TTG Asia e-Daily will be taking a break from February 8-9 due to the Lunar New Year holidays. News will resume on Wednesday, February 10.

From all of us at TTG Asia Media, we wish all readers a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year! Huat ah!

AMARI Havodda Maldives is ready to welcome guests to its 120-villa island resort located in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, approximately 400km south of Male.

It is situated within one of the largest atolls in the world, enveloped by natural greenery, lagoons and beaches. The island is also surrounded by a pristine house reef featuring coral zones and marine habitats, making it a haven for diving, snorkelling and underwater discovery.

Resort facilities include one of the largest infinity pools in the Maldives, a market-style F&B option, Amaya Food Gallery, and the signature Breeze Spa.

To celebrate its opening, guests will receive 40 per cent off all villa bookings for arrivals before April 30, 2016.

HUA Hin Marriott Resort & Spa, located on a beachfront roughly 200km away from Bangkok, will be reopening in March 2016.

Situated two and a half hours’ drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, the resort offers 322 guestrooms with private balconies or terraces, while top-floor suites feature a living area, dining room, kitchen and bar.

Various F&B options are also available, including an all-day dining restaurant serving Thai and international cuisine; signature grill and seafood place Big Fish & Bar; Pool Bar which offers signature cocktails; as well as Siam Bakery which offers fresh juices and bakes.

Resort facilities include the Quan Spa, a 24-hour fitness centre, an adult-only swimming pool, a kid’s club, kid’s pool and waterpark, water slides and a family-friendly treehouse.

For meetings and events, a ballroom, numerous breakout rooms, and an outdoor event area are available.

ASCOTT has signed seven more management contracts for serviced residences in South-east Asia, adding more than 1,500 units to its portfolio.

In Thailand, the Somerset Ekamai Bangkok is slated to open by this year, while in Vietnam, the Citadines Bayfront Nha Trang and Somerset West Point Hanoi will open in end-2016 and 2017 respectively.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Citadines Kings Bandung, Citadines Ara Damansara Petaling Jaya, Citadines Batu Maung Penang and Citadines Montfort Shah Alam will open progressively from 2019.

“South-east Asia is Ascott’s fastest growing market and second largest globally after China. We continue to see strong growth opportunities in the South-east Asian markets, underpinned by rapid urbanisation, a large young population and rising domestic consumption,” said Lee Chee Koon, CEO, Ascott.

“The recently established ASEAN Economic Community that aims to integrate these markets and lower trade barriers will further increase foreign investments, fuelling demand for quality accommodation. In the year ahead, we can expect to see this robust growth trajectory across the other geographies as Ascott picks up momentum to double our portfolio to 80,000 units globally by 2020.”

KidZania Dubai

KIDZANIA Singapore, an interactive indoor edutainment centre, is scheduled to open in April at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island.

The 7,600m² facility will feature 60 attractions and 90 role-playing activities suitable for children between the ages of four and 14, and has the capacity to entertain 1,500 visitors at any one time.

Unique to KidZania Singapore are private sector partnerships, such as with Maybank Singapore, to offer role-playing activities that are similar to real world experiences. There will also be a football stadium for children to practice and for coaching lessons.

Will Edwards, CEO (attractions) for Malaysia-based Themed Attractions Resorts & Hotels, said: “Singapore is a new market for us. Sentosa generates a lot of tourist visitations and we believe this new attraction will attract domestic visitors and tourists from China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

“As such, we will develop special packages for tour operators and organise fam trips for overseas travel agents. It’s different compared to KidZania Kuala Lumpur, where the location attracts domestic visitors mostly from the Klang Valley.”

This is the second KidZania facility developed by the company. Their first facility, KidZania Kuala Lumpur, opened in 2012. There are currently KidZania parks in 17 countries including Indonesia, India, Thailand, Russia and South Africa.

HOTEL owners in the Philippines are increasingly developing their own hotel brands instead of relying on international operators.

Ayala Land Hotels & Resorts, one of the country’s biggest hotel investors, with names like Mandarin Oriental, Raffles, Fairmont, Marriott and Holiday Inn managing its properties, is expanding its homegrown Seda from a business hotel brand to also offer resorts and serviced apartments.

Roughly 2,000 keys under the Seda brand are currently under construction with openings slated from this year till 2018, said Al Legaspi, president, Ayala Land, during the inaugural Hospitality Investment Conference Philippines organised last week.

Another hotel investor, Robinsons Land, which has nine properties across the Philippines under its own Go Hotel brand, plans to double its room inventory within five years.

SM Hotels & Convention too, already has homegrown hotels in Tagaytay and Batangas, and are open to investing in areas like Cebu.

As well, more upmarket brands – including Bellevue, Henann Group, Astoria, Acacia and those under Discovery Leisure Group – have managed to expand overseas after finding success in the domestic market.

Grancis Gotianun, assistant vice president of Filinvest Hotels, said he is “very optimistic (about the performance of domestic hotel brands) particularly in the next five years” as the country’s travel infrastructure continues to be built up.

THE consolidation fervour that has hit the industry with the recent Marriott/Starwood, Accor/Fairmont and Commune/Alila/Destination Hotels & Resorts M&As is expected to flow on to ASEAN hotel groups.

Eric Levy, managing director of Tourism Solution International (TSI), said it was “inevitable” that consolidation would soon involve ASEAN region’s local hotel groups. Even financially strong, privately held companies such as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group were being speculated in the news as exploring “strategic options”, he said.

TSI has been involved in numerous discussions with regional groups that are reviewing opportunities for inorganic growth outside their traditional markets. “Thus, while the global players will get the big headlines, we at TSI expect to see intra-regional consolidation to pick up pace as well,” he said.

During a panel session at the recent 5th Thailand Tourism Forum in Bangkok chaired by Levy, one of the panellists, Suparat Chirathivat, vice president business development at Central Hospitality International, said: “I think you will see acquisitions/mergers with regional operators (who are) trying to compete against the big players. We look for opportunities like this.”

Another panellist, Faez Jumabhoy, managing director & head of Real Estate Finance Investment Banking, CIMB Group, said: “In Asia, we are looking at mergers and acquisitions happening in the next 24 months. People are looking for lower risk capital markets, such as REITs, so there will be consolidation (across borders)”.

Levy added there was great opportunity for international operators to gain exposure to Asian markets through M&As of small, more locally-adapted management companies.

“Without a doubt, regional players will be involved in (consolidation) as Asia will continue to be the world’s most active growth market for the industry.

“I expect to see regional players involved in consolidation within the region, and further that global companies’ consolidation efforts will include regional players,” he said.

But the industry won’t end up having just a handful of mega hotel groups.

“Far from it,” said Levy. “Just as there remains many great independent hotels today, different categories of owner/operators, owners of hotels that employ third-party managers and travel trends of millennials will maintain the demand for true independent properties and intimately-sized hotel groups.

“Evolving technologies will enable these properties and hotel groups to serve the niche of the market that prefers the non-mainstream market and I do not see them going away. Many will thrive in the coming decades.”

Anthony Ross, CEO, Aryaduta Hotels Jakarta

ANTHONY Ross has left Preferred Hotels and Resorts after two years as executive vice president based in Hong Kong and has joined Aryaduta Hotels as CEO based in Jakarta.

Part of the Lippo Group, Aryaduta has nine existing hotels around Indonesia and another 40 properties in various stages of development.

“It is sure to be challenging and eventful, but it is something that I have always aspired to do and now I cant wait to get into it,” said Ross.

Preferred has yet to find a replacement for Ross. In the meantime, its executive chairman John Ueberroth is babysitting the role.