Gostelow Report, October 2007
By Mary Gostelow, Contributing Editor -- Hotels, 9/30/2007 11:00:00 PM
Now that United Overseas Bank, Singapore, has finalized its purchase—via UOL Group Ltd.—of Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, it is time for expansion. The hotel portfolio currently comprises 13 managed properties; 11 have been announced to be developed. Speaking from his Vancouver base, President of the Americas Steve Halliday says he is specifically looking for sites on Vancouver Island, a return to San Francisco and presence in Los Angeles and New York City.
Based in Mill Valley, California, Moana Hotel & Restaurant Group is a division of the Harmon family’s multifaceted enterprises, chaired by Bob Harmon. Managing Director of Business Development Arun Paul oversees Moana’s many restaurants and its burgeoning Solage resort concept. Solage targets high-achievers with a young outlook, and its first property, which opened in July in Calistoga, California, is already above initial targets—thanks partly to a serious spa with the mud therapy for which its location is renowned. Now, says Paul, Moana plans to open no more than three additional Solages a year (a lot of fledgling brands have overextended themselves). He is currently working on five sites, and he is looking for more, especially in the western United States and Mexico.
Speaking of Mexico, Tenedora Augusta, Mexico City, is partnering with Hilton Hotels Corp. to expand Hilton’s budget brands throughout Central America. Tenedora Augusta is a joint venture between Citigroup Venture Capital, Indigo Capital and Hoteles Prisma, owned by Joel Zorrilla Vargas and Victor Zorrilla Vargas. As president of Tenedora Augusta, Victor says there is a growing need for focused-service hotels in Mexico.
As the former Soviet Union is opening up, most developers seem to be more interested in high-profile, top-end properties (as evidenced by the new Ritz-Carlton and the forthcoming pair of Four Seasons in Moscow). But is there a chance for lower-end value properties, and are we about to see a mega-announcement that will be aimed at the practical multi-use sector?
Harare, Zimbabwe-based Meikles Africa Ltd., listed on the Harare and London exchanges, somehow manages to thrive despite inflation of over 7,000%. Its Meikles Africa Hotels division is run by CEO Roy Meiring, who says he plans to expand his portfolio to game lodges in the planned Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, which comprises 35 national parks, game reserves and sanctuaries in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He is looking for partners.
Angola, in southeast Africa, is obviously ripe for development. By 2010, the country’s Minister of Tourism, Dino Chingunji hopes to have opened at least 40 more hotels in the capital, Luanda, alone. Angola is buoyed by its oil bonanza and considerable investment in infrastructure (China, for instance, is investing heavily in Angola’s hospitals and schools). Angola is a hot destination for business wanting a foothold in the more promising parts of Africa.
China expansion continues unabated (one of the latest opening is the extraordinary dragon-shaped Sheraton Dameisha Resort in Shenzhen, developed by Shenzhen Kingkey Real-Estate Development Co. Ltd). Meanwhile, out of his Sydney base, ethnic Chinese financier Alfred Wong, chairman and CEO of Green Pacific Energy Ltd. and managing director of Grand Pacific Finance Group, says he plans to join those investing heavily in the hotel sector in China. He is committing A$600 million (US$490 million) to develop 30 Grand Pacific hotels throughout China, all aimed at the leisure market.
Send your news via e-mail to: mary.gostelow@wowtraveler.net
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