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Hoteliers flock to Asia in search of faster growth

November 13, 2009 | Hospitality Industry

The global hotel business is in a deep funk, but that has not kept the industry from betting on the one region of the world where growth is strongest - Asia.

Hardly a week goes by in the region without a hotel’s grand opening or announcement of expansion plans, despite a sharp downturn in the world’s major economies that has caused a plunge in occupancy and room rates across Asia, the United States and Europe.

In October, two major upscale hotels opened in Hong Kong, each with views of the skyscrapers huddled between the city’s mountains and harbor. One is a 381-room Hyatt Regency on top of a shopping mall in the Kowloon district of the city. The other is the 117-room Upper House, owned by the Hong Kong conglomerate Swire and within walking distance of the central business district on Hong Kong Island. A 300-room Ritz-Carlton is among the hotels due to open here next year.

Many of these projects got under way before the economic slowdown hit the travel industry hard, but even in the midst of the gloom, hotel companies big and small are pressing ahead with major expansion plans in Asia.

Get the full story at The New York Times

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