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The Beijing Olympic Games are sparking fierce competition among hotel groups.

The US-based Hilton Hotels, which has five properties in China, hopes to have two more open by the end of July.
Marriott International has opened three hotels in the capital under the JW Marriott, Courtyard and Ritz-Carlton brands and increased its Beijing portfolio to seven. It is preparing to open two more, a Renaissance and a Marriott, in July.
InterContinental Hotels Group says eight more of its hotels will open this year in Beijing. The group already has nine hotels in Beijing.

Besides the new openings, many existing upscale hotels in Beijing, including New World Jing Guang Hotel, China World Hotel Beijing and Shangri-La Hotel Beijing, have redecorating and or expansion work scheduled for completion before the Games begin on August 8.

Lin Yuan, director of sales and marketing with Novotel Beijing Sanyuan said, ‘The Olympics is absolutely a golden opportunity, nobody would like to miss promoting themselves.’

There will be about 50,200 athletes, international workers, journalists, sponsors and their business clients who will be accommodated by 112 local hotels.

However, no hotel group is banking on just the Olympics. Sustainable economic growth is their goal.

The Beijing Tourism Bureau believes the number of overseas guests will grow at around 30 to 60% annually, rising to a peak in 2010, and the average occupancy rate will increase to more than 72% in 2009. A lot of hoteliers are praying that the Bureau’s projections come to fruition.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Koos Klein, Asia Pacific Hotelier of the Year is overseeing the largest development pipeline in Hilton International’s history in Asia, with the group poised to open 300 hotels in the next nine years

For the company this is a time of great change – Hilton was acquired by the Blackstone Group late last year – and the intent of the new investors is clear. Grow the company and sell it.

Koos Klein said, ‘It is clear that Blackstone did not buy Hilton to hold on to it forever. They are acting as our balance sheet which is good. It means more money for development. But private equity is opportunistic and the company is extremely active in gearing for growth.’

Five of the six top leaders at Hilton International have changed after the acquisition.

The accelerated rate of growth of Hilton in Asia Pacific can be put down to the fact that the company is introducing its Hilton Family of Brands across the market segments.

When Klein arrived in 1998 to run Hilton in the area, Asia represented only 5% of the company’s bottom line.

In China, the company will operate 26 hotels in China by 2011 and has entered into a deal to franchise 25 hotels under its mid-scale brand, Hilton Garden Inn to RREEF Alternative Investments (the global alternative investment management business of Deutsche Bank) and H & Q Asia Pacific.

Efforts to develop the flagship Hilton brand continue, while the company expects to bring more luxury properties into the pipeline under the Conrad and Waldorf Astoria Collection brands.
Source: 4Hoteliers

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com