Northstar

FEATURE www.travelweeklyweb.com Asian Hotel Chains Over the past 30 years or more, Asia has seen the growth of many hotel chains – which are on par or if not better than those offered by established international names which have many thousands of properties managed or franchised (like Sheraton, InterContinental, Accor) under their names. What makes these Asian chains different are that they are owner-operators and actually own many of their own properties, and whilst doing that, have also started out spreading their expertise through their management arm. Guests are often baffl ed when they see a hotel change name In Singapore, for instance, Le Meridien in Orchard Road became the Concorde Hotel. The Concorde Hotel was previously at Outram Road and is now known as the Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore. The Holiday Inn at Scotts Road became known as the Royal Crowne Plaza (part of Holiday Inn), and is today known as the the Royal Plaza on Scotts. Behind the scenes, what happens is a change of ownership which necessitates a change of name. Or in many cases, usually at the end of a management contract, the owners having acquired experience of the operations of the business, take back the management, and form their own management company. A case in point would be the Shangri-La group, which began with the Shangri-La Singapore in 1971, first managed by Western International Hotels (Westin). In 1979, Kuok Hotels was formed to manage three properties: Shangri- La's Sayang Resort and Golden Sands Resort in Penang, and The Fijian, Yanuca Island, Fiji. In 1982, Shangri-La International Hotel Management was formed (from Kuok Hotels) and in 1984, it took back its fl agship Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. Known as Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, it owns and manages 54 of its hotels, and manage 18 others. Dusit International, based in Bangkok, dates back to 1948 when, the "Princess" opened in Bangkok. Today, it manages 20 hotels, 10 of which it owns. It offers a room inventory of 5,079 rooms in fi ve countries, and appears to be making headway in India particularly. It manages five hotels belonging to others – three in the Middle East, and the Dusit Island Resort Chiang Rai, and dusitD2barquda, pattaya. It has four hotel brands and one Dusit Residence brand, and is active in Thailand, India, China, Middle East and Maldives. The Meritus Hotels, which started with the Mandarin Hotel in Singapore in the late 60's, owns and manages a total of fi ve hotels with 2,593 rooms in Singapore, Malaysia and China. Apart from the Mandarin Orchard, it has the Marina Mandarin in Singapore, Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort in Langkawi, Meritus Mandarin Haikou and Meritus Shantou, China. It used to manage the Istana in Kuala Lumpur, the Mutiara in Penang and the JC Mandarin in Shanghai. Its brand expansion plans include the "Express" version of Meritus catering to corporate MICE and leisure travellers, as well as Residences and Suites brand for short to long term stays. In this feature, we look at several Asian hotel chains that have made an impact through its ownership and management of hotel properties , extending a style of hotel management that is a blend of their own Asian heritage with well-run management, perhaps acquired or infl uenced by Western hospitality systems but fi netuned to suit their own markets. 4 | ■ TRAVELWEEKLY ASIA | 10 APRIL 2012 Dusit Thani Dubai: Lobby THAILAND: DUSIT THANI INTERNATIONAL Dusit International has 60 years of history – chairperson Thanpuying Chanut opened her fi rst hotel, the "Princess" on Bangkok's New Road. Thanpuying Chanut embarked upon a luxurious city-centre property, Dusit Thani Bangkok, which has become the company's flagship hotel. Dusit Thani (meaning "town in heaven") opened in February 1970. In 1987, it acquired a hotel that was renovated to become its fi rst resort – Dusit Thani Pattaya, and the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket (it was a fi rst managed property till the Dusit Group bought it from its owners in 2010). In 1989, the group opened the Dusit Resort and Polo Club in Hua Hin (now renamed Dusit Thani Hua Hin). In 1991, it added the Royal Princess Chiang Mai, followed by the Dusit Island Resort Chiang Rai the same year. In 1995, by purchasing shares from Japan Airlines in the holding company, the Hotel Nikko Manila came under Dusit's management, and was renamed the Dusit Hotel Nikko. Following a major renovation programme, it became Dusit Thani Manila in April 2008. Dusit International owns six hotels under Dusit Thani brand in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Phuket, Manila and Maldives. It also owns four under other brands – Dusit Princess Srinakarin Bangkok, Royal Princess Chiangmai, Dusit Princess Korat and dusitD2 Chiangmai. On the international front, it spread its wings to the Middle East, when it started managing the Dusit Thani Dubai in 2001. It also manages the Dusit Residence Dubai Marina, Pearl Coastal Premier Hotel Apartment and Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo. In 2006, it started its dusitD2 brand; there are six Dusits under development – two in New Delhi (under dusitD2 and Devarana), two in Hainan, China (Dusit Thani and Devarana), a Dusit Thani in Abu Dhabi, and a dusitD2 in Pasadena, California. In 2007, Dusit entered into a joint venture agreement – Dusit Bird – with Bird Hospitality Services (BHS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bird Group – one of India's largest hospitality technology companies to bring Dusit into India. www.travelweeklyweb.com

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