Irresistable: international hospitality brands fall for China’s numbers game
Ascott and ONYX hospitality brands seek first-mover advantage by securing lucrative contracts in China’s serviced apartments and hotels
Ascott and ONYX, the two international hospitality brands headquartered in Southeast Asia, have been increasing their presence in China’s domestic travel sector. Chinese travellers made 4 billion trips within the country in 2015, twice as many as in 2014. China also leads the global outbound travel market.
Ascott, wholly owned by the Singapore-based Capitaland, has inked deals to manage eight new serviced residences in Beijing, Chongqing, Haikou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xiamen through its Ascott, Citadines and Tujia Somerset brands. The properties will add 1,200 apartments to Ascott’s portfolio in mainland China.
Serviced apartment operators are looking expectantly to China for growth as supply of this type of accommodation, which mainly caters to expatriates, is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent in major cities over the next five years.
A report by international property consultancy JLL says it expects around 3,300 new serviced apartments to enter the market in that time.
Being the first serviced residence company to partner new economy leaders like Tujia and Fliggy [Alitrip] has also given us significant first-mover advantage to boost Ascott’s presence in the country
In Beijing, the property agency forecasts 1,380 serviced apartments will be established over the next three years, reflecting an annual growth rate of 8.3 per cent. Beijing’s stock of international serviced apartments stood at 5,600 units by the end of 2015, according to official figures.
While China’s hotel boom has been well reported, with growth in revenue per available room, serviced apartments have developed rapidly over the past five years. Revenue per available room in five-star hotels averaged 11.4 per cent and 11.7 per cent growth in Shanghai and Beijing in that time.
