Singapore hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng and the Sultan of Selangor are waiting for Malaysia's approval to build a US$265 million Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur. The project would take advantage of the rise in tourist arrivals and demand for Malaysian property from overseas investors that pushed real estate prices in capital Kuala Lumpur to a record last year. The development, which will take three years to complete, would mark the fifth Four Seasons property for Mr Ong, the franchisee of the Hard Rock Hotel in Asia. The two-tower project will feature a 42-storey, 200-room hotel with 50 serviced apartments and 173 condominium units within in a 70-storey building that will be sold at more than US$289 per square foot.

Aston International Hotels, Resorts and Residences has launched a two-star category hotel chain in Indonesia, as demand for such accommodation with international standards of service picks up in the country. The group's president and CEO, Mr Charles Brookfield, said: "The idea is to cater to travellers who stay in a city for a few days, spend most of the day outside the hotel and just need a clean and safe place to sleep." Called Aston Express, the concept offers guests the bare minimum and each hotel will have between 120 and 200 rooms. Mr Brookfield estimates rates would be between US$20 and US$30 per night. The first two Aston Express hotels will open in the capital's Serpong and Jakarta Kota (Old City) areas during last quarter of 2007.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels PLC said to have agreed with Chelsea Football Club to open two hotels (with a total of 275 rooms) at the club's Stamford Bridge ground. The hotels will open following a substantial refurbishment and upgrade programme to be completed this year. The company intends to position the hotels on a global platform and in the UK to complement their two existing hotels at Premiership Club locations. Together with recent announcements of new Millennium hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi this brings the number of hotels within Millennium & Copthorne to 100 in 18 countries.

Singapore ranked second on the list of the world's top convention cities, below Vienna but above Barcelona. This is the second consecutive year the city has received this accolade. Latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) show that the segment of travel business known as BTMICE (Business travel, meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions) accounted for approximately 30 per cent of total tourism receipts of US$6.9 billion in 2005. Vienna hosted 129 conventions followed by 125 in Singapore and 116 in Barcelona. Other Asian cities on the top-10 list include Hong Kong (95 conventions) and Seoul (77). In terms of country rankings, the US tops the list with 376 conventions followed by 320 in Germany and 275 in Spain. STB says it will launch a marketing campaign in the second half of this year targeting key markets for BTMICE business.