Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels plans on new Peninsula properties in London, Istanbul and Yangon
The Peninsula hotel operator held a gala event on Friday to mark its long history in the city, and lay out its road map for the future
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH), owner of the Peninsula hotel chain, celebrated its 150th anniversary and its position as the oldest registered company in Hong Kong on Friday with giant helium balloons and champagne.
The company struggled in the first half, with underlying profits falling 43 per cent to HK$152 million.
While HSH was first incorporated as a company in March 1866, its initial Peninsula hotel was established in 1928. The hotel group currently owns and operates 10 Peninsula locations across the world, as well as The Peak Complex, The Peak Tram, and The Repulse Bay in Hong Kong.
At their anniversary celebration, HSH executives reaffirmed their long-term outlook for the company amid political and economic uncertainties in Hong Kong and around the globe.
“So much goes into surviving for 150 years,” Clement Kwok, HSH’s chief executive officer, told the Post. “At the core this, I believe, is commitment, commitment to the long-term, commitment that you go through some good times and some bad times.”
This long-term view is what differentiates HSH from other hotel groups, he said, particularly those who are not owner-operators of all their hotels like HSH is.
“When you’re the owner, you can really take a much longer term view, you can invest in the product,” Kwok said. “When things are bad, you can keep your staff and so on, which you don’t have that control if you’re only the manager because the purse strings are held by the owner.”
