Hotel Operator
Hotel operator aims to keep you up-to-date with all the latest developments in the hotel industry with a specific focus on the hotel operators of the world. 2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the hotel industry with a plethora of new hotels being built by all the big names: InterContinental, Sheraton Hotels, W Hotels and Hilton Hotels are some of the big names investing the greatest number of hotels during the year.
InterContinental leading the market in hotel development
The InterContinental Hotels Group has over 1,700 hotels in the development pipeline, either under active development of in the final planning or early planning stages, the hotel group is the largest in the world by number of beds and operates, owns, franchises or leases over 4000 hotel properties around the world in 100 different countries.
It should come as no surprise then that this hotel group is also leading the charge on the supply side of the hotel market. Estimates by STR Global forecast a 1.4% increase in hotel bed supply in the United States in 2010, but elsewhere in the world business is booming, Shanghai, for one, is a destination that appears frequently in hotel business news.
Ten InterContinental Hotels are due to open this year under the name of the headline brand and four deserve special mention:
InterContinental New York Times Square
Located at 44th Street and 8th Avenue, InterContinentals second New York offering has been built in the heart of the Broadway District within walking distance of 40 theaters. The iconic city sights and landmarks are nearby, as well as the shopping capitals of the world and famous New York fashion, financial and commercial districts.
The hotel is having its finishing touches applied within a short walk of Penn Station and Grand Central station and for ultimate convenience; it features a subway station beneath the hotel.
The hotel is part of an extensive development corridor on Eight Avenue, but rises 34 stories above the melle and features a glass enclosed tower atop a glass and granite podium that acts as the lobby, with street-level retail and dining.
InterContinental Mendoza
The InterContinental Mendoza is being built on Boulevard Perez Cuesta in Guaymallen, an up market area of the Argentinean town, which is famous for its wine making. The hotel is just 20 minutes from Mendoza International Airport (a major hub for flights to Buenos Aires and Santiago) and a ten minute drive from downtown Mendoza, however, the greatest location feature for many will doubtless be Mendoza Plaza, which is located just across the road from the hotel.
The InterContinental Mendoza will have 15 floors when its launched later in 2010 and will feature 252 hotel guest rooms, which decorated by the capable hands of InterContinental’s interior design teams. 62 exclusive suites will also provide additional space and privacy for the discerning while ten meeting rooms of 22,500 square feet and a 12,900 square foot ballroom, along with the Convention Centre next door, will provide ample facilities for business travelers.
InterContinental Maracaibo
With an InterContinental Hotel already in operation in Caracas, this Maracaibo development is the company’s second offering to the Venezuelan hotel industry, which has grown in recent years as the country’s develops a reputation as a tourist destination.
The InterContinental Maracaibo will face Maracaibo Lake overlooking the Maracaibo Bridge and all 265 of its rooms will have a view of this lake. In addition, the hotel has been built between two modern commercial and residential districts in the city, providing market access for business travelers, while a casino adjascent to the hotel will provide leisure for guests who are so inclined.
There will be one Presidential Suite, which will feature the very best of tasteful and elegancy interior design, while all guests will have access to the pool area, the 24 hour gym and spa, the terrace bar, as well as a gourmet restaurant and Snack-bar Café. Club InterContinental members will have access to this exclusive lounge on its own Club Floor.
InterContinental Shanghai Expo
InterContinental Shanghai Expo is being marketed by the group as Shanghai’s newest and best world-class hotel. It has been built adjacent to the Pudong World Expo site and because the hotel is 28 floors high, it offers spectacular views of Shanghai’s skyline and the Hangpu River.
The hotels location on Queye Road puts it within an eight-minute drive of the heart of Shanghai’s central business district (Lujiazui) and numerous shopping areas. There are metro stations are within walking distance and the hotel is close to all city attractions in Puxi and Pudong, and is within 30 to 40 minutes of both international hotels in the city.
The hotel will have a total of 400 contemporary guestrooms, all with impressive World Expo or river views. There will also be 42 suites, 4 Diplomatic Suites (with private balconies) and a classic Presidential Suite, which will make up half of Level 28.
In addition, Intercontinental has a further seven hotels scheduled for opening in 2011.
Sheraton packing a punch in 2010 hotel offerings
With no less than 23 new hotels being launched by Sheraton in 2010 this hotel chain is certainly making waves in the hospitality industry and is focusing its expansion on parts of the world overlooked by major competitors such as Hilton and InterContinental.
As InterContinental consolidates its leading presence in the Southeast Asian hotel market, opening most of its hotels for 2010 in China, Vietnam, and Thailand, Sheraton is advancing in both the US and Eastern European markets, opening a range of new hotels in lands that were behind the so-called Iron curtain two decades ago, while investing massively in China.
Of the 23 new hotels being launched in 2010 by Sheraton four of them are in Europe, with two of those hotels in the Slovakian and Georgian capital cities. The other two are opening in Rhodes in Greece and Milan in Italy. Two new Sheraton hotels will be opened in New York, revealing a surge in confidence in the US hotel market from the hotel group, but nothing compared to the confidence in China, which is represented in the staggering 13 new hotels being built by the Sheraton group across the country’s many provinces from Shanghai to Inner Mongolia.
Taiwan will see two new Sheraton Hotels built while Vietnam and India will each get one.
