Yotel Expansion Plan

Yotel is planning to develop 3,000 new cabins by 2018 at key cities and international airports such as Singapore, Paris, Miami, San Francisco and New York City. In Singapore, Yotel will open two properties – a 600 cabin hotel owned by Hong Fok Corporation Limited (HF) to be located at the heart of Orchard Road, slated to open by mid-2016, followed by a second property at Changi Airport. The brand, initially conceived to operate cabin hotels at busy airport terminals, has ventured into developing city hotels since the successful opening of the Yotel Times Square in 2011. Yotel prides itself with its unique capability of optimizing space utilization, through compact cabins and multifunctional spaces, assuring owners up to 50% more keys in a tight development site as compared to traditional brands. Singapore’s Orchard property will be their flagship hotel in Asia Pacific, following which the chain intends on continuing the partnership with HF to expand into major gateway cities such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul.

Bangkok Airways and Garuda Indonesia Codeshare

Bangkok Airways and Garuda Indonesia have initiated a codeshare agreement as of 15 December 2014. The partnership will lead to increased connectivity from the two hubs of Bangkok and Jakarta to many popular tourist destinations such as Phuket and Krabi in Thailand, and, Bali and Yogyakarta (Java) in Indonesia. It would also improve connectivity to other destinations such as Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Udon Thani (Thailand), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Ujung Pandang (South Sulawesi)and Semarang (Java). As of 2013, 594,000 Indonesians visited Thailand whilst 141,000 Thai nationals travelled to Indonesia. With an enhanced accessibility to these multiple destinations, visitor arrivals between the two countries are certainly expected to rise. Destinations such as Bali have experienced strong increases in domestic visitation, underlining the potential for outbound tourism from Indonesia to regional leisure markets.

Kunming – Singapore Rail Line

A land route connecting China’s Yunnan province to Southeast Asia, and more importantly to a coast – shipping access- has long been discussed. Plans are under discussion in form of a railway link between Yunnan and Singapore with a US$11.4 billion plan being sanctioned for the construction. The options are to connect the capital of Yunnan, Kunming, via northern Laos or western Myanmar. The northern rail routes from either Nong Khai to Bangkok or from Chiang Mai to Bangkok are both viable options that the Chinese rail could possibly link to. The Thai military government has already approved US$24 billion towards the improvement and expansion of the current railway network as part of the greater plan to link Thailand to Singapore. The Thai rail road construction and repairs are expected to commence in 2015 and will take an additional six to eight years for completion. Currently international access to Kunming is limited to air routes operated by China Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways. Hence, this new railway network is likely to provide a solid boost to tourism arrivals in the region.

Tourism Development Bank for Myanmar

With the rapidly growing tourism sector and a critical need to address the subsequent demand for capital amongst domestic developers to enter the industry, a Tourism Development Bank will be founded shortly in Myanmar. Having already secured government approvals to commence operations, the bank will primarily be aimed at supporting and improving the nation’s tourism sector by assisting entrepreneurs and providing loans and technical aid to local hotels and tour companies. Between 2010 and 2013, Myanmar saw an increase in tourist arrivals from 79,000 to 2.04 million at a CAGR of 37%. The number of hotel properties in the same period increased by 34%, from 691 to 923, with a consequent increase in total number of rooms from 235,000 to 348,000 (+49%). Foreign investment in hotels and commercial complexes have however seen little change, with merely 3 additional projects being added to the existing 36, reflective of the precautious stance adopted by international investors owing to the political situation in the country. Moreover, this initiative which is likely to boost hotel development by locals may further increase barriers to entry for foreign investors.

HVS Executive Search Now offers Global Executive Search Coverage by Adding Asia as a Continent

HVS recently announced that Mark Keith has re-joined the company in the capacity of Managing Director - Asia Pacific for HVS Executive Search. He had previously served as President - Asia Pacific for the HVS Executive Search practice, for a long tenure of 11 years. A seasoned professional and an industry specialist, Mark’s hospitality career has always been about people side of the business. With early experiences in Nigeria, Iran, Lesotho, Switzerland and across the Middle East, he moved to Hong Kong in 1982 to lead corporate human resources for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group before taking up similar roles with Holiday Inn Worldwide and the Peninsula Group. In his new role, Mark will be joined by his colleagues Scott Chiesa and Celeste Murphy. Together, they have a track record and depth of experience that uniquely qualifies them to lead and expand the HVS Executive Search practice and the distinctive services it offers to clients in Asia.

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Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 12 December 2014