Kempinski Group has renewed and deepened its longstanding partnership in China with BTG Hotels, as the pair work together to exploit opportunities in the country’s growing hospitality sector.
A new strategic plan has been agreed, which aims to reclaim and strengthen Kempinski’s market leadership, building on more than 150 years of history and success. The partners will develop together, around four key pillars of growth.
Building across market segments
First, there will be a drive to expand Kempinski’s Chinese Heritage portfolio. This will roll out more luxury hotels appealing to sophisticated Chinese travellers, and international visitors alike.
Second, the pair plan to launch a new lifestyle hospitality brand in the country. Aimed principally at Chinese guests, BTG and Kempinski aim to grow this brand’s presence to 200 hotels across China, over the next five years.
Third, the two companies will work together to build out their new, promising brand launches, Bristoria and NUO. Bristoria is already open in Erbil, Iraq with plans for more sites soon, while NUO is growing from its early base of two hotels in Beijing. Finally, both Kempinski and BTG see opportunities to grow business by integrating their loyalty programmes and membership.
“BTG and Kempinski have achieved tremendous success during the past two decades,” said Li Yun, chair of BTG Hotels Group. “China’s role on the travel and tourism stage has undergone a major shift in the last quarter century, and Kempinski has been a part of that journey since day one.”
And Barbara Muckermann, CEO of Kempinski Group, likewise sees great opportunities from working together, adding: “Our collaboration offers us a unique advantage to continue aggressively expanding in the region. I look forward to the next phase of the collaboration to reinforce our position into the future.”
Kempinski lays claim to having brought the first five star hotel to China, opening in Beijing in 1992. The company agreed a joint venture with BTG in 2001, bringing together European hospitality and tradition, with the dynamism of BTG as a growing travel and tourism group in China. Today, the pair have delivered one of the largest international brand portfolios in China, and together they operate 22 hotels.
BTG is one of the three major hotel chain groups in China, and since 2000 has been listed on the Shanghai stock market. The group operates more than 7,000 hotels across China, from luxury properties to leisure resorts.
Growing internationally
Outside of China, Kempinski is also expanding in many international markets. It has hotels under construction in locations including Makkah, Medina and Marrakesh.
The group has also expanded into branded residences, an increasingly popular product extension for many luxury hotel brands, and has residence projects either alongside upcoming hotels, or as independent projects. Developments in the pipeline include sites in Khao Yai, Thailand; Dubai and Makkah; Yerevan in Armenia, and Sapanca in Turkey.
