NH Hotel Group has formed a joint venture office in Beijing with HNA Hospitality. NH China (Beijing NH Grand China Hotel Management Co. Ltd.) will develop prototype hotels for positioning its NH Hotels and NH Collection brands in China, with a target of developing 120 to 150 properties in the midscale and upscale segments by 2020.
Currently, the joint venture is developing two NH-brand hotels in Sanya and Haikou, which are expected to open in the second half of 2016, and the company predicts total signings to reach 10 to 20 hotels by the end of the year. The Chinese brand name will be Nuo Han.
“China, the second largest economy in the world, is a fast-growing market for both international and local hotel chains,” said Federico J. González Tejera, CEO of NH Hotel Group. “The middle-class boom with more than 100 million China citizens is expected to be the key driver of an increase of high-level consumption in travel and hospitality. With its strategic plan, NH Hotel Group will be ideally positioned to take advantage of this development in the Chinese market.”
“The joint venture’s establishment is a key milestone for the international development of HNA Hospitality Group with NH Hotel Group to build a brand portfolio in midscale, upscale and luxury segments,” added Bai Haibo, chairman of HNA Hospitality Group. “HNA Hospitality Group will leverage the leading operational experience and brand awareness of NH Hotel Group and HNA resources to collaborate very closely to provide high quality services to Chinese travellers and loyalty members of the two groups.”
