WARWICK International Hotels intends to make further inroads into North and South-east Asia, with plans to grow its regional portfolio of five hotels—which includes KC Beach & Pool Villas in Koh Samui, scheduled to open in April next year.
Its four other properties in Asia are KC Resort & Over Water Villas in Koh Samui, Celebrity International Grand Hotel in Beijing, Rembrandt Hotel & Towers in Bangkok, and Warwick Ibah Luxury Villas & Spa in Bali.
Clare Chiu, director of business development, Warwick International Hotels, told TTG Asia e-Daily that locations being considered for expansion by Warwick include Shanghai and second-tier cities in China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and India.
“It is obvious why we should expand to China, Thailand and India,” she said. “However, we think that Cambodia and Laos have lots of potential too, as they are new destinations that are still relatively untouched by mass tourism.”
“We are keeping a close eye on all these markets, and we will make our move when the right opportunity strikes.”
Chiu said the group intends to adopt an expansion model in Asia different to the affiliate programme it employed in Europe and the US during the 1990s.
“In China for instance, we formed a global marketing alliance with Gloria Hotels. We envision that we might have to enter India using a local joint venture partner too,” she said.
When asked if the planned expansion in Asia was linked to the economic uncertainty in Europe, where the bulk of Warwick’s properties are located, Chiu said the group had been fortunate that its business in Europe had been “buffered by the excellent, central locations of our properties”, as well as a “loyal following”.
