Global Update
The GosTelow reporT
One growing challenge with urban development in India , says Rajiv Kaul , president of Hotel Leelaventure Ltd ., Mumbai , is that land costs typically are now 50 % of any budget . This requires construction as fast as possible , which is perhaps not commensurate with general business life in India . Hotel Leelaventure Ltd . currently has eight Leela hotels in India , but Kaul and his colleagues are looking further afield , to Dubai and the Maldives . Resorts , he says , certainly represent the biggest opportunity for the burgeoning Indian leisure market .
Rishi Kapoor , based in Dubai , heads development for MGM Resorts , Las Vegas , for the entire
MARY GOSTELOw
world with the exception of North America and China — where MGM China is a partnership with Pansy Ho , daughter of Macau casino kingpin Stanley Ho , who held a monopoly on running Macau ’ s casinos until the government ended it in 2002 . Not surprisingly , Rishi Kapoor has Dubai at the top of his list , which is primarily concentrated on the Middle East and North Africa as well as Asia . Exact locations include Casablanca and Marrakech in Morocco ; Doha , Qatar ; Bangkok ; Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia ; Singapore ; Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam ; Jakarta and Bali , Indonesia ; and Seoul , Korea .
Robert Dawson , regional VP ,
Como ’ s turquoise retreat
Pacific , for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels & Resorts , is based in Melbourne , Australia , where he is also GM of Park Hyatt Melbourne . He says his main priority is a second property with prominent meetings facilities for Sydney , to complement the 160-room Park Hyatt Sydney — which has highest average rate in Australia but no meeting space . He also wants Brisbane for any of the Hyatt family of brands , as Queensland is , he says , looking up . Dawson also would consider a return both to Adelaide and Auckland , New Zealand , if a suitable location came up . He thinks Australia and New Zealand are also ripe for Hyatt Place properties , both in primary and secondary cities , but it is too early to think about all-inclusive resorts .
Singapore-based Como Hotels and Resorts and Christina Ong last November launched Point Yamu by Como Shambhala in Phuket , Thailand , a contemporary Thai design capturing panoramic views of the Andaman Sea . Denniston Architects and its Principal Designer Jean-Michel Gathy , along with Italian interior designer Paola Navone , created a 79-room contemporary Thai experience with blue and turquoise accents . Some 20 villas are also being sold with owners benefiting from a rental program .
16 HOTELS March 2014 www . hotelsmag . com