By James Wilkinson at HICAP in Hong Kong
Carlson Rezidor’s Asia-Pacific team is finishing a challenging week with good news, signing a second new property within a few days.
On Monday, Carlson Rezidor’s President of Asia Pacific, Simon Barlow, inked a deal with the Philippines’ SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation for a new-build Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Clark, outside Manila.
The deal was signed during Carlson Rezidor’s annual GMs Conference at the Radisson Blu Cebu hotel, another property owned by SM.
On Tuesday morning, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck an adjacent island to Cebu, forcing the evacuation of the hotel and leaving many people shaken, including the author of this story who was on level 19 when the tremor hit.
Come Wednesday, when Carlson’s executive team had made it to Hong Kong for the annual HICAP conference, Barlow revealed to HM the company had signed a deal for the new-build, 300-room Radisson Foshan Nanzhuang, situated across from the Foshan International Conference and Exhibition Centre and 53km from Guangzhou International Airport.
Barlow said the property wouldn’t just expect business from the MICE segment, but from the nation’s ceramics industry, given the Nanzhuang area of Foshan is China’s leading producer of ceramics, accounting for more than one eight of the world’s production.
The latest signings cap off what has been a strong year for development for the group across Asia Pacific and in particular the key markets of China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
“We are achieving significant momentum in Asia Pacific with our 37 new hotel management agreements this year, and are on target to achieve more than 170 hotels in operation and under development at the end of 2013,” Barlow said.
The new Radisson in China is one of seven in the pipeline for the brand, with Carlson also adding Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson hotels across Asia-Pacific in rapidly growing numbers.
HM flew to HICAP with Cathay Pacific, which flies to Hong Kong from Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney on three-class Airbus A330s that feature Business, Premium and Economy. Cathay’s new Business Class, available on all Australian routes, features super-spacious lie-flat seats, powerpoints and USB charging ports and large storage areas and oversized entertainment screens with hundreds of hours’ entertainment on demand. Also expect world-class service and high quality food and wine. Alternatively, for not much more than a full economy airfare, go for Premium, which offers wider seats and a larger pitch, bigger TVs, quality meals and wine, and a glass of bubbly on boarding. Visit www.cathaypacific.com