HONG KONG—Fresh from the US$229.5-million acquisition of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, New World Hospitality is balancing Asia development with the new Americas-based portfolio of 20 Rosewood properties.
“Rosewood’s strength today is particularly in the Americas and Caribbean markets, and we would anticipate to see continued growth in these markets, for example with the recently announced Bahamas project, while a footprint has been established in the Middle East through the brand’s presence in Saudi Arabia, which is being further enhanced by upcoming projects in Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” New World COO Symon Bridle wrote in an email.
The company announced the acquisition of Dallas-based Rosewood in late July.
Targets for Rosewood locations will continue to be gateway cities and unique resort propositions, he said. “We won’t be looking to ‘plant a flag’ simply for the sake of it. New projects need to complement the existing portfolio and build on the fantastic legacy that Rosewood has already created.”
Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality has an existing presence in Asia with its upscale New World Hotels and upper-midscale pentahotels brands.
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Symon Bridle |
“New World Hospitality’s strength lies strongly in Asia, and we have a number of pipeline projects that we believe will be distinctive fits with the current Rosewood portfolio, and we look forward to announcing new Rosewood destinations in this part of the world in the coming months,” Bridle said. “We are also focused on bringing the brand into Europe.”
China is a key focus for New World, according to Bridle.
“We do see that pentahotels, our select-service mid-market brand, is particularly poised for aggressive growth in China, and while there are only two properties operating in this market today, within five years it is realistic to anticipate 30 properties in China and the region,” he said. “For New World Hotels, which is a deluxe 5-star offer, we have announced five new properties over the past months (Beijing, Guiyang, Shenyang, Qingyuan and Haikou) and are actively looking at other opportunities both within China and regionally, particularly in southeast Asia where we are looking to complement existing properties in Saigon and Manila.”
Bridle said the company anticipates growing the portfolio from the current 30 in operation to approximately 90 properties by 2016.
Growth will be funded through “internal resources,” he said, putting to rest published reports that the company was raising a fund for acquisitions.
The expansion of New World Hospitality will present some staffing issues.
“The people challenge will be an interesting one going forward, as this is a vital component to bring alive the brand promise through distinctive and differentiated service,” Bridle said. The short-term focus is on training to achieve consistency of service.
“Across our brands, the ‘red thread’ might be considered to be what we call Relationship Hospitality, which is how we nurture and build strong and lasting relationships with both customers and associates, connecting on a human and personal level.”