InCity Hotels

Starwood Solidifies Its Position as Number One Operator of Upscale Hotels in China; Underscores Aggressive Expansion Worldwide

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. marks a milestone in its aggressive growth in Greater China announcing its 100th hotel there, with the signing of the Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel. As the first international hotel chain to enter China when the historic Great Wall Beijing Sheraton Hotel opened in 1985, Starwood today is the largest international upscale hotel company in China and continues to grow its footprint there with the expansion of its brands including Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, aloft, Four Points by Sheraton and W hotels in established and emerging cities as well as resort destinations.

“With strong domestic demand, an increasing affinity for global brands and international inbound travel on the rise, our opportunity in China is perhaps unsurpassed anywhere in the world,” said Simon Turner, President, Global Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “What’s more, by 2020, China will generate over 100 million outbound trips a year, more than triple its current output, making it one of the largest origins of outbound travel in the world. As the Chinese travel abroad, they look for brands they know, and therefore Starwood’s development in China today, has significant implications for our hotels worldwide.”

A dominant player in the upper-upscale and luxury hotel market in China, Starwood is poised to grow in other segments as well, and the company will debut its new select service brand, aloft, in China this September with the opening of the aloft Beijing, Haidian. Designed with the DNA of W Hotels, aloft targets younger, style-conscious consumers.

“We expect healthy expansion as we launch aloft throughout China and continue to expand our established upper upscale and luxury brands in various Chinese cities where we are currently under penetrated,” commented Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. “Starwood continues to win many new hotel projects in China and this is largely due to the confidence the development community has in our lifestyle brands, noted innovations and consistently strong delivery of results in the region.”

Starwood continues to grow aggressively throughout Asia Pacific, with over 80 hotels under construction. China continues to fuel growth in the region, and more than half of Starwood’s pipeline in Asia Pacific is in Greater China, where the company expects to double its portfolio by 2011. In addition to the 43 hotels Starwood currently operates in China, Starwood has 57 new properties scheduled to open. These include 22 Sheratons, 12 Four Points by Sheratons, eight Westins, five W hotels, four St Regis, three Le Meridien hotels, two aloft hotels and one Luxury Collection hotel.

Globally, Starwood will mark a milestone this year with the opening of its 900th hotel, and expects to increase its portfolio by 50% over the next five years, driven by aggressive global expansion across all its brands and the unprecedented growth of its two new brands, aloft and Element which launched earlier this year. Starwood’s global pipeline includes 500 hotels and 120,000 rooms. Approximately half of Starwood’s new hotels are expected to open outside of North America, reflecting the company’s impressive growth in dynamic international markets.

Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel will feature 470 rooms, approximately 36,000 square feet of meeting space, 3 restaurants and bar, a health club, spa and indoor heated swimming pool. The hotel is part of the final phase of the Global Trade Center (GTC) mixed-use complex development. The complex comprises offices, retail shops, condominium, serviced apartments, and the hotel. Located in Dongcheng District, Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel is located in the heart of Beijing transportation network near the Third Ring Road, and within close proximity to the 2008 Olympics venue, business and financial districts as well as Tiananmen Square. In addition to Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel, Starwood currently has 2 hotels under construction in Beijing : aloft Beijing Haidian and Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian; as well as 4 hotels in operation : Great Wall Sheraton Beijing, The Westin Beijing, Financial Street, The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang and St Regis Beijing.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched AloftSM, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts.
Source: China Newswire

Beijing is the state capital of China and prides itself on many important historical sites and government organization. A very friendly tourist destination, Beijing is full of attractions and surprises. From verdant parks, cozy restaurants to thumping discotheques you will find it all here.

The best point in time to visit Beijing is the autumn season. During this time of year the crowd is lesser and the city is at its best. Locally known as Tiangao Gishuang, the autumn season creates a lovely atmosphere. On the contrary, the spring season is not a very good time to visit the city. Summer season is the peak season and a decent hotel accommodation is hard to find if you do not make prior reservations.

Beijing Hotels are a class apart and of international standards. Making sure that you have a great time here, Beijing China Hotels makes the best of your time.

Some of the finest Hotels in Beijing are as follows:

Beijing International Hotel
Located on the Chang’an Street, the Beijing International Hotel is a world class luxurious hotel. It first became operational in the year 1987 and in the past two decades it has won many accolades for its praiseworthy services and modern facilities. Another highlight of this grand hotel is that it is located at a very close proximity to the airport and many important tourist sights.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Beijing
Just at a spitting distance from the International commerce hub, shopping complex, historical sights and cultural districts, is positioned a posh hotel called the Crowne Plaza. Just 20 minutes drive from the Beijing Railway Station and around 40 minutes from the Beijing International Airport, the Crowne Plaza is a hotel sought after by most tourists and visitors.

Grand Hotel Beijing
Boasting of 217 rooms nicely done up with painting typical of Chinese culture, sculptures and furniture, the Grand Beijing hotel is located in the vicinity of the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Wang Fu Jing Shopping Street. Well equipped with A-one facilities and commendable staff services, the Grand Hotel Beijing makes sure that your vaction is fun-filled.

BEIJING — The Olympics are looking like a bust for the city’s hotels.

The 17-day games were supposed to generate a buzz throughout the summer, leading to a tourism windfall with fully booked hotels and free-spending customers.

Instead, Beijing’s summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies say many potential visitors are being put off by tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Olympic events. Others could be reluctant to book trips because China’s authoritarian government seems more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them to the games.

“We are not full at the moment, and we have rooms to fill” said Anthony Ha, general manager of the newly opened Marriott Courtyard Beijing Northeast. “There’s not much time left, and we have a way to go.”

China has spent a reported $40 billion on new infrastructure and stunning venues, hoping to impress visitors with a modern city when the games begin Aug. 8. But the lack of reservations could shake the city’s hotel industry, which has more than doubled its five- and four-star hotels offerings to 160 since Beijing was awarded the Olympics seven years ago.

Ha declined to reveal his hotel’s occupancy rate, but he expressed concern over a report last month from the Beijing Tourism Bureau that showed five-star hotels were 77 percent booked, and four stars were at 44 percent.

“That’s worrisome,” Ha said. Hotel operators in Beijing were “hoping to hit 90 percent daily. It’s a huge thing.”

The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing ranged from $560 to $1,150 per night, according to the tourism bureau, although some rates were reported as high as $2,000 per night during the Olympics. The four-star average was $325.

The number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5 percent from a year ago, the tourism bureau said. Among the biggest drops were Japanese visitors, down 45 percent. The number of American visitors fell by 17.15 percent.

But the lack of visitors also coincides with new visa regulations that make it tougher for tourists and business executives to enter China. Students have been targeted too, because the government fears they might side with political activists if protests erupt during the games.

Homeowners who hoped to lease their houses or apartments are also disappointed. Song Zhi, manager of a Web site aimed at overseas Olympic tourists, said he had 200 units but only 20 were reserved. The average price was about $145.

“We don’t have what we’ve expected,” Song said. “There’re not even many people making inquires about pricing. We had expected a peak in June, but that peak has yet to come.”

Several hotel managers also cited soaring prices, which rose artificially when Beijing Olympic organizers in 2005 and 2006 reserved 70 percent of the rooms at the city’s four- and five-star hotels. A few months ago, those organizers released thousands of rooms, dropping their room holdings to 40 percent.

The practice is common in many large sporting events, but it usually drives up prices.

“A lot of the hotels overestimated their occupancy rate for July and August,” said Si Cunxia, sales manager of Travel China travel agency. “The hotels were all too optimistic to think that they would be packed with tourists. In reality, tourists who would normally come to Beijing are not coming during the Olympics because transportation and accommodations are quite high.”

China’s authoritarian government seems intent on keeping many foreigners away. Visa rules were changed with little explanation, and officials have conducted repeated sweeps for travel documents at compounds where foreign visitors live.

To guard against threats to the Olympics, Beijing said last week that it had mobilized a 100,000-member anti-terrorism force headed by the elite Snow Wolf Commando Unit.

Ground-to-air missiles have been positioned under camouflage netting just 300 meters from one Olympic venue, a highly visible response to alleged plots by separatists from the Muslim-dominated region of Xinjiang. The government says plotters attempted to crash an airliner and planned to kidnap athletes and journalists.

There are also reports of bar areas in Beijing being forced to close early during the games, with a few around town dubbing these the “Killjoy Games.”

“Beijingers will enthusiastically welcome foreign tourists,” said Zhang Huiguang, director of the Beijing Tourism Bureau. “But for terrorists and troublemakers, we’ll unite and fight against them.”

Guo Lingmei, general manager of marketing for BTG Travel in Beijing, said tourism will probably remain slow for the entire summer. He blamed high hotel prices and difficulties obtaining tickets to Olympic events.

Beijing organizers have said 6.8 million tickets were available for the games, but most were snapped up by buyers within China.

Some five-star hotels are in good shape - at least during the Olympics - because they secured reservations from Olympic sponsors or Olympic committee delegations.

“We don’t have any problems at all,” said Marco Sander, director of marketing and sales at the 526-room Kempinski Hotel. He said his high-powered guests were a sure bet.

“They need to come, and they have no choice to turn back now,” Sander said. “They have put so much money down, they cannot draw back.”

Sander’s hotel, like many, has undergone renovation for the games. But he said he was doubtful that Beijing would charm foreigners. Barcelona made its mark in 1992 with a stunning port and spirited nightlife, and Sydney did much the same in 2000.

“We will see a big vacuum after the Olympic Games,” he said. “If Beijing is not able to transmit a very positive picture about the city and facilities, if we can’t convince people to come to Beijing, we have a big problem.”

The earthquake on May 12 that killed almost 70,000 people in Sichuan province may account for some of the decrease. So may a slumping world economy, and alarming images of deadly rioting on March 14 in Tibet, followed by chaotic pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the torch relay.

by Stephen Wade - Huffington Post