An HVS Anarock report on the Indian hotel market shows the number of hotel rooms in tier-II and tier-III cities increased to 38% of the total inventory at the end of 2022 from 33% four years ago. The share of hotel rooms in metros went down to 19% during the same period. In 2022, 166 new hotels with 14,885 rooms were signed while 90 hotels with 5,702 rooms were rebranded. The sector closed the year with occupancy in the range of 59-61 percent, up 15-17 percentage points over the previous year and only 5-7 pp lower than the full year 2019. HVS Anarock expects India-wide occupancy to improve to 66% in 2023 with a 16-17 percent increase in Average room rate, pushing RevPAR almost 18% higher than the pre-pandemic result in 2019. They expect the consecutive rise in travel in smaller cities is likely to benefit hotel groups that have a fairly strong presence in mid-market and upscale segments such as Indian Hotels and Lemon Tree Hotels. The report predicts domestic demand will continue to be strong and international travel is also expected to pick up.
Hyatt Hotels and Sun Hung Kai Properties announced the opening of Andaz Nanjing Hexi in Greater China. The hotel is located in the rapidly developing Hexi CBD area, atop Nanjing Metro Yuantong station of Line2 and Line1, part of Sun Hung Kai’s flagship project, Nanjing IFC. The hotel offers a modern interpretation of Nanjing and includes 362 guestrooms and suites with the rooms having a loft-like feel. Andaz Nanjing Hexi has two restaurant and bar concepts with Tavern located on the sixth floor and Meet@ rooftop bar on the thirty-first. The Wellness Club at Andaz Nanjing is open 24 hours a day and there is also an indoor pool and vitality pool. The Andaz Studio has 4,081 square feet of column-free, multi-purpose space and then there is Tavern’s Outdoor Terrace, also for events. This is the fourth Andaz hotel in the Greater China region.
RCI, part of Travel + Leisure Co, announced its new affiliation with two luxurious resorts in Vietnam: APEC Mandala Phu Yen and APEC Mandala Retreat Kim Boi. APEC Mandala Phu Yen is a new entertainment destination in central Vietnam with 5 star services like a sky bar and infinity pool, restaurant, gym, spa and more. APEC Mandala Retreat Kim Boi is a luxurious resort complex situated in Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh, offering 1,142 apartments, 43 villas and 1,005 sky villas. The resort features 5 star facilities, including hot mineral baths, wine baths, mud baths and a multi-use entertainment complex. The project is expected to be completed by Q4 2023.
Indian Hotels Company announced the addition of the one hundredth hotel to its Taj brand. IHCL partnered with Cochin International Airport on the 211 room Taj Hotel in Cochin, the second Taj hotel in the city. The hotel is located a short distance from the airport and will offer an all-day diner, a bar, a lounge and an open-air specialty restaurant. It will feature banqueting spaces and meeting rooms, a spa, a swimming pool and a gym. With the addition of the hotel, IHCL will have 17 hotels across Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger brands across Kerala including five under development.
IHCL also announced the signing of two hotels in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The Vivanta and Ginger-branded hotels are both Greenfield projects. IHCL is partnering with Bhardwaj Global Infraventures Private Limited for these two hotels, the first branded hotels in Ayodhya. The five acre development with the two hotels is well situated within easy driving distance of the planned Ayodhya International Airport. The 100 room Vivanta will feature a 24 hour restaurant, meeting rooms and leisure amenities like a pool and health club. The 120 room Ginger will have a fitness facility, conference spaces and an all-day restaurant.
Classic Group of Hotels is making progress on the development of the 5-star Hotel Imphal in Imphal, India. The luxury 5-star hotel is being constructed under the Public Private Partnership model and is expected to take two and a half years to be completed, opening its doors before the Sangai Festival takes place in 2025.
CBRE Hotels announced the Crystalbrook Collection is selling the luxury Crystalbrook Albion hotel in Surrey Hills. The group will maintain management rights post-sale. CBRE Hotels has been exclusively appointed to steer the sale via an Expressions of Interest campaign. The inner Sydney hotel is situated on a 538 square meter freehold land parcel in a former school convent that was transformed into a premium five-star hotel offering, merging a heritage listed property with a modern, sustainable build. The boutique hotel comprises 35 rooms including one suite, a self-service bar and a rooftop garden offering panoramic views across Surry Hills and the city of Sydney. Crystalbrook recently acquired Rydges Sydney Harbour and plans to rebrand it. The sale of Crystalbrook Albion will allow them to recycle capital. The hotel is being offered with a Hotel Management Agreement to Crystalbrook Collection. The hotel was offered for sale via an Expressions of Interest campaign that was supposed to close yesterday at 12 PM.
Mahindra Holidays & Resorts chairman Arun Nanda notified the Board he will not seek reappointment, consistent with the age limit for non-executive roles. After being a key member of Mahindra for 50 years, Nanda will retire at the upcoming annual meeting on July 25.
The proposed former Caesars Korea project, sold by CZR to R&F Korea, received yet another extension from the South Korean government. This time it is for 12 more months to March 17, 2024 but troubled Guangzhou R&F Properties will only have three months to restart building work and show a casino partner with proof of financing. The latter may be the hard part given R&F’s issues and the terrible performance of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea in the past decade but the government has been very lenient in giving extensions. The recent deadline extension is the fourth modification of the launch schedule for the site since 2018.
Corona Resort and Casino on the holiday island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam, will host a fresh hotel brand replacing an existing Holidays Infinity accommodation facility. The new brand will be the four star, 921 room Wyndham Garden Grandworld Phu Quoc, with the work to convert the project already underway. The fresh brand is expected to come into effect within this month. The other three accommodation options at the property include Radisson Blu Resort Phu Quoc, VinOasis Phu Quoc and Vinholidays Fiesta Phu Quoc.
