Covid19 hotel development analysis: Swiss-Belhotel International [Infographic]

by | 18 Sep 2020 | Portfolio

We examine the future development plans of fast-growing hotel group Swiss-Belhotel International amid the pandemic, drawing on exclusive findings from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus in late 2019 has had a devastating impact on the global hospitality sector and, like countless other hotel groups, Swiss-Belhotel International has had to endure an extraordinarily turbulent few months.

Founded in 1987, the Hong Kong-headquartered company now has a growing portfolio of more than 145 hotels, resorts and projects, according to its website – and manages properties in over 20 countries. Its sizeable geographic footprint spans the APAC, Middle East, Europe and African regions, with a particularly strong presence in Indonesia. The business also boasts no fewer than 14 brands, covering everything from luxury to lifestyle and boutique to budget.

What follows is a brief rundown of the key Swiss-Belhotel facts and figures compiled by our researchers and our analysis of what they mean.

Swiss-Belhotel’s international ambitions remain intact

Interestingly, Swiss-Belhotel is continuing to progress a total of 20 hotel schemes in spite of coronavirus as of 31 August 2020, according to the TOPHOTELPROJECTS data, while four further developments are on hold and none have been cancelled:

Group In progress On hold Cancelled Date
Swiss-Belhotel International 20 4 0 08/31/2020

Out of this pool of 20 live projects, 12 relate to the four-star Swiss-Belhotel brand, way ahead of Swiss-Belresort (six), Grand Swiss-Belhotel and Swiss-Belresidences (one apiece) in the expansion stakes:

New projects aplenty in the post-Covid world

Although we shouldn’t downplay how hard Covid19 has hit hotel groups in general, the statistics show that Swiss-Belhotel at least is continuing to move forwards with realising the bulk of its development pipeline – more than four-fifths of the company’s schemes are still being progressed through to completion, and it’s perfectly possible that work will eventually resume on the four projects currently at a standstill.

The simple fact is that Swiss-Belhotel has plenty of schemes that it’s pushing through to completion, particularly in key growth markets like Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the group will decide to start the ball rolling on other projects further down the line. But for now at least, the company’s management appears to have calculated that the best course of action is to finish what it’s started, and trust that the global economy gets back on track in the meantime.

And if the world ultimately manages to develop an effective vaccine, or simply learns to live alongside Covid19 more effectively over time, this may yet prove to be a winning strategy.

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

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ABOUT THE CHAIN

 

Swiss-Belhotel International operates as a hotel management company in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and the Middle East.