Furthering its global expansion efforts, Frankfurt-headquartered hotel group Deutsche Hospitality has struck a deal to open a pair of stylish Steigenberger properties in Haiyan.

The duo are set to bolster the company’s international footprint when they finally open their doors at the start of 2022. We find out more.

A new cultural and tourism destination

Deutsche Hospitality has announced the signing of an exclusive partnership agreement to create two hotels during a ceremonial inspection visit to a construction site in Haiyan; both properties will be part of the new tourist and cultural destination, Hangzhou Bay Sunac Cultural Tourism City, which is currently under development. The hotels will share this 291-hectare site with a shopping centre, four leisure parks and a residential district.

Around 100 kilometres to the southwest of Shanghai, Haiyan lies on the country’s South China Sea coast in Zhejiang province.

“Deutsche Hospitality’s expansion into China represents a strategic milestone in the cooperation between the group and its shareholder Huazhu,” said Marc Cherrier, COO of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts at Huazhu as he joined Yang Wenhu, general manager of Hangzhou Bay Cultural City, in signing the agreement at Hangzhou Bay.

“These are the first two Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts in China to be jointly developed with our shareholder Huazhu, and for us they send out a strong symbolic message,” added Marcus Bernhardt, CEO of Deutsche Hospitality. “They act as a further visible sign of our highly effective collaboration, of our common expansion and of our endeavour to be the best local hoteliers in the world.”

Two distinct hotel experiences

Of the two hotels in development, one will be a Steigenberger Classic Hotel and the other will be a Steigenberger Future Hotel. The Classic hotel will exhibit a luxurious European style with 227 guest rooms and a focus on delivering exceptional service standards. The Future hotel promises to provide a more ‘avante-garde’ experience through incorporating state-of-the-art technology into its public spaces and 300 guest rooms.

The Steigenberger Hotels & Resort portfolio currently consists of 60 hotels in 11 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. Deutsche Hospitality, which is behind the Steigenberger, Maxx by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel and Zleep Hotels brands, was acquired by Chinese giant Huazhu in January 2020.