HotelChatter - Tag: China Hotels

Hunan Province: On Your Mark, Get Set, Build A Hotel in 15 Days!

ASchechter — 2012-01-09T09:11:00-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/ChineseHotel15Days.jpg" class="top">While other hotels were busy <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/28/132314/10/hotels/Making_Last_Minute_Plans_This_New_Year_s_Eve_Here_s_Where_To_Party">throwing circus parties</a> and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2012/1/2/8196/44884/hotels/New_Year_s_Eve_at_Marriott_Denver_Tech_Center_Ends_In_Major_Technology_Fail">locking out</a> their guests, this New Year's Eve proved rather productive for one Chinese architecture company, who managed to set a new record for the speediest construction of a hotel the world has ever seen. Fifteen days is all it took for a 30-story hotel to go up near Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, China. And if you don't believe us, just watch this 360-hour <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/modular-design/30-story-hotel-completely-built-and-finished-fifteen-days-amazing-video.html">time lapse video</a> to prove it. The entire operation was led by Broad Sustainable Construction, who used a prefabricated building system to put together an earthquake-resistant 30-story hotel in just over two weeks. How was it possible? By starting with a

IHG To Create a New Hotel Brand Just for China

juliana — 2012-01-04T11:36:17-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.jaunted.com/files/1425/forbiddencity.JPG" class="top">The Forbidden City, BeijingA new year and a new hotel brand is coming to the masses! Well, the masses of one particular country, that is. <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/intercontinental hotel group">InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)</a> is working on rolling out a new hotel brand but this one will only be found in China.News reports today say IHG will launch the upscale brand in the country within the next six months and will eventually expand the brand across Asia Pacific. And it apparently doesn't matter that IHG already has 160 hotels in China with 140 more in the works (like the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/14/121525/81/hotels/Why_Hello_There_Hotel_Indigo_Hong_Kong">Hotel Indigo Hong Kong</a>.) Instead, IHG is placing their bets on the idea that the Chinese want a domestically-grown brand

Maybe China is Not So Hot After All?

juliana — 2011-11-16T11:21:55-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/starwoodchineseamenities.jpg" class="top"> Starwood Personalized Travel's tea cup and amenities menu translated to Chinese.Hotel companies have gone gaga for China over the past few years opening tons of new hotels in the burgeoning economic powerhouse but maybe they were a little too overzealous? A new report out says that four in 10 hotel rooms in China are empty, for about an average occupancy rate of 61 percent. And that number is not so comforting with more and more hotels in the pipeline. <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-16/china-s-low-occupancy-threatens-international-hotels-boom.html">BusinessWeek</a> had the full story including this omnious quote from a hotel analyst:<blockquote> "Hotels in some markets of China are clearly oversupplied in the next three to five years and they won't be generating good returns, "

The St. Regis Tianjin's Cube Hotel to Open October 30 at $156 a Night

juliana — 2011-10-20T15:30:01-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/The_St._Regis_Tianjin___exterior_lowres.jpg" class="top"> It's hard to believe but there's a new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/st. regis hotels">St. Regis Hotel</a> opening that we may actually be able to afford. <a href="http://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3200">The St. Regis Tianjin</a>, located in Northern China along the Heping River, will open on October 30 with special introductory rates of £99 per night, including daily breakfast and three-course evening meal per person. That works out to be about $156USD.But the opening rate isn't the only thing that excites us--the shape of the hotel is a cube! The hotel will have 274 guest rooms, 36 suites, three restaurants and a spa within an 18-storey building that is "constructed of steel and glass and rises from the river in the shape of a

52 Aloft Hotels Down, A Million To Go

ASchechter — 2011-09-16T09:15:13-05:00

After the consecutive openings of Aloft Brooklyn, Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie, Aloft Haiyang and Aloft Coimbatore Singanallur, Aloft has now passed its 50th hotel milestone (52 to be exact). Though that number is way off from an original target made back in 2006, they don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The brand hopes to add another 20 hotels in just two years.

So what's their secret? Are they just interested in being the fastest chain to put up new properties around the world? As we saw yesterday, culture is an important part of any emerging brand. But are scalability and intellect two compatible qualities for a hotel to have?