New World Hospitality, Hong Kong, has announced expansion plans focused on Asia for its Pentahotels brand, which also is debuting a new visual identity that aims to represent its positioning as a “neighborhood lifestyle hotel.”
Pentahotels began in 1971 as a joint venture among five British and European airlines and first opened its modern incarnation in Eisenach, Germany, in 2007. Currently there are 13 Pentahotels in Europe and two in China — in Shanghai and Beijing. Two other China locations have been confirmed: the 197-room Pentahotel Guiyang, set to open in 2013, and the 390-room Pentahotel Shenyang, scheduled for a 2014 debut. New World Hospitality is planning to have 80 Pentahotels globally by 2020.
“We see tremendous potential for Pentahotels in Asia,” said Sonia Cheng, chief executive officer of New World Hospitality. “Pentahotels aims to keep road warriors grounded while on-the-go with distinctive design, a mix of fun with functionality, comfort with creativity and style with simplicity.”
Every Pentahotel features a multi-purpose lounge, rather than a lobby, designed as a bistro-style gathering place and an extension of the hotel’s guestrooms. The 307-room Pentahotel Beijing, the latest to introduce the neighborhood lifestyle hotel concept, boasts loft-style guestrooms with dark timber floors as well as a white and deep blue color palette. Public areas include hardwoods and earth tones, wrought-iron pendant lights, charcoal granite flooring, brick walls and wool rugs. Shanghai’s Neri & Hu created the design.
The new visual identity incorporates in-room collateral as well as a website design showcasing snapshots of the hotels’ surrounding areas and tips about enjoying the neighborhoods.
Future Pentahotels will target urban centers, convention and exhibition complexes, airports and rail stations. Cheng described the target as “anywhere young-spirited travelers do business or have fun, where they want to feel connected yet forego fluff, fuss and 5-star hotel prices.”
