Hamburg, Germany – August 30th, 2011
The Asian answer to Las Vegas – With the next prestigious upscale hotel project at Cotai Strip in ‘Chinese Gaming city’ Macao, Hilton completes the list of hotel industry leaders at the mile of dreams and gambling. Together with franchise partner Las Vegas Sands Corp., Hilton Worldwide announced starting shot for the Conrad Macao with 636 rooms, due to opened in early 2012.
Operator: Hilton Worldwide
Rooms: 636
Hotel type: Upscale - Luxury
Schedule opening: Early 2012
Investor/Developer: Las Vegas Sands Corp.
John T. A. Vanderslice, global head, luxury and lifestyle brands, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Adding a Conrad in an exciting location like Macao reflects the brand’s intent to have a presence in the world’s gateway cities and most sought-after resort destinations. Offering a world of style, service, and connection, Conrad Hotels & Resorts are designed for today’s affluent traveler. On five continents, Conrad Hotels & Resorts offers stylish, sophisticated global guests the ultimate luxury - The Luxury of Being Yourself.” Cotai Strip is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2012 at Cotai Central. Conrad Macao, Cotai Strip joins existing Conrad hotels in Hong Kong and Sanya Haitang Bay, and seven hotels under construction in Dalian, Beijing, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, and Xiamen in Greater China. Conrad Macao joins a pipeline of 18 Conrad Hotels & Resorts scheduled to open within the next four years, including hotels in China and other global destinations such as Koh Samui (Thailand), New York, Seoul (Korea) and Dubai.
The Cotai Strip is Asia’s answer to Las Vegas. Located on a strip of reclaimed land that connects Macau’s islands of Taipa and Coloane, the Cotai Strip is fast becoming Asia’s leading tourism destination. The main developer of the Cotai Strip, Las Vegas Sands, is planning seven resort hotels and casinos for the area, including the US $2.4-billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel (3,000 all-suites rooms), which opened on August 28, 2007. All in all, the Las Vegas Sands’ development will boast 20,000 hotel rooms, more than 3 million square feet of retail space, anchored by the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Macao shopping centre and more than 2.5 million square feet of meeting and convention facilities. Six Las Vegas-style showrooms and a large arena for sports and entertainment events are also in the works for the Cotai Strip Macau. Galaxy Entertainment’s Grand Waldo Hotel, which started operations in 2006, boasts more than 300 rooms, nine restaurants and the Grand Waldo casino. Its larger Cotai Mega Resort is currently under construction. The Las Vegas Sands development on the Cotai Strip will also include resorts run by some of the most prestigious names in the hotel industry: Four Seasons, Sheraton, St. Regis, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont, Raffles, Swiss Hotel, Intercontinental, Holiday Inn and Cosmopolitan. Finally, Wynn Resorts and MGM Grand Paradise are both in the planning stages for casinos on the Cotai Strip.
China Hotel Industry Study 2011 Reports Strong Growth Across Hotel Categories in 2010
According to Damien Little, Director of Horwath HTL Beijing, the Chinese hotel market showed strong signs of recovery in 2010 after hitting rock bottom in 2009. Gross Operating Profit (GOP) levels increased for all star-rating categories, with 3-star hotels leading with the largest increase of 52 percent. However, Little added, positive growth in GOP was not spread evenly throughout the country; many hotel markets across the country need to see a lot more growth before performance levels could be considered healthy.
The study ‘Annual China Hotel Industry Study 2011 (Financial Year 2010), in its ninth year of publication, highlighted three key trends that have emerged in the Chinese hotel market between 2005 and 2010. Firstly, domestic demand sources now account for a larger share of total demand in the 4 and 5-star categories. This significant shift, which has been evident in all corporate, leisure and MICE segments, is reflective of a changing market environment in China. Secondly, domestic average daily rate (ADR) levels are increasing while foreign demand ADR has declined. However, it should be noted that the growth in domestic ADR, although positive, has been marginal. The drop in foreign demand ADR has been credited to the weakness in foreign demand, increase in supply of international hotels in smaller secondary markets, and an oversupply situation in many markets resulting in price discounting. Lastly, ADR of the 3-star market have increased, due to the increasing number of internationally branded, limited service hotels participating in the 2011 study and the greater sahare of corporate demand.
About 664 hotels across 138 cities in 30 provinces in the country participated in the Annual China Hotel Industry Study 2011, representing 206,517 guestrooms across star rating categories and a combined total revenue of about RMB 55.4 billion. The annual study is co-published by Horwath HTL and CTHA, and approved by the National Tourism Administration and the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China.
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