Hilton makes two changes to its leadership team
Hilton has appointed Paul Hutton to the position of head of Australasia, while Alexandra (Alex) Murray will take on the role of head of South-east Asia, with both leadership changes effective January 1, 2022.
Hutton will succeed Heidi Kunkel, who has led the Australasia region over the past 3.5ears. The move represents a return to the Australasia leadership role for Hutton, who spent the past four years as Hilton’s regional head of South-east Asia, where he built a robust leadership team and oversaw significant portfolio growth.
As the leader of Hilton’s Australasia portfolio, Hutton will be based in Sydney where he will continue to drive Hilton’s successful recovery efforts, working closely with the company’s network of owners. In this role, he will oversee 27 operating hotels and a development pipeline of 12 hotels and resorts, with further growth plans to double Hilton’s footprint in Australasia in the next five years.
Taking up the South-east Asia leadership role is Murray, who will transfer from Hilton’s operations in Europe, Middle East & Africa. In that role, Alex oversaw a portfolio of 57 hotels with a pipeline of 47 properties.
Based in Singapore, Murray will oversee 46 open and trading hotels in the region, with a further 51 in the pipeline – including the largest Hilton hotel in the APAC region.
Both Hutton and Murray will be part of the Hilton APAC Senior Leadership Team.
Sri Lanka to lift lockdown, ease restrictions for vaccinated visitors
Sri Lanka looks set to end a six-week nationwide lockdown on October 1, while at the same time easing border measures for fully vaccinated visitors.
In an announcement on Tuesday (September 28), the government said that from October 1, fully vaccinated tourists and Sri Lankans will no longer be required to take a Covid-19 PCR test upon arrival at the local airport if they present a negative PCR test result at the point of embarkation.
Unvaccinated visitors, however, will be required to undergo a 14-day hotel or home quarantine.
The move represents a further easing of travel restrictions for fully vaccinated arrivals. Since July, vaccinated tourists can enter Sri Lanka without having to quarantine if they test negative for Covid-19 on arrival.
Authorities said that the relaxed rules is partly to boost tourism in the country. Tourist arrivals have been a trickle, averaging about 3,000 per month since mid-January 2021 when the airports reopened after a shutdown due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the government is also planning to end the nationwide lockdown on October 1, as the Covid-19 situation in the South Asian country has improved.
The six-week lockdown was imposed on August 20, and has been extended thrice, as the country struggled to contain a deadly third wave which began in mid-April.
With the looming lockdown lift, industry officials have said they are looking forward to a pick-up in tourist arrivals during the winter season.
In a recent interview in the Daily FT newspaper, national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines chairman Ashok Pathirage spoke of early signs of a tourism revival, “forecasting earnings of over 500 million rupee (US$6.7 million) alone in the upcoming winter season, demand for which is on the rise as the national carrier ramps up services”.
With the recent removal of Sri Lanka from the UK’s travel red list and surveys showing a rise in interest to travel to Sri Lanka, the national carrier will ramp up services to London. In 2019, the UK emerged as Sri Lanka’s second largest tourist source market, after India.
“The season ahead looks very promising and we are getting ready for a busy schedule,” Pathirage was quoted as saying.
As of September 28, Sri Lanka has recorded 515,524 Covid-19 cases and 12,786 related deaths.
One Singapore hotel is saying no to after-hours communication, yes to hybrid workplace
Singapore-based Royal Plaza on Scotts has introduced policies to enhance its employees’ work-life balance, including no after-hours communication, no meeting Fridays and hybrid workplace people practices.
The new practices indicate that employees should avoid communication about work after hours, on rest days and public holidays. These include emails, calls and text communication. All employees will pledge to support work-life harmony and sign their name to show their commitment for these new and progressive people practices.
With that new approach, employees are advised to respond with emojis to indicate that they are off work. A smiley face with sunglasses emoji means that one is off for the day. The reply can be made when the employee is back at work.
In the case of emergencies and unexpected situations that require immediate attention and resolution, employees can use three shocked expression faces to indicate urgency of the matter and continue to explain the situation further.
“The management understands that this might take some time for the employees to get used to as we are all so highly-connected via technology, especially since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Patrick Fiat, general manager of Royal Plaza on Scotts.
He added: “It is important that employees get quality time with their loved ones to stay productive and energised.”
In addition, No Meeting Fridays are also rolled out to help employees have one full day of uninterrupted time to fully concentrate on the tasks that they have on hand, to prepare themselves for the week ahead and to unwind for the weekend.
In embracing a hybrid workplace, Royal Plaza on Scotts has also introduced new worker-oriented policies.
Administrative employees can choose to work in office or from home and manage their work where they can be most effective. By working with their respective team leaders, employees can arrange for a work-from-home day once a week.
For frontline employees, flexible work arrangements exist in many forms. Operation team members have a choice of five- or six-day work week, 22- or 44-hour work week, or fixed shift, based on their individual needs.
Hilton offers franchise opportunities in China
Hilton has launched its large-scale franchise business model in China, allowing independent hotel owners in the country to benefit from Hilton’s commercial strategies and support network under franchised partnerships with its upscale focused-service brand Hilton Garden Inn.
The hotel group is offering a Hilton Garden Inn brand prototype developed specifically for the Chinese market, which fulfils its commitment to providing guests with exceptional stay experiences, while also driving long-term investment success for owners.
Under the programme, owners can take advantage of attractive upfront investment costs, while the leaner operating model drives profitability and provides ease for day-to-day operations.
To date, Hilton has inked more than 100 deals to develop Hilton Garden Inn hotels in China, bolstering the company’s confidence in the long-term growth of the focused service brand and its ability to cater to a rising middle class.
Clarence Tan, senior vice president, development, Asia Pacific, Hilton, said: “Beyond China, we are confident that this development model will thrive in key destinations across Asia, as we anticipate rising demand for hotels in this segment in the long-term.
“We are always on the lookout for the right partners in the right locations, and we will absolutely be assessing the right time to introduce the franchise model to regional investors in Asia-Pacific – helping them to capture the strong demand for midscale lodging solutions.”
Hilton Garden Inn currently has a global footprint of over 900 hotels, with 35 in China and 44 across Asia-Pacific.
Extended international flight ban a big setback for Indian tourism players
The road to recovery for Indian tourism stakeholders continues to be bumpy and uncertain with the government further extending the suspension on scheduled international commercial passenger flights till October 31, 2021.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced the latest extension via a circular on Tuesday (September 28). The earlier ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end on September 30.
To add on to the woes of tourism stakeholders, the government has yet to announce the resumption of the e-tourist visa facility, which has been suspended since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sanjay Razdan, director of Razdan Holidays and joint secretary of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), shared that stakeholders had expected the Indian government to restart scheduled international flights and e-tourist visas from October 1.
“The IATO had made various representations to the Ministry of Tourism and other government authorities for the cause,” he said.
“We were also positive considering our major source markets like Europe have ensured that the majority of their population is vaccinated. Also, the Indian vaccination drive is going on in full swing.
“We were hoping for a positive announcement so that we can prepare ourselves to receive international tourists from November onwards.”
K Vijay Mohan, managing director of Holiday World and president of Tours & Travels Association of Andhra, opined that India is lagging behind other international markets in its tourism restart strategy.
“At a time when other international markets are opening up for tourism, we are still not beginning scheduled international flights. India is allowing special flights so I don’t see why scheduled international flights can’t be resumed,” he said, adding that airfares will become cheaper once international flights recommence.
India at present is allowing special international flights to operate in the country under the government’s Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) which launched in May 2020. Up till September 27, 2021, the national carrier, Air India, has operated 17,651 inbound flights under VBM.
“At present, travellers who are coming to India are arriving due to emergency reasons under other categories of visa. It is not a holiday and the majority of tourists would prefer not to pay the present steep fares to visit India,” said Lally Mathews, managing director, Divine Voyages.
“Inbound tourism can’t take off unless international flights and the e-tourist visa facility are resumed. There are many international travellers who have booked commercial flights online for coming months but they won’t be able to embark on the journey until scheduled international flights begin.”
Mathews added that Indian travel trade associations need to be more proactive if they want their issues to be addressed by the government.
Meliá Chiang Mai announces GM
A hospitality veteran with three decades of industry experience in Asia and Europe, Edward E. Snoeks, will take charge of the new Meliá Chiang Mai scheduled to open by end-2021.
Snoeks joins Meliá Chiang Mai after managing the pre-opening of Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok & The Residences and working as both Thailand’s regional general manager and general manager of The Okura Prestige Bangkok.
Previously, he was the general manager of Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Causeway Bay and vice president of hotel operations at Hong Kong Parkview Hotel Services.
His work in Asia goes back to 1994 when he worked for The Regent Hong Kong’s F&B department. Snoeks’ hotel management experience also includes stints at the Marco Polo Hotels in Hong Kong, the Mutiara Hotel Kuala Lumpur and Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam on Koh Samui.
Comprising a 22-floor tower fronted by an adjoining seven-floor podium building, Meliá Chiang Mai will feature a host of facilities including two restaurants, two bars, two lounges, a YHI Spa with seven treatment rooms, a fully-equipped fitness centre, swimming pool, ballroom and four additional meeting spaces.
Nicole Regel to oversee Sabre’s business in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
Sabre Corporation has promoted experienced travel industry leader Nicole Regel to oversee the Sabre Travel Solutions agency business across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
Regel, whose career in the travel business spans more than 25 years, has been promoted to Senior Director in a significantly expanded role as she takes on the leadership of the Australia and New Zealand team while also retaining her role overseeing Sabre’s ongoing partnership with the Flight Centre Travel Group. Her focus will remain on leveraging Sabre’s best-in-class technologies and unrivalled access to global markets to grow its travel business in the region.
She has experience across the wholesale, airline, TMC, and technology sectors and has held leadership roles within operations, sales, and account management. The move builds on three years as director, global accounts, at Sabre for Regeel, as well as high-level roles within other travel and airline businesses including CT Connections, Virgin Australia, and Creative Holidays.
As senior director, Regel will continue to be based in Sydney, reporting into Sabre’s regional headquarters in Singapore.
Malaysia mulls lifting border control as interstate travel resumption looms
The Malaysian government is deliberating lifting border control and allowing fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel abroad as well as tourists and business travellers to enter the country, amid expectations that interstate travel in the country will resume by mid-October.
The announcement was made by the National Recovery Council chairman, Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday (September 27), however, he did not specify a date as to when border measures will be eased.
He also said that interstate travel will be allowed when the country achieves 90 per cent adult vaccination coverage, and this could be realised in early October or at the latest, by mid-October.
As of Tuesday, Malaysia has fully inoculated 85.1 per cent of its adult population.
Commenting on the federal government’s plan to resume interstate travel from next month, Uzaidi Udanis, president of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, stressed that a consensus must be reached between both federal and state governments.
He cited the recent case of the federal government announcing that fully vaccinated domestic travellers will be allowed to visit Melaka from October 1, only for the state government to come out later to say that interstate tourists will not be accepted until the 90 per cent vaccination target is reached.
“There are costs involved when preparing for a reopening after a very long closure,” said Uzaidi. “A lesson that can be learnt from Melaka is that communications between federal and state governments must be improved upon and there must be ample notice given to tourism stakeholders to prepare to receive visitors. (Reopening plans) will backfire if the destination is not ready to receive visitors.”
Meanwhile, Penang Port CEO, Sasedharan Vasudevan, said the port authority has submitted the standard operating procedures for Covid-19 management to the government and once approval is given, cruise operators can begin their cruise-to-nowhere operations out of Penang.
Hale and hearty
Chroma Hospitality
Chroma Hospitality has undertaken several initiatives for three of its existing hotels and resorts, with two more brands – Grafik and Quest Residences – to grace the city of Baguio.
With Philippine destinations subject to frequent lockdown changes, the Travel Concierge at Crimson Resort and Spa in Boracay and Mactan, Cebu lessens guests’ confusion by keeping them updated with the latest travel regulations and helping them complete required documents.
The two resorts have also partnered with AirTaxi.ph to fly guests directly to the resorts and back, avoiding airport queues and crowds. “Demand is picking up as private point-to-point travel is becoming the new norm,” said country head James M Montenegro, adding that guests were also choosing to keep together in bubbles while in the hotels.
Over at Quest Plus Hotel and Conference Center Clark, the next goal is to partner with other countries to create event bubbles after successfully hosting a sports bubble in Clark New City for the Philippine Basketball Association, International Basketball Federation, and the Israeli swimming team. A volleyball bubble is now in the works.
Montenegro explained that such event bubbles are a growing market, and the company is now “fast-tracking vaccination of all our colleagues” to ensure that properties can continue to support and welcome future event bubbles. As of press time, Chroma’s Mimosa Plus Estate and Quest Clark team are 90 per cent vaccinated.
“We also want to create a bubble to attract South Korean golfers as our caddies are all vaccinated. This will hopefully jumpstart international tourism for the Philippines,” he enthused.
In terms of portfolio expansion, Chroma recently signed a partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the developer of New Clark City, to build a Grafik Hotel and Quest Residences in a 5,700m2 site in Camp John Hay in Baguio.
Geared towards millennials and young-at-heart travellers, Grafik Hotel will offer some 180 rooms, two restaurants, a grab-and-go deli, a ballroom and a wellness centre. The first Quest Residences will sit in an independent tower but connected to Grafik Hotel via a sky bridge, allowing residents to enjoy hotel facilities. – Rosa Ocampo
Club Med
Although Club Med has no resorts in Singapore, it has been able to maintain engagement with target customers in the city-state during the pandemic through its Body & Soul programme.
The Body & Soul programme has its roots at Club Med Bintan, Indonesia, where it has for the past decade welcomed guests from all around the world in need of a holistic wellness escape.
This year, the programme arrived in Singapore, via a partnership with Pan Pacific Hotels Group, providing travel-starved residents with a unique wellness retreat right in the heart of the city.
Rachael Harding, CEO, East and South Asia & Pacific with Club Med, said the programme was a hit, drawing mostly individuals and couples who were interested in fitness and wellness programmes, and “wanting to have a different staycation experience in Singapore”.
The programme marries the best of Club Med’s extensive schedule of fitness classes and wellness workshops with Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay’s lifestyle offerings such as farm-to-table experiences, garden-in-a-hotel surroundings, and more. From yoga and barre, to urban farm tours and mixology sessions, the programme elevated the typical hotel staycation programme.
The company is continuing to innovate its product offering, with the creation of Worktainment, a new approach to corporate teambuilding, as well as Work Hub, which invites guest to work from some of the most beautiful vacation spots in well-equipped spaces.
For the rest of the year, Club Med is preparing for the tourism rebound. It has maintained guest engagement through curated content. For example, Thrive Again by Club Med comprises digital content that highlights never-before-seen local destination insights for keen learners, exclusive travel tips as well as special features of go-getters within the organisation and inspiring personalities.
Harding shared: “We aim to instil a new spirit of optimism in our guests, partners and local communities, helping to renew and ignite their journeys to getting back to their best selves.”
Moving forward, Club Med will continue to expand its portfolio. It launched Club Med Seychelles this March, and will add two new resorts in China later this year. Come 2024, Club Med Borneo Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia will open with 400 rooms as well as Asia-Pacific’s first Club Med tennis academy. – S Puvaneswary
Dusit International
Dusit International has adopted a technological transformation strategy throughout the pandemic, with the aim of identifying new business opportunities to meet the shifting needs of the market and pursue sustainable post pandemic growth.
The Thai hotel chain has completed the first stage of this project, which includes investments in the latest cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and data management software. The move enables group-wide efficiency across five business units – Hotels and Resorts, Hospitality Education, Food, Property Development, and Hospitality-Related Services.
The investment also seeks to leverage big data to create exceptional consumer experiences and identify new business opportunities in line with Dusit’s three-pronged strategy for balance, expansion, and diversification.
While the technological transformation was set in motion in 2019, it is now being expedited to increase business resilience in response to the pandemic. The project is far-reaching, involving Dusit International’s 24 different entities across 17 countries.
Group CEO Suphajee Suthumpun said these investments in such uncertain times might go against the grain, but the key to post-pandemic tourism recovery would require the company to precisely read customer needs – something data and intelligence could enable.
At the same time, Dusit International has continued to grow its footprint. It entered Oman with the dusitD2 Naseem Resort, Jabal Akhdar, and opened the third property in Thailand’s Hua Hin with dusitD2 Hua Hin.
“The pandemic will be felt for some time. However, we believe that travel will come back stronger than ever when the Covid-19 situation improves,” remarked Suphajee, adding that the moves taken now will allow the company to drive short- and long-term business, extend market reach, and cement its competitive advantage globally. – Suchat Sritama
Far East Hospitality
One mission stood out for the leadership at Far East Hospitality (FEH) when the pandemic set in – the tourism downtime finally presented an opportunity for the Singapore-headquartered hotel company to slow down and focus on a long desired transformation.
Arthur Kiong, CEO of FEH, told TTG Asia: “Transformation has been brewing in my mind for a long time…but we could not (do it) because we were so busy running at marvellous occupancies and delivering very high GOPs. We were trapped in a problem of success.”
As governments around the world established travel restrictions and closed their borders, Kiong set to work a transformation task force with the mission to reinvent the local mid-tier hotel operator into a world-class manager of lifestyle brands.
He believes that as successful as FEH has been, it cannot grow any further as a local mid-tier hotel operator. “We have to reinvent ourselves to do something else and grow,” he said.
The transformation entailed six major tasks: experience creation, where different guest experiences were programmed for each brand; geographical expansion, which saw the launch of new hotels in Japan (Far East Village Hotel Ariake, July 2020; Far East Village Hotel Yokohama, June 2021) and Australia (Quincy Hotel Melbourne, March 2021); new business creation, where FEH entered the luxury hotel segment with The Barracks Hotel Sentosa and The Clan Hotel Singapore as well as launched its own spa business with Oasia Resort Sentosa; product refurbishments; job redesign to allow the company to create jobs that will attract Singaporeans; and lastly, sustainability and productivity realignment to approach processes in a more holistic way.
Kiong is particularly proud of FEH’s success so far in experience creation through hotel stays. In a post-lockdown world, he believes that unique destination experiences are needed to compel consumers to overcome cumbersome travel procedures, and that hotels with holistic offerings can contribute to the destination’s quality tourism promise – one that will attract high yielding travellers that locals will be proud to serve.
Citing The Clan Hotel Singapore as an example, Kiong said the luxury hotel in the heart of Singapore’s business district has been programmed to tell “the quintessential Singapore success story that is not borrowed from our colonial past”.
The hotel weaves stories of Singapore’s resilient migrant forefathers into its architecture and design, service, dining experiences and curated precinct tours. It also highlights homegrown businesses and artisans across various guests touchpoints.
By offering a unique guest experience that is matched by exquisite service and theatre, Kiong believes that his hotels are in a stronger position to command better rates and avoid a volume strategy. He was able to test the concept with Singapore’s domestic staycation market – recognised as a very demanding segment – throughout the travel lockdown. The outcome: The Barracks Hotel Sentosa has been ranked the top hotel on Sentosa Island on TripAdvisor while The Clan Hotel Singapore is the top hotel in Singapore City. – Karen Yue
Minor Hotels
Travel challenges notwithstanding, Thailand’s Minor Hotels has chosen to grow its brands and presence in markets around the world with an asset light model.
Dillip Rajakarier, the company’s CEO, told TTG Asia that there was no better time than now for hotel developers and investors to expand their portfolio.
In January 2021, Minor Hotels signed an MoU with China’s Funyard Hotels & Resorts to form a hotel management joint venture that will lead the entry of more Minor brands into China. This came into force in June.
“We are already reviewing a number of potential opportunities as a result of the joint venture, and we are confident that this agreement will greatly expand our presence in China over the coming years,” Dillip added.
Minor Hotel’s sights are not on China alone. It has earned a number of new hotel signings across its brands for the Middle East. It will launch Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort in 4Q2021. These openings will join additions in Europe, the Maldives and other parts of Asia. – Suchat Sritama
Ovolo Hotels
Hotel isolation is no bed of roses, and when it comes to helping guests beat cabin fever in quarantine, Ovolo Hotels goes above and beyond the call of duty.
The Quarantine Concierge package was launched to inject an element of fun into compulsory isolation for visitors and residents returning to Hong Kong, while supporting both their physical as well as mental well-being.
Available at Ovolo Southside and Ovolo Central, Quarantine Concierge was rolled out in August 2020 just as quarantine rules were enforced in Hong Kong.
“Immediately, we noticed there was a huge stigma against hotels accepting quarantine guests; it was labelled as ‘taboo’. Ovolo, being a Hong Kong company, wanted to do our fellow returning Hong Kongers right by giving them a way to quarantine with dignity and also receive the usual great service they deserve,” said acting COO – Hong Kong & Indonesia, Marc Hediger.
The service considered what people would want if they were stuck in a room for a long period of time. With that thought, Ovolo packed complimentary meals, unlimited premium Wi-Fi, free local calls, fitness gear, a mindfulness kit, and more into the Quarantine Concierge package. Guests get to unwind with complimentary in-room tipples and treats throughout their stay during Happy Hour. Ovolo also tied up with Foodpanda to pick up essentials or grocery items for guests, with exclusive discounts on restaurants, groceries and shops.
A year on, more than 3,500 guests have benefited from the Quarantine Concierge service, with over 20,000 room nights completed, according to Hediger. Of these, 15 guests were from ethnic minorities who had stayed at either of the group’s two Hong Kong properties for HK$1 (US$0.13) per night under Ovolo’s Homecoming Project.
Customer feedback has provided valuable insights to improve the quarantine experience. Earlier this year, Ovolo begun hosted a weekly Zoom call dubbed Social Sessions wherein guests can interact with their neighbours.
“It’s hosted during their Happy Hour as a way for our guests to connect and share a drink virtually with each other – and us – and kill some time,” said Hediger.
On their final day of quarantine, guests are treated to a Last Supper, comprising an indulgent menu item paired with a drink of their choice.
In partnership with Mindful Studios, complimentary weekly Zoom yoga sessions are conducted, while Oxford University Press provides a variety of children’s books for young ones in quarantine.
As Hong Kong authorities extended the quarantine period from seven to 14, and then 21 days in December 2020, making it the world’s longest hotel quarantine, Ovolo swiftly moved to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6, becoming the first hotel in Hong Kong to do so.
As well, Ovolo upgraded all meal options, providing guests with more choices that support a range of diets.
“In particular, a major feedback from guests was that they were craving local food, so we worked with a neighbouring local restaurant to give our guests an extra option,” shared Hediger.
Another major upgrade to the package is introducing partnerships to Social Sessions, where the hotel group invites various partners to co-host the Zoom calls, while their food or drink is given to all guests for that day’s Happy Hour. F&B enterprises Ovolo has worked with include popular pizza and donut joint Dough Bros and wellness brand Goodleaf which offers water-soluble CBD powder sachets. – Cheryl Ong
Marriott International has signed 22 new hotel agreements in South Asia – comprising India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal – in the past 18 months, expecting to add more than 2,700 rooms to its portfolio.
“In a highly unpredictable year, these signings are a testament to Marriott International’s resilience and agility in driving strong growth within a hospitality landscape that continues to evolve,” commented Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), Marriott International. “It is a sign of confidence from our owners and franchisees who have been an integral part of our growth journey.”
More than a third of the newly signed projects in South Asia in the last 18 months include hotels and resorts in the luxury-tier, comprised of brands such as JW Marriott and W Hotels.
Come 2024, the W Hotels brand will be making its debut in Jaipur with W Jaipur.
Meanwhile, JW Marriott properties are expected to debut across several locations within South Asia over the next five years. These include JW Marriott Ranthambore Resort & Spa located at one of India’s most prominent wildlife sanctuaries, The Ranthambore National Park; JW Marriott Chennai ECR Resort & Spa on India’s Southern coastline; JW Marriott Agra Resort & Spa in the land of the Taj Mahal; as well as the debut of the JW Marriott brand in Goa and Shimla – two of India’s most famous resort destinations – with JW Marriott Goa and JW Marriott Shimla Resort & Spa.
JW Marriott Hotel Bhutan, Thimphu is expected to mark the debut of the JW Marriott brand in Bhutan, anticipated to open in 2025.
The Maldives anticipates its second JW Marriott hotel in 2025, when the JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Embhoodhoo Finolhu – South Male Atoll featuring 80 pool villas is expected to open. The signing follows the newly opened The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands.
Comprised of brands such as Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft Hotels and Moxy Hotels, Marriott’s select brands also continue to resonate in South Asia representing more than 40 per cent of the 22 newly signed hotel projects.
The Moxy brand is expected to debut in India and Nepal with Moxy Mumbai Andheri West in 2023 and the Moxy Kathmandu in 2025.
Secondary and tertiary markets remain a focus for Marriott International in India, where its Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott brands will be expanding their presence with the recently signed agreements.
Courtyard by Marriott expects to add five new properties to an existing operating portfolio of 20 hotels across South Asia. Four of these properties are expected to open in the next five years and will be located in leading tier-two markets within India: Courtyard by Marriott Gorakhpur, Courtyard by Marriott Tiruchirappalli, Courtyard by Marriott Goa Arpora, and Courtyard by Marriott Ranchi. Meanwhile, Fairfield expects to add two new properties in Jaipur.
In Sri Lanka, the Courtyard by Marriott Colombo expects to mark the debut of the Courtyard brand in the country, slated to open in 2022.
Expected to further the growth of premium brands in South Asia, the recent signings include the Katra Marriott Resort & Spa in India and the Le Méridien Kathmandu, which will mark the debut of the Le Méridien brand in Nepal. Additionally, the Bhaluka Marriott Hotel expects to mark the entry of the Marriott Hotels brand in Bangladesh, anticipated to open in 2024.