Global Update
The GosTelow reporT
Tony Fernandes , the powerhouse behind Air Asia and the budget Tune
Hotels brand , has six U . K . hotels — including four in London — but wants to add another 25 , and he is prepared to invest US $ 300 million in doing so .
Prime Investors Capital , London , is led by Rafael Serrano , who developed the highly successful London Bulgari . Thanks to successful bidding against more than 20 competitors , he has won the lease to convert London ’ s Admiralty Arch . Serrano says his planned luxury hotel will open with some 100 keys , of which 38
Mary GOSTELOw are suites . The actual arch itself will house a restaurant with unique views along The Mall . There will be a subterranean ballroom , spa , pool , private members ’ club and — so rare for London — private parking for 30 cars . He also is conceiving what will be a supreme collection of historic hotels as he invests in outstanding heritage properties elsewhere .
Rob Cheng , vice president of marketing , The Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels , says there are no plans for Peninsula resorts . He prefers to have informal alliances with resorts near Peninsula hotels . The Peninsula Manila , for instance , works with The Farm at San Benito , Batangas , which happens to be co-owned by Nepal ’ s best-known global hotelier , Binod Chaudhary , chairman of the food-to-real-estate Chaudhary Group conglomerate .
Chaudhary ’ s own brand is Zinc Hotels & Resorts , and he is working on a chain of Zinc properties down the east coast of Africa . Now , he says , he is looking for a partner for West Africa ( the cost of borrowing money for anything in Africa is 10 % less than other destinations , he says ). He also thinks now is the time to expand in India , and he is keen on Myanmar .
rlhC GeTs inTo lifesTyle
Hotel rL will include The Steps , a public gathering space where guests can mingle and work . rLHC in October launched a 3-star hotel conversion brand targeted for the top U . S . urban markets . Hotel rL is a lifestyle brand inspired by the spirit of the Pacific Northwest coffee culture and designed for consumers with a Millennial mindset . Coffee in the lobby will be free in the morning , and there will be no coffee makers in guestrooms . at the core of the modular conversion package — pricing out between US $ 10,000 and US $ 14,000 per key — is a public space called The Steps , a gathering space where guests can mingle and work . The Steps will also feature local artistic performances and lectures that will be broadcast in real time to other hotels in the system . Executives are targeting tired , full-service hotels that need to be repositioned without big redevelopment price tags , and they expect to have six deals done before the end of the year with two dozen in the pipeline in 2015 .
18 HOTELS December 2014 www . hotelsmag . com