Park Hotel Group looks at expanded presence in Japan
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Park Hotel Group looks at expanded presence in Japan
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Category: Asia Pacific - Japan - Industry economy -
New brands / Affiliations
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-01-23
Fresh from its first acquisition in Japan a month ago,
Singapore-based hospitality chain Park Hotel Group has set up its first Regional Sales Office in Tokyo as it looks for more opportunities to expand in Japan.
The fast-growing hospitality brand in the Asia-Pacific made its first foray into the Japanese hotel market in December 2008 with the acquisition of the Hilton Otaru in Hokkaido, which has been rebranded as Grand Park Otaru. The 296-room hotel brings the number of properties under the Group to a total of eight, including three in Singapore, three in China
and one in Hong Kong.
Within Japan, Park Hotel Group is looking to expand into key Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa. An announcement on the Group’s next property in Japan is expected in the second half of the year, Park Hotel Group director Mr Allen Law told a press conference
in Tokyo this week.
Expanding operations in Japan is in line with the Group’s aggressive plans to establish itself as one of Asia-Pacific’s top hospitality brands.
“With Japan under our portfolio now, Park Hotel Group’s presence now straddles the major growth engines and economies of the world – China, Japan and Southeast Asia,”
“While the current economic climate is seen as challenging in the short term, there are also opportunities out there. The Group is focused on growth for the long term.”
The Tokyo Regional Sales Office will promote Grand Park Otaru in the local domestic market and generate outbound business to the rest of the hotels within the group. It will be managed by two sales managers – Mr Takashi Hirotani (covering West Japan) and Mr Takashi Sugawara (covering East Japan).
The Tokyo office is a prelude to a network of Regional Sales Offices to be operational from 1 February 2009 in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou to cover Greater China as well as one in Singapore to cover Southeast Asia and India.
Park Hotel Group’s current stable of eight properties has more than 2,500 rooms under two brand tiers – the five-star Grand Park and the four-star Park Hotel.
The Group’s first property, Park Hotel Hong Kong, was established in 1961. It moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2005 and began its aggressive expansion with the acquisition of two hotels in Singapore - Park Hotel Orchard and Grand Park City Hall.
In 2006, the Group purchased a site in Singapore’s Clarke Quay upon which its first newbuilt property, the 336-room Park Hotel Clarke Quay, is scheduled to open in April 2009.
In 2007, the Group started making inroads into mainland China with the acquisition of two properties - Grand Park Kunming in Yunnan, followed by Grand Park Wuxi in Jiangsu.
Its latest China acquisition saw the Grand Castle Hotel in Xian, Shaanxi, rebranded as Grand Park Xian last November. The following month, the Group expanded into Japan with the
acquisition of Grand Park Otaru.
Park Hotel Group plans to acquire 10 more hotels in the next few years, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region.
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