| Hilton to manage hotel in Hainan Island | Return to Headlines |
| 22 March 2004 – Hilton International signed an agreement with China Jin Mao Group to manage a hotel on Hainan Island, China. The Hilton Sanya Resort and Spa will be located in Yalong Bay and is scheduled to open in 2006. The hotel will comprise 500 rooms, 1000-square metre ballroom and recreational facilities. | |
| Starwood H&R adds one in China | Return to Headlines |
| 22 March 2004 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts is set to launch a hotel in Shenzhen, China. Owned by Great China International Enterprises Company Ltd, the Sheraton Shenzhen hotel is scheduled to open in July 2005. The hotel, located at Shenzhen International Exchange Square in Futien District, will include 320 rooms and 50 serviced apartments. Furthermore, the hotel will comprise of 4 dining outlets, conference and recreational facilities. | |
| Global Investment Bank acquires stake in Grand Hotel Group | Return to Headlines |
| 22 March 2004 – Global Investment Bank and hotel investor Babcock and Brown has become a major shareholder in Australia’s Grand Hotel Group after acquiring a 15% stake. More than 20% of GHG was sold in three parcels on the stock exchange on Friday, prompting the security price to increase from 11 cents to 67 cents at close. These included parcels of 27 million, 5.9 million and 13.5 million shares changed hands in early trade. | |
| Sofitel Magic Lagoon Resort & Spa in Thailand sets to open | Return to Headlines |
| 23 March 2004 – Accor announced the opening of the Sofitel Magic Lagoon Resort & Spa officially on 1 May in Khao Lak, south of Thailand. Khao Lak is located 85 kilometres north of Phuket International Airport. The resort will comprise 319 rooms, 4 food and beverage outlets and 14,008 square metre lagoon pool. | |
| Visitor arrivals to Sri Lanka up 23% in January | Return to Headlines |
| 23 March 2004 – Visitor arrivals to Sri Lanka reached 50,000 in January, an increase of 23% compared to the same period 2003. The feeder markets include the UK, India and China. In particular, arrivals to Sri Lanka from China increased significantly by 176.7% in January. | |
| Accor adds one in Australia | Return to Headlines |
| 25 March 2004 – Owners and developers Glowmelt Pty Ltd and Accor Hotels today signed a management contract for a new hotel and conference centre in Muswellbrook, Australia. Negotiated by HVS International in Sydney, the property will be branded under the Mercure flag. Hotel construction is slated to begin in mid-2004, with an expected completion towards mid-2006. The 158-room Mercure Hotel and Conference Centre will provide a range of accommodation facilities, conference facilities for up to 400 people, a restaurant and casual pub, and a health club with gym, spa, sauna, beauty salon, massage rooms and both indoor and outdoor pools. | |
| Conrad to manage new hotel in Thailand | Return to Headlines |
| 25 March 2004 – Conrad Hotels signed an agreement to manage a resort outside Bangkok, Thailand. The Seasons Resort and Royal Golf and Country Club will comprise 392 rooms, 6,790-yard golf course and conference facilities. The hotel is part of a mixed-use development, which will also include office, residential and shopping complex components. | |
| Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort opens in Sichuan, China | Return to Headlines |
| 29 March 2004 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort in Sichuan, China. Owned by Sichuan Xin Chengxin Industrial Co., the property first opened in October 2000 as Jiuzhaigou International Hotel. Starwood H&R took over the management after the hotel completed a re-branding process. With an investment of RMB 380 million, Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort comprises 482 guestrooms, including 20 suites, six food and beverages outlets, 4,000 square feet of meeting space and recreational facilities. | |
| Mercure Hotel Ginza Tokyo is due for the third quarter of 2004 | Return to Headlines |
| 29 March 2004 – Accor Group and Mitsui Fudosan joined forces to convert an office building into a new hotel in Tokyo, Japan. The hotel, located in Ginza district, will be managed under Accor’s Mercure brand. The 209-room Mercure Hotel Ginza Tokyo is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2004. | |
| Shangri-La Asia’s net profit up 15% in 2003 | Return to Headlines |
| 29 March 2004 – Shangri-La Asia reported a net profit of US$72.7 million in 2003, an increase of 15% compared to US$63.4 million in 2002. However, revenue decreased from US$600.5 million in 2002 to US$540.4 million in 2003. | |
| Visitor arrivals to Singapore down 4% in February | Return to Headlines |
| 29 March 2004 – According to the Singapore Tourism Board, visitor arrivals to Singapore declined by 4% to 591,007 in February, partly due to a sharp fall in the number of Chinese holiday-makers. Visitor arrivals from China which decreased by 56% have led a 43% decline in total arrivals. | |
| Grand Asset Development to invest THB4.4 billion in Thailand | Return to Headlines |
| 30 March 2004 – According to the Bangkok Post, Grande Asset Development Plc plans to invest THB4.4 billion this year in new developments in Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand. The investment projects will include a four-star hotel in Phuket's Jungceylon shopping centre, as well as a new boutique hotel and serviced apartment building in Bangkok. In Phuket, the group signed a 30-year leasing contract with Phuket Square Co., the developer of Jungceylon. Under the deal, the company would develop a four-star, six-storey hotel with 209 rooms in front of Jungceylon project on Patong Beach. The project's construction is expected to be completed by January 2005. In Bangkok, the company plans to invest THB3 billion to develop a 340-room five-star hotel and 350-unit serviced apartment residence on Sukhumvit 13. The construction is expected to start in August and due to be completed in November 2006. | |
| Visitor arrivals to China up 2% in February | Return to Headlines |
| 30 March 2004 – According to the National Tourism Administration, visitor arrivals to China reached 7.5 million in February, an increase of 2% compared to the same period in 2003. The main feeder markets include Hong Kong and Macao, which increased by 2% and 5%, respectively. However, the total tourism income in foreign exchange in February declined by 1.4% to US$1.56 billion. | |
| Singapore Allson Hotel to spill in two | Return to Headlines |
| 31 March 2004 – According to The Strait Times, Singapore’s 450-room Allson Hotel may be split in two, and have different owners and brands in June. Hotel Royal has proposed to buy one of the hotel's two blocks - the 215-room Queen Street wing - for S$46.78 million. The existing owner, Sun Asia Pacific Corporation, would retain the other block, which comprises 235 rooms. | |
| New hotel at Bangkok international airport | Return to Headlines |
| 31 March 2004 –Italian-Thai Development PCL and Airports of Thailand PCL (AOT) signed a THB2 billion contract to build a 600-room hotel at Bangkok new international airport. The hotel is due to be in operations at the same time as the opening of the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in September 2005. The construction of the hotel will be divided in two phases - the first phase of 500 rooms will be finished in July 2005, while the second phase of 100 rooms will be ready in 2009. The hotel is a joint-venture between AOT (60%), Thai Airways International PCL (30%) and Krung Thai Bank PCL (10%). | |
| Guangzhou Government to develop twin towers | Return to Headlines |
| 31 March 2004 –According to The Standard, quoting the Guangzhou Urban Planning Bureau, the provincial government plans to build a 540-metre-high twin towers in Guangzhou. The development will include a hotel component and an office complex. The towers will be located in the Zhujiang (Pearl River) New Town on the river's north bank. | |
| EIH and Hilton forms alliance | Return to Headlines |
| 01 April 2004 – EIH Limited and Hilton International launched a strategic alliance that saw seven Trident hotels renamed Trident Hilton and the former Oberoi Towers in Mumbai rebrand the Hilton Towers. The hotels include Trident-Hilton Gurgaon, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Cochin and Hilton Towers in Mumbai. Trident Hilton Mumbai, a 400-room new property in north Mumbai, is scheduled to be built and opened in 2007. Under the strategic alliance, EIH will continue to manage all hotels and will undertake domestic marketing promotion and reservations in India. Hilton International will be responsible for international marketing, promotion and reservations through the Hilton global network. | |
| Holiday Inn Seongbuk opens in Seoul | Return to Headlines |
| 01 April 2004 – Holiday Inn Seongbuk Seoul is officially opened in the north-eastern city of Seoul in Korea. Owned by Woo Young Development Co. Ltd, the hotel is located in Seongbuk-gu, surrounded by 12 major universities. The hotel comprises 130 guestrooms and 3 food & beverage outlets. | |
| SRS-WorldHotels to add hotels in China | Return to Headlines |
| 01 April 2004 – SRS-WorldHotels plans to add 50 associated hotels to its portfolio in China during the next three years. The group has recently opened a sales office in Shanghai and signed new associated hotels in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen. | |
| Kempinski to manage hotel in China | Return to Headlines |
| 02 April 2004 - Kempinski Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement to manage a new-build hotel in Dalian, North East China. The 170-room Kempinski Hotel Dalian, located at Zhongshan District, will be part of a mixed-use development, including residences, serviced apartments and offices. The hotel is due to open in the second quarter of 2005. | |
| Dusit Thani gains ownership in hotel in Pattaya | Return to Headlines |
| 02 April 2004 - According to The Nation, the Civil Court of Southern Bangkok has ordered World Intertrade Corporation Co Ltd to transfer ownership of its Bt2.76-billion hotel in Pattaya to Dusit Thani Plc. The Southern Bangkok court also ordered World Intertrade to pay back debt worth Bt45 million plus Bt44 million in interest. After World Intertrade Corporation hands over the Dusit Resort Pattaya, Dusit Thani plans to continue operating the famous five-star hotel and beach resort. | |
| Ritz-Carlton Beijing is due for 2006 | Return to Headlines |
| 02 April 2004 - The Ritz-Carlton Beijing is slated to open in late 2006 in China. The hotel, located in Changan Avenue, is part of a mixed-use development, including 230,000 square meters of office space, eight residential towers, 160,000 square meters of retail space and an additional hotel. The hotel will comprise 320 rooms, 5 food & beverage outlets and 1,245 square metre meeting space. | |
| Accor adds one in Shanghai | Return to Headlines |
| 02 April 2004 - Accor signed an agreement with Shanghai International Automobile City Real Estate to manage five-star hotel in Shanghai, China. The Sofitel Anting is located next to the newly completed Formula 1 circuit and is expected to open in late 2005. The hotel will comprise 450 rooms, including 97 service apartments, 2 food & beverage outlets and a 1,800 square metre conference hall. Furthermore, Accor will also manage an adjacent 400,000 square metre Convention and Exhibition Centre. | |
