MARCO Polo Hotels is determined to return to South-east Asia, particularly Singapore, with president Steve Kleinschmidt saying the group was now proactively seeking management contracts in the region.
Director of development Asia-Pacific, James Mabey, who joined in January, has been busy scouring South-east Asia for opportunities. “Previously, our focus was exclusively on China,” Kleinschmidt said.
Thus far, the search has resulted in MoUs for four resorts in Thailand. Kleinschmidt said he was “relatively close” to signing an MoU for a hotel in Bangkok, but would not say more.
Kleinschmidt is under no illusions, however, and conceded that Singapore would take longer. He is hoping to secure a hotel there within three years.
“In Singapore, we’re looking at opportunities to reflag an existing hotel, in a core area, that meets Marco Polo standards in terms of size and potential for refurbishment. But there aren’t many,” he said.
Jakarta, where the group previously had an Omni hotel, is also on the radar.
Owned by Hong Kong’s Wharf Holdings, Marco Polo operates 10 hotels and has 11 in the pipeline, mostly in China. Kleinschmidt said the group was “well-ahead” of its target to grow its portfolio to 30 hotels (opened and in the pipeline) by 2016. He said Marco Polo would maintain its mix of 50 per cent owned hotels and 50 per cent management contracts.
Kleinschmidt admitted Marco Polo had been relatively quiet in development despite the long history of the brand, but said this was because it was under no pressure to grow for the sake of growth.
“More importantly is, we may be small, but we are a profitable, strong, consistent hotel company. In several markets where we’re surrounded by the multinationals (global chains), such as in Wuhan and Shenzhen, our hotels surpass theirs in RevPAR,” he said.
– Marco Polo’s resurgence, read the strategy, TTG Asia, July 8 issue
