Swire Aspires To Be China’s Premier Mixed-Use Hotelier

Real estate developer plans small-scale luxury hotels in city centers.

-- Hotels, 5/1/2008

The 99-key Opposite House in Beijing, set to open in time for the Olympics, will be Swire Hotels’ flagship property.

CHINA—Hong Kong-based Swire Properties, a developer and manager of commercial and residential real estate in China and elsewhere, is launching a namesake hotel management company. Swire Hotels will debut this summer with the opening of Beijing’s 99-key Opposite House; three additional properties are under development.

Swire Hotel Holdings Ltd. has been formed to create and manage luxury hotels of about 100 guestrooms, initially in mainland China and later in Hong Kong and the UK. The company will target travelers seeking individuality and style with personalized service.

“We have identified a niche in the market in Asia to develop small-scale luxury hotels in city centers—there are not many of those,” says Swire Hotels Managing Director Brian Williams, a longtime Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group executive and former CEO of Scotsman Hotel Group. “Many of the hotels currently open in those markets tend to be large with multiple catering, banquet and leisure facilities,” Williams says. There is a void in the China market for hotels with style and quality that also offer outstanding service and vibrant nightlife, he says.

The 5-star Swire properties will center on a standard luxury bedroom concept and will include destination restaurants and bars, Williams says. In addition, each Swire property will have unique architecture and interior design consistent with the features of its locality. For example, The Opposite House features a boxy exterior of lime green glass.

“There is a market out there that enjoys that type of unusual product,” Williams says. “On occasion, they look for something a little unique, a little refreshing.” Williams promises, however, that Swire Hotels is about more than flash. “Guests will not be staying in a design hotel with style but no substance—we are giving them both.”

In China, the company will integrate hotels into retail and office developments already in the Swire Properties pipeline. Existing developments slated to add hotels are the retail-centered The Village at Sanlitun in Beijing (where The Opposite House will open), Hong Kong’s Pacific Place, and Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou. Swire Hotels also will manage a 343-room lifestyle business hotel in Hong Kong called East. Including other components of the mixed-use projects, Swire has invested some US$2.9 billion into the four China developments.

Swire has a slightly different business plan for its UK properties. It will stick with the concept of standout, small luxury boutiques in regional cities, but the hotels will not necessarily be part of larger mixed-use developments, as in Asia. Williams likens the UK concept to a modern English-style townhouse. Swire plans to launch its UK portfolio next year in Bristol, Cheltenham, Exeter and Brighton, with more sites on the way.

The company will market its China properties domestically and to intra-Asia tourists from Japan, Thailand and India. Additionally, Swire expects these hotels to appeal to Western tourists familiar with the concept of lifestyle hotels, as well as business travelers who want a memorable China experience. Rates will fall toward the upper end of individual luxury markets; in Beijing, that means about US$400, Williams says.

As for The Opposite House, Japanese architect and designer Kengo Kuma—whose résumé includes Tokyo’s Plastic House and Suntory Museum of Art—has been charged with devising the hotel’s simple, contemporary interior aesthetic and its eye-popping architecture. Famed Shanghai restaurateur David Laris is overseeing F&B at the property, including the Asian restaurant Bei, the Mediterranean concept Sureño and the contemporary cocktail bar Mesh. Those outlets, plus a luxury “mini-club” called Punk, were designed by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu.

Swire will serve as its own developer and plans to manage many—if not all—of its hotel properties. Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a marketing partner, and Swire has a global distribution deal with TravelClick.

Though its dedicated hotel division only formally launched in March, Swire Properties does have some significant hotel development experience. The company has worked to develop a number of high-profile properties, including Mandarin Oriental hotels in Miami and Hong Kong, as well as the Conrad Hong Kong and Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong. l

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