MONGKOK, CHINA Langham Hotels International is planning to double its global portfolio within the next five years. Meanwhile, operating results at its existing properties are strong this year.
The luxury hotelier has posted a 20% RevPAR improvement year-to-date, according to Channel NewsAsia.
In the medium-term, Langham plans to double its portfolio to 50 by 2015, largely on expansion in its home market of China. Langham has three hotels in China but has five more in the pipeline, in Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
“We see a real excitement, particularly in China, about European luxury and European hospitality,” Bob van den Oord, Langham’s vice president of sales and marketing, tells Channel NewsAsia. “You only have to go to the shops in Hong Kong to see the Chinese shopping for Louis Vuitton bags or Gucci or Prada. The Chinese love European luxury, so there’s a real hunger for that in China.”
Langham is also eying further expansion in the Middle East, India and the United States. The company has about US$1 billion designated for acquisitions, although it will also grow via new management contracts.