Marco Polo on the move in Asia
Marco Polo Hotels is refining its service offering, expanding its network in Asia and ramping up its marketing under a new global partnership.
Jeffrey Flowers, president of the Hong Kong-based hotel group, said Marco Polo would offer travellers “an Asian hospitality experience with a modern Western facility that reflects the culture and traditions of the host city, as opposed to the global chains that promise a predictable, but not necessarily memorable, experience”.
“We are small enough to customise, unlike the big global brands that have to have a cookie-cutter approach to their services.”
Flowers said Marco Polo would work with recognised hotel designers to execute its development brief with particular focus on high quality food and beverage to further solidify its market positioning.
Marco Polo Hotels, owned by the Hong Kong Wharf Group, finished 2006 on a high note, with its nine operating hotels posting double digit financial increases in nearly all markets, namely Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
It added two new hotels last year with the opening of the Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu, Philippines and The Marco Polo Shenzhen in the Futian district of Shenzhen in China.
It also announced new projects in Wuhan and Chengdu in China. In March, it will open the stylish Marco Polo Parkside Hotel in Beijing, just 800 metres from the entrance to the 2008 Olympic Games stadium.
A December opening is meanwhile planned for the Marco Polo Wuhan. “With its outstanding riverfront location, the Marco Polo Wuhan will become the leading hotel in the city and will be the flagship of the Wharf China’s new development, Wuhan Times Square,“ said Flowers.
Flowers said that Marco Polo’s growth would be driven by parent company-owned multi-use real estate projects such as its three hotels in Hong Kong, Wuhan Times Square and Chengdu Times Square; joint venture projects such as the Marco Polo Xiamen; and management contracts such as its hotels in Beijing, Cebu, Davao, Ho Chi Minh City, and Shenzhen.
In particular, it is eyeing major gateway cities such as Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul, Manila and Tokyo as well as key secondary cities.
Marco Polo is also kicking off 2007 as the latest Asian member to join the Global Hotels Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel groups. Created in 2004, it comprises Dusit Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels, Landis Hotels & Resorts, Marco Polo Hotels, Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts and Rydges Hotels & Resorts.
Ian Jarrett
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