we continue to grow the brand family, and we’...

Marriott International has announced it expects to more than double the size of its portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years. With 132 hotels open in Asia today and a pipeline of signed and approved deals now totaling an additional 143 properties, the company expects to grow to at least 265 hotels by 2016, with more than 80,000 rooms in 16 countries.  Commenting on the announcement, Simon Cooper, Marriott International’s president and managing director in Asia, said: “We are delighted with our growth in the region and believe it is a great testament to the popularity of our brands and the quality of our hotels in Asia that we expect to double in size by 2016. “We operate a strategically targeted brand portfolio and our products clearly resonate with our guests, our hotel owners and the communities in which we operate. “We have seen great growth across our portfolio and expect to be launching new brands in the region soon, with the introduction of Fairf...

The best may be over for Singapore's booming hotel market as tightening corporate budgets and bank job cuts leave more luxury rooms empty, crimping profits at firms such as CDL Hospitality Trusts. Singapore runs neck-and-neck with Hong Kong for the title of the world's busiest hotel market, with both boasting occupancy rates that exceeded 85 percent for 2011, according to the two cities' tourism boards. That's higher than in global tourist hot spots such as New York and London . Hong Kong's occupancy rate may pull ahead of Singapore's in 2013, largely because it has fewer new  hotels  slated to open. If Singapore's demand stays lukewarm next year, as many hotel operators expect, room rates and profits will slip. "We will see a slight drop in occupancy rate (in Singapore) mainly due to new supply that is about to come on board in 2013," said Jonas Ogren, Asia director at hotel data provider STR Global , based in Singapore. "In Hong Kong,...

Las  Vegas Sands Corporation  ha anunciado la apertura del hotel  Sheraton Macao  en Macao (China) que con casi 4.000 habitaciones se convierte en el establecimiento más grande de la cartera mundial de Starwood Hotels & Resort, que este año celebra el 75 aniversario de la marca Sheraton.      El  Sheraton Macao , ubicado en el centro del resort Sands Cotai, ofrece a sus huéspedes acceso a toda la oferta de entretenimiento, tiendas, restaurantes y convenciones. La apertura del hotel se produce justo un mes después del quinto aniversario del The Venetian Macao y del Cotai Strip.    La apertura del  Sheraton Macao  coincide con el 75 aniversario de la marca Sheraton y supone la expansión de Starwood en la zona de Asia Pacífico, donde se sitúa como el mayor operador de hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas y lleva camino de superar los 320 hoteles para 2014.    El hotel  Sheraton Macao  está ins...

De acuerdo a un informe elaborado por TopHotelsProjects, China se prepara para abrir más de un millar de hoteles en los próximos años, resaltando la presencia de grandes cadenas de todo el mundo y proyectos de gran envergadura. Por el tamaño del alojamiento, el Top 10 del ranking elaborado como parte del informe es liderado por el Sanya Beautiful Crown Hotel , en Hainan, que contará con 6,000 dormitorios y abrirá en marzo de 2013, siendo operado por Ritz-Carlton. En segundo lugar está el Sanya Bay Red Forrest Resort and Exhibition Hotel , de Best Western, que abrirá este año y contará con 5,600 habitaciones. El tercer lugar lo ostenta el OYC Hotel, de Dongguan, con 2,583 cuartos, y que será inaugurado a finales de 2014. El J W Marriott Hotel Macau ocupa el cuarto lugar, con 1,100 habitaciones. La apertura de este último está prevista para inicios de 2015. Hainan tendrá también un hotel de 1,000 habitaciones. Se trata del Caesars Palace LongmuBay , que abrirá sus puertas en ...

Louvre Hotels Group, una de las mayores cadenas hoteleras del mundo, ha inaugurado el primer hotel Royal Tulip en Asia del Sur, el 'Royal Tulip Luxuary Hotel, Navi Mumbai', junto al socio local Concrete Builders. Esta apertura supone la introducción de la marca Royal Tulip Luxuary Hotels en una de las ciudades más grandes del mundo, Navi Mumbai. El establecimiento, dirigido especialmente a clientes de negocios, está situado en el centro de Kharghar, en Navi Mumbai, a unos 40 kilómetros del Aeropuerto Internacional de Bombay y a tan sólo dos kilómetros del nuevo aeropuerto internacional. El hotel, de cinco estrellas, se levanta para captar la esencia de la rica y diversificada cultura de la ciudad. Con la experiencia en hospitalidad de Louvre Hotels Group, el 'Royal Tulip Luxuary Hotel, Navi Mumbai' ofrece su legendario servicio, amenidades de lujo, la mejor gama culinaria y todo tipo de opciones de lujo. En un ambiente impregnado por la historia y complementado po...

Internet posibilita la expansión internacional a través del acceso directo, inmediato y sin barreras a un mercado global de 1000 millones de personas. Las empresas en España viven un periodo de crisis económica tal que necesitan traspasar fronteras. El Marketing Online es una herramienta fundamental y económica para la internacionalización de las empresas. El volumen de horas de navegación en España desde el año 2000 ha pasado de 2 horas a 13 horas. Además, las actividades para las que se utiliza Internet son muy variadas y afecta mucho a las decisiones de compra: el 78% de los particulares hacen búsquedas de productos y servicios en Internet cada mes y el 93% de las empresas lo utilizan para investigar. La principal herramienta para la empresa es la web (en donde el mensaje debe ser transparente y concreto) que es el núcleo fundamental de la estrategia internacional de una empresa. Así, el 50% de las empresas, según hubspot, eligen un proveedor sobre otro basados en su web...

Los famosos almacenes Harrods de Londres llevarán pronto su marca al sector hotelero. El Qatar Holding LLC, propietario de la minorista de lujo británica desde hace dos años, ha firmado ya un acuerdo para abrir un hotel en la capital de Malasia, y ha anunciado su intención de repetir la operación en otras grandes ciudades. Este primer hotel de Harrods estará situado en el distrito comercial de Bukit Bintang, en Kuala Lumpur. Será el primero de la compañía en Asia, y su construcción comenzará en 2013. Para este proyecto, que contará con 300 habitaciones de hotel, apartamentos y locales comerciales, la empresa con sede en Doha invertirá 634 millones de dólares, según ha confirmado esta semana el vicepresidente de la compañía, Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla. Al de Malasia le seguirán otros proyectos hoteleros por todo el mundo, porque Qatar Holding quiere convertir a  Harrods   en una empresa global símbolo de lujo y ocio, según ha explicado Al-Abdullah: ‘Ya hemos decidid...

La cadena hotelera Best Western ha integrado en su compañía dos nuevos establecimientos, uno situado en Malasia y otro ubicado en la isla indonesia de Bali, con el fin de afianzar su expansión por el continente asiático. En concreto, la hotelera se ha hecho con el hotel Wana Riverside, de 170 habitaciones, en Melaka, ciudad situada al sur de Malasia y declarada Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, afianzando así su previsión de contar con 15 establecimientos de la marca en nueve destinos del país en el primer trimestre 2015. Del mismo modo, ha integrado el hotel Kuta Villa en la isla de Bali, en la zona turística de Kuta, con 50 habitaciones distribuidas entre suites de lujo y villas, posicionándose en el mercado indonesio en el que espera alcanzar las 2.500 habitaciones a finales de 2013, frente las 535 actuales. "Estamos orgullosos de formar parte de esta ciudad que se integra en la familia global de Best Western. La llegada de la marca reforzará aún más el a...