Dusit International has made its debut in China with the soft opening of the dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel Changzhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu. This is the first property under a new Chinese joint venture company, Dusit Fudu Hotels & Resorts, which Dusit formed with Changzhou-based Qiao Yu Group earlier in 2013. Dusit Fudu Hotels & Resorts has set a target of opening 30 properties in mainland China within the next three years. The new dusitD2 property is located in Changzhou city and features 79 rooms and views over West Taihu Lake. The dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel Changzhou is the third dusitD2 hotel in the world and the first outside Thailand. Five more dusitD2s are being developed in the UAE, Thailand, Kenya, India and the US.

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has announced that international investment company, Pro Invest Group, has established a US$150 million fund to develop a portfolio of 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels across Australia. Pro Invest Group will build and operate an initial 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels, totalling approximately 2,150 rooms, in central business, suburban and airport locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. IHG will enter into franchise agreements for each of the hotels under a multiple development agreement signed between the two companies. The first hotel is slated to open at Macquarie Park in North Ryde, Sydney in the autumn of 2014.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced its first property in Phuket, Thailand. A management agreement has been signed with Kamala Bay Ventures for the Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort. Scheduled to open in late 2013, the 202-room property will be located on the west coast of Phuket, overlooking Kamala Bay and the Andaman Sea. The Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort will also feature 4,300 square metres of meeting facilities, three F&B outlets, a club lounge, fitness centre, a swimming pool and spa. This will be the third Hyatt property in Thailand, after the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and Hyatt Regency Hua Hin. Hyatt will also be opening two more properties this year with the Park Hyatt Siem Reap and Park Hyatt Changbaishan.