CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has signed 26 properties, set to add over 6,000 units across 22 cities in 11 countries.
The properties, which will open in phases from 2019 to 2023, are mostly signed under management contracts, with three on franchise agreements.
Through these new signings, Ascott will enter six new cities across Asia-Pacific, Central Asia and Africa. It will foray into Atyrau in Kazakhstan, Nairobi in Kenya, Yokohama in Japan, Seongnam in South Korea, as well as Cam Ranh and Hoi An in Vietnam.
Ascott has also expanded its presence in 14 cities – Melbourne and Sydney in Australia; Chengdu, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xi’an in China; Bogor and Jambi in Indonesia; Cyberjaya in Kuala Lumpur; Cebu in the Philippines; and Bangkok in Thailand.
To cater to the burgeoning middle-class segment in the region, Ascott expanded its select service business hotel brand Citadines Connect to Bangkok in Thailand, after Sydney in Australia and New York in the US. Ascott also brought the hotel brands under Tauzia, which it has a majority stake in, to countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam, beyond its predominantly Indonesia market.
In a statement, Ascott revealed that the majority of the new properties are in Asia-Pacific as the region continues to see strong demand for lodging in tandem with lower cost of travel, improving travel infrastructure and the middle-class’s growing disposable income and aspiration to travel. By 2022, global lodging sales are forecast to reach US$812 billion, with Asia-Pacific remaining the second largest market.
