Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific to Increase Portfolio by 50% over Next Three Years

Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific today announced that it plans to increase its portfolio by 50% over the next three years.

The hotel management company plans to aggressively increase the number of hotels across all five of its brands, with major growth driven by its three full service brands – Regent International Hotels, Radisson and Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

Carlson Hotels has agreements in place for 23 hotels, currently under development and due to open by the end of 2007, to add to its current portfolio of 45 hotels and 9,593 rooms across the Asia Pacific region.

Paul Kirwin, president for Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific, said, “The current hotel market is extremely buoyant and we expect this trend to continue well into next year. This is an exciting time for Carlson Hotels and we see this as a perfect opportunity to further strengthen our current portfolio across the entire region.

“In particular, Hong Kong is a top priority for Carlson Hotels and we remain on the look out for quality stock. The luxury Regent brand was initially established in Hong Kong 30 years ago and really set the service and product standard for the Asian luxury hotel market. We would very much like to bring the Regent back to Hong Kong in the near future.”

The majority of Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific’s expansion activity will take place across China, India and Thailand. The growth will begin with the opening of Carlson Hotels’ first Regent hotel for China, The Regent Shanghai, due to open next month and the second, The Regent Beijing, due to open September 2006.

The company’s first Park Plaza for China, the Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, is also due to open in late 2005, marking a milestone for Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific with the company having brand presence for all three of its full service hotel brands in the one country for the first time.

Four New Regent Hotels

Along with The Regent Shanghai and The Regent Beijing, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific is also overseeing development and has management agreements in place for two other Regent hotels in key locations for both business and leisure travellers – Ningbo, China and Bangkok, Thailand.

The Regent Ningbo will be one of the first international luxury hotels in this fast-growing area of east China, 100 miles (160 kilometres) south of Shanghai and the centrepiece of a major redevelopment currently underway to transform the downtown area of the Ningbo Economic and Technical Development Zone, also known as Beilun. The 1.2 million sq.-ft. project (110,000 sqm) will also feature a mid-tier hotel, offices and a retail and entertainment centre.

The Regent Bangkok Hotel & Residences is a state-of-the-art development located on Sukhumvit Road next to Soi 13, one of Bangkok's prime business and entertainment districts. Comprising two separate high-rise towers, with the hotel positioned in front of the residential condominium tower. The hotel will feature 327 rooms including 23 suites, while the residential development, branded The Regent Residences, will include 350 stylish condominiums.

Seven New Radisson Hotels

Carlson Hotels is also set to add to its strong portfolio of Radisson hotels across the region, with seven hotels to be added over the next three years in India, Bangladesh, China and Fiji.

The first of these to open will be the Radisson Hotel Khajuraho and the Radisson Hotel Manohar Hyderabad, India, in November 2005. Next year will see further openings across the region, including the Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka in Bangladesh (January 2006), the Radisson Hotel Pudong Century Park, China (January 2006), and the Radisson Hotel Agra, India (September 2006). In 2007, two additional hotels are scheduled to open, the Radisson Hotel Jaipur, India (April 2007) and the Radisson Resort Fiji Denarau Island, Fiji (May 2007).

Seven New Park Plaza Hotels

To complement Carlson Hotels’ strong Radisson presence, five new Park Plaza hotels will also be added in the key markets of China, India and Thailand. Scheduled to open in the next twelve months are the Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing (China, December 2005), Park Plaza Jodhpur (India, December 2005), Park Plaza Mussoorie (India, January 2006), Park Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok (Thailand, August 2006), Park Plaza Delhi (India, October 2006).

Five New Country Inns & Suites By Carlson and Park Inn Hotels

With growth driven by Carlson Hotels’ three full-service brands, Carlson has also seen expansion activity for its two select-service hotel brands. Two Indian hotels were recently added to Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in the mid year, with Country Inns & Suites By Carlson – Ludhiana opening in July and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson – Haridwar in August 2005.

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