CONFERENCE REPORT
Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific continued... 13-15 October – InterContinental Hong Kong
Hong Kong and Thailand, where they have two hotels under construction, both due to open in 2012. “We will have each of our two core brands, the Langham and Langham Place, in Bangkok, each with distinct locations; one in the cetral business district on Sukhumvit Road, and the other in the district of Pamatay, an emerging high end residential and commercial zone,” says Langham Vice President for development Andrew Jessop. “We think the city of Bangkok, like a lot of other key Asian cities, can handle more than one property at one time. Thailand has proven to be very resilient over the years, the economy itself is booming and it remains one of the world’s top leisure and business destinations.”
Langham has also announced
a resort in Phuket and plans to build a hotel in Doha, joining several hotel groups expanding along a ‘New Silk Road’, which crosses China and India towards the Middle East. “We’re jumping on this New Silk Road bandwagon unashamedly,” admits Jessop. “We think Doha is a buoyant location; Dubai has done tremendously well over the past ten years and now Doha is starting to pick up as other areas of the Gulf realise that post-oil, they need to have a diversified base. They’re working towards
that quickly, and we’re very lucky to be on board.” The hotel announcement coincides with a large tourism roadshow visiting Hong Kong conducted by Qatar Tourism, with Langham Doha expected to open in 2012. The Regent brand was also a hot topic as new owner, Taiwanese entrepreneur Simon Pan, announced bold new plans for the once ailing hotel chain. Pan has been joined by industry stalwarts Robert Burns, the original founder of Regent, and Ralf Ohletz, formerly of GHM, and plans to create a series of properties that return the original simplicity of the brand but with distinct, contemporary twists, and an emphasis on ‘bespoke’ experiences. “What Regent created 30 years ago is now standard five-star around the world. We need to start innovating again. While our lifestyles evolve, hotels need to evolve too.” Development will focus on China as well as keystone cities around the world, in addition to properties already in the pipeline in Abu Dhabi, Bali, Bangkok, Doha and the Maldives and existing hotels in Beijing, Berlin, Bordeaux, Taipei, and Singapore. “Regent was born in Asia, has strong brand recognition in Asia, and is now coming home to Asia,” concludes Pan.
www.hicapconference.com
146 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2010
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM
International Hotel Conference 2009 Venice continued.... 20-22 October – Hilton Molino Stucky Venice
continued from p.144
and quickest to react in the upturn by re-instating refurbishment and recruiting new staff that stand to gain the most. The danger is the increase in fixed costs that may strangle profitability. After two enjoyable years experiencing the delights of
Venice and the quirky charms of the labyrinth that is the Hilton Molino Stucky, the conference returns next year to the newly refurbished meeting spaces of the Hilton Cavalieri in Rome.
www.ihconference.com
Russian Hotel Investment Conference 25-27 October, Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre, Russia
Horwath HTL hosted a plenary session on pipeline and develop- ment at the fourth RHIC held at the Renaissance Monarch Centre in
Moscow.The session was led by Michael O’Hare, Manag- ing Director of Horwath HTL Russia, who was joined by senior developers from Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
The session addressed whether Russian hotel development had begun to move again after a dif- ficult 2009, where financing was scarce and opportunities were limited. Michael O’Hare talked about the huge disparity in sup- ply of international hotel brands compared to demand and how this would be the driving force for opportunities as the finan- cial markets loosened and bank lending began again. The general feeling among the brands was that projects were beginning to
move again, and that those hotels whose construction had been delayed due to a freeze on financ- ing were now finding new sources of capital to enable completion. O’Hare said, “It was positive to hear that projects and demand for opportunities are beginning to grow again. Russia, in particular Moscow and St Petersburg, had a period of very strong growth in the middle of the decade until the financial crisis. Those brands will now need to take the opportunity of an upturn to gain critical mass and look outside of the two major centers to the vast majority of Russian cities that have no international presence at all. There are over 50 cities in the region with over half a million in- habitants that could support new hotel supply and that is where we expect the focus to be in the coming years.”
www.russia-cisconference.com
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