Hong Kong Hotel Co. Recasts Brand, Sets Strategy
<I>Hong Kong</I> - In the spirit of the 13th century explorer it was recently named for, the Marco Polo Hotels Group has set a bold new course for expansion throughout Asia.
"Our strategy is to be recognized as one of the leading international hotel management companies operating in Asia-Pacific," said Michael Kalyk, president of the Hong Kong-based hotel company. "Plans are already under way to expand the group throughout the region, particularly in countries which have demonstrated developing infrastructures and growing economies."
Marco Polo's plans to significantly increase its hotel portfolio are coming in the wake of a corporate restructuring and a name change from Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific last May. The renaming took place after parent company Wharf Holdings, headquartered in Hong Kong, sold all of its 35 hotels in North America to Texas-based TRT Holdings Inc.
Hotels Jointly Market To Corps.
While the purchased hotels in the United States, now collectively known as Omni North America, continue to operate under the Omni brand, Wharf Holdings elected to establish a new brand identity for its seven remaining hotels in Asia.
At the same time, the company has retained the right to use the Omni name in Asia, and two of its properties, the Omni Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and the Omni Batavia Hotel in Jakarta, retain their original names.
However, all the properties in Asia now carry the byline, "A Marco Polo Hotel," and the company has adopted a new logo along with its new name--a Chinese Tang Dynasty traveling horse.
Although now separate companies, Marco Polo and Omni North America continue to work together in marketing the hotels to corporate clients. The two companies' reservations systems are linked, and their frequent guest programs, Marco Polo's Taipan Club and Omni's Guest Select, offer privileges to members of either program.
"It's an arrangement which allows both of us to greatly extend our reach," said Barbara Corbine, regional director of sales-North America for Marco Polo in Los Angeles. "Many of our corporate customers are one and the same, particularly when you are looking at international companies which are based both here and in Asia."
In addition to the properties in Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, Marco Polo owns three hotels in Hong Kong, one in Singapore and a new property in Xiamen, China, that opened Nov. 30. All the hotels are midsized properties in the four- to five-star category and cater primarily to corporate travelers.
The 350-room Marco Polo Ziamen is the company's first hotel in China. Facilities include a 24-hour business center, meeting space for groups of up to 570, concierge-level floor, full-service fitness center with massage, sauna and outdoor pool, and three restaurants.
Looking ahead, Marco Polo plans to nearly triple its current hotel inventory in Asia to 20 properties by the year 2000. The company is developing hotels in Jakarta and Davao in the Philippines, both of which are set to open in 1998. A hotel under development in Bangkok is scheduled for 1999.
Marco Polo also is negotiating with Japan National Railway to manage its first hotel in Japan, a 300-room property that will be part of JNR's $1 billion Shiadome redevelopment project in Tokyo. Construction on the hotel portion of the project is expected to start next year.
In addition, the company is setting its sights on the South Korea market and is negotiating with a major conglomerate to participate in a hotel project planned for Seoul, according to senior vice president for development Jerry Flowers.
Other possible Pacific Rim sites for Marco Polo include Hanoi, Manila, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka and Sydney. China also is high on the company's expansion list, with hotel projects pending in Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai.