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The Lexington Collection of Hotels, Plaza Hotels, and Resorts Worldwide has opened the Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel. The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel starts life with a five star rating by the Chinese National Tourism Bureau.

Located in Middle Lover’s Road — that appears to be a literal translation — in Zhuai province, the new hotel has 157 rooms.

It is unique with a black façade, which represents the contemporary architectural style of the region. It covers 16,000 square meters of prime real estate and has a 12-story structure and annex. There is, but of course, a health club and a beautiful indoor swimming pool.

The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel is a two-minute drive to Jiuzhou Port and 45 minutes to Zhuhai Airport, an hour from Hong Kong and Shenzhen and ten minutes to the island of Macau by ferry.
Source: Hotel Executive

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The Lexington Collection of Hotels, Plaza Hotels, and Resorts Worldwide has opened the Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel. The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel starts life with a five star rating by the Chinese National Tourism Bureau.

Located in Middle Lover’s Road — that appears to be a literal translation — in Zhuai province, the new hotel has 157 rooms.

It is unique with a black façade, which represents the contemporary architectural style of the region. It covers 16,000 square meters of prime real estate and has a 12-story structure and annex. There is, but of course, a health club and a beautiful indoor swimming pool.

The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel is a two-minute drive to Jiuzhou Port and 45 minutes to Zhuhai Airport, an hour from Hong Kong and Shenzhen and ten minutes to the island of Macau by ferry.
Source: Hotel Executive

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Otis, probably the most famous elevator company in the world, has won a $23 million contract to provide high-speed elevators at China’s Guangzhou International Financial Center, a hotel and office building that will be among the tallest in the world.

Otis will install a mix of its ‘Skyway’ double-deck elevators with speeds up to 1,378 feet per minute, and its ‘Elevonic’ high-speed gearless elevators capable of up to 1,575 feet per minute

When completed for the 2010 Asia Games in Guangzhou, China, the tower will reach a height of 1,417 feet and be among the tallest buildings in the world. The 103-story building is designed for offices on lower floors with the luxury hotel, as yet unnamed, above the 70th floor for a luxury hotel.

Otis bills itself as the world’s largest manufacturer and maintainer of ‘people-moving products’ including elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

Elisha Graves Otis, as seen in our splendid illustration, sold his first safety elevators in 1853. Otis’s invention increased public confidence in elevators, and therefore allowed for the mass construction of a new trend of building: the skyscraper.

The company pioneered the development of the safety elevator, invented by Otis, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail.

Otis made skyscrapers possible by providing safe mechanical transport to upper floors. The company he founded became known as the Otis Elevator Company, the largest elevator company in the world.
Source: Hartford Business

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The Mandarin Oriental, Sanya is set to open for business in the second half of 2008, with 297 guest rooms each with expansive views over the South China Sea.

Many of the larger-than-average size rooms feature private gardens with timber decks and direct access to the beach.

The rooms will have more technology than the average guest will know how to ute.

The press release refers to ‘the decadent Pavilion room category’ — which is probably where they do not host visiting journalists. They are already decadent enough.

Private villas have their own private deck areas, private outdoor lap pools, gardens and relaxation gazebos.

The Mandarin Oriental, Sanya will be the first hotel managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to open in China.

Anent which I have a splendid story. Mandarin advertises using famous guests. One of them is Barry Humphries. What is not mentioned in the advertising is that the first time he stayed at The Mandarin in Hong Kong he was thrown out into the street. The writer was there.

Barry Humphries was doing his cabaret act and as a prelude he wandered around the tables dressed as Sir Les Patterson, Minister of the Artz. That is with wine slobbering from his mouth, very odd stains on his trousers and a daft leer. A posse of waiters formed, grabbed him and hurled him out into the cold night.

He had to telephone the then manager, Peter Gautschi, to come and escort him back into the hotel so he could complete his act.
Source: Asia Travel Tips and experience.

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Accor, Europe’s largest hotelier,will open five Pullman hotels in China by 2010, part of plans to grow its three-month-old Pullman brand globally.

The Pullman brand, which was launched last December and targets mainly business travellers, will tap Asia’s fastest growing business travel and conference markets, Accor Asia Pacific Chairman Michael Issenberg said in the statement.

Accor said last May that it expected to double revenue from Asia in three or four years by ramping up a plan to expand across China, aiming to have as many as 160 hotels in operation or under development across the country by 2010, compared with 103 at that time.

The first Pullman hotel in China was opened in Dongguan, a city in southern Guangdong province, while another four will be opened in cities including Beijing and northern Tianjin.

Pullman derives its name from the opulent Pullman railway carriages that redefined overnight railway travel in the United States, and later in Europe in the 1860’s. They were started by George Pullman.

In 1867 Pullman introduced his first hotel on wheels, the President, a sleeper with an attached kitchen and dining car. The food rivaled the best restaurants of the day and the service was impeccable.

A year later in 1868, he launched the Delmonico, the world’s first sleeping car devoted to fine cuisine. The Delmonico menu was prepared by chefs from New York’s famed Delmonico’s Restaurant.

Traditionally, all Pullman head porters were called George in memory of the founder. There is no suggestion that this tradition will be followed in the hotels.
Source: Reuters

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

A major hotelier in Australia gets in touch to explain that the prices charged during the weeks of the Olympic Games are more than justified. Because, pretty much no matter what they charge, the hotels at the high end of the market will lose money on the deal.

Points me to the Arthur Andersen survey which has the snappy heading:

Sydney Hotels Suffer Decreased Food & Beverage Revenue and
Displacement of Loyal Guests During Olympics But Double Average Room Rate

The problem is that hotels — in Australia and Beijing — make a substantial about of their profit from F&B food and beverage.

An Olympic Games guest has an early breakfast (probably included in the price of the room) and then disappears to the Games to return late at night with sleep the major attraction.

During the period all the MICE events (and the includes all weddings which are a nice little earner) are suspended — indeed, at the Beijing Games they are banned — so the typical convention visitor who dines and drinks and stays near and in the hotel is not on the list.

And, indeed, to be on the safe side there appears to be a buffer period each side of the Games when MICE business — meeting, incentives, conventions, exhibitions plus weddings — stops dead in its tracks just to be on the safe side.

Result? Adding it all up the big hotels lose money during the Games. They did in Australia in 2000. And the hotel executive giving th information is absolutely certain the same will happen in Beijing.
Source: Hotel On Line

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com