Chinese luxury travellers continue to consume the imagination of hotel groups, reports Raini Hamdi. Meanwhile, the new Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland captures her imagination as she tells you the story of a little village that just refuses to go into obscurity
Redefining luxury with Chinese upmarket guests in mind are, from left, Marco Polo Hotels’ Eric Waldburger, General Hotel Management’s Akira Moreno and Langham Hospitality Group’s Robert Warman
Hong Kong-based Marco Polo Hotels and Langham Hospitality Group are launching new brands that have the Chinese luxury customer in mind, joining earlier entrants InterContinental Hotels Group and General Hotel Management (GHM) which have fielded Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts and Ahn Luh Resorts and Residences respectively.
Niccolo, Marco Polo Hotels’ first new brand since the group’s inception in 1986, will be a collection of “contemporary urban chic hotels” closely aligned to “a lifestyle fashion experience”. Marco Polo Hotels’ president, Eric Waldburger, explained this synergises with parent Wharf Holdings’ multiple International Financial Square (IFS) developments – high-end retail, residential and office precincts which it is building in China.
The first Niccolo hotel will open in early 2015 within the newly opened IFS Chengdu, China’s next mega city in the Sichuan province. “We will be building the brand in China with our IFS developments and partnering with high-end fashion, before shifting our focus to other regions to accommodate the ever-increasing Chinese outbound market,” said Waldburger.
The new brand aims to live up to the pioneering spirit of Niccolo Polo, father of the group’s namesake, Marco Polo, by offering new ideas such as “a new breed of concierge service”, retail partnerships exclusively available to hotel guests and a Niccolo Lecture Series. The first Niccolo in Chengdu, with 228 rooms and suites, aims to benchmark the brand’s “passion for high-end fashion, eclectic cuisine and genuine hospitality”. Another three Niccolo hotels are to open in Chongqing, Changsha and Suzhou by the end of 2017.
Asked what the difference is between Niccolo and Marco Polo, Waldburger said: “The brands are more complementary than distinct. As a brand extension Niccolo builds on the Marco Polo legacy but is redefining the guest experience to focus on unique signature discoveries of style, cuisine and culture. Technology, design and service will set new benchmarks that appeal to captains of industry, entrepreneurial leaders and icons of style.”
Langham will launch a China hotel brand in September, pitched at the five-star level but just below the Langham brand, said CEO Robert Warman.
“We could become the reliable place for the new Chinese travellers,” he said, adding that the brand would also be expanded to Asia and worldwide, although there are enough opportunities in China for Langham to tap without going beyond the country.
Warman said the Chinese travellers’ tastes and wants are not that different from international guests, however, what Langham’s China brand hopes to fulfil is to “provide well” for Chinese guests in areas such as food, language, etc.
More details of the brand will be unveiled soon.
Meanwhile, GHM’s first Ahn Luh has opened in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, while its second is opening in early 2015 in Zhujiajiao, Shanghai. Another two are under development in Dujiangyan, Sichuan and Xunliao Bay, Guangdong. GHM is in advanced talks with developers in China in Beijing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Liyang (Jiangsu province), Sanya, Xi’an and Yichun (Heilongjiang province) and internationally in Taipei and Bali, according to Ahn Luh’s CEO and GHM’s vice president-development & pre-opening services, Akira Moreno.
He pointed out that while China has benefited from the expertise in key hospitality competencies that global hospitality brands have brought, this expertise still generally caters to international travellers. On the other hand, local Chinese hotel brands have continued to grow a fair share of the domestic market but none have truly established themselves as peers with their Western counterparts.
“Naturally, with more international leisure and business travellers wanting to experience more of the local culture, we anticipate growth in the demand for a brand that will effectively weave and encapsulate the best of both worlds. This is where we see Ahn Luh filling the gap as it balances the two scenarios mentioned above,” said Moreno in an article in the latest issue of sister publication, TTG Asia Luxury.
While China has benefited from the expertise global hospitality brands have brought, this expertise still generally caters to international travellers…
Akira Moreno,CEO, Ahn Luh Resorts & Residences, and vice president development &pre-opening services, General Hotel Management
This article was first published in TTG Asia, August 22, 2014 issue, on page 17. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
