Checking In: Slowdown Ahead For Asia/Pac Hotel Development Pipeline
The Asia/Pacific region should see 828 new hotels with 134,673 rooms open this year, with an additional 1,304 hotels with 311,203 rooms to open in the following two years, according to a pipeline report for the region that research firm Lodging Econometrics released this month. After the first half of this year, Asia/Pacific had a record 2,226 projects in the works and 60 percent of those already are under construction, according to the report. That activity made the region the second largest in hotel development, following the United States. Looking further ahead, Lodging Econometrics forecast that the Asia/Pacific pipeline will contract in coming years. The pace at which projects are moving from planning to construction is slowing, construction starts are down 45 percent compared with the end of 2007 and new project announcements are down 68 percent from that period, the report indicated.
... But U.A.E. To See 'Once-In-A-Lifetime' Hotel Boom
Hotel supply in the United Arab Emirates is expected to double through 2010 thanks to what Lodging Econometrics calls "a once-in-a-lifetime development surge" in its recently released pipeline report for the Middle East. In all, 53 percent of the region's 556 projects and 61 percent of the 164,259 rooms in the pipeline are in the U.A.E, and 80 percent of that is happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai's pipeline alone, at 162 projects and 59,950 rooms, is bigger than any other global city, according to the report. Overall, the Middle East pipeline has not been as affected by credit and economic woes as most of the rest of the world, but an impact could begin by year-end, the report indicated.
Carlson Seeks To Increase Rezidor Stake
Carlson Cos. president and CEO Hubert Joly this month announced that, depending on market conditions, the company plans to acquire additional shares of the Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group, which has a portfolio of almost 350 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa operating under Carlson's Radisson SAS, Regent, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites brands. Carlson has filed notification of its intended move with the European Commission, which must approve the transaction. Carlson currently owns more than 40 percent of Rezidor's shares.
Hilton To Bulk Up Presence In Continental Europe
Hilton Hotels Corp. this moth increased its signings for new hotels in continental Europe to 13 with three new long-term agreements to bring its properties to Poland, Italy and Russia. The deals will bring a Doubletree by Hilton to Perm, Russia—where Hilton recently also opened a Hilton Garden Inn, the first of the brand in the country—and Hilton Garden Inn properties to Treviso, Italy, and Warsaw, Poland.
Intercontinental To Bring Indigo To Asia/Pacific
InterContinental Hotels Group on Oct. 16 announced that it is bringing its Hotel Indigo brand to the Asia/Pacific region, with projects planned for Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. The brand, IHG's newest, is the company's fifth in the region, following the flagship, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. Hotel Indigo is positioned in the upscale tier and touts an open design schematic that allows developers to make each one unique. Since opening the first Hotel Indigo in Atlanta in 2004, IHG now has 19 properties in operation and more than 60 in the pipeline.