Hoteliers Bolster Asia Presence

摘要

The last thing a continent of half-empty hotels needs is more hotels, right? Skeletons of unfinished luxury palaces still loom over Kuala Lumpur and other Asian cities, a legacy of the last big industry downturn. Yet despite the Asian-Pacific hotel industry's financial losses last year amid recession, terrorism and uncomfortably low room rates, hotels are opening in the region almost as frequently as a year or two ago, when managers could think about filling mattresses with cash. More than 40 are to be opened this year under the brands of just four global hotel groups, Six Continents, Marriott, Starwood and Accor. Hotel chiefs insist they aren't sleepwalking. Rather, they say they are taking advantage of the economic slump to lock in cheaper building costs. At the same time, they are trying to bolster their presence in China and the few other regional markets that are still holding up. And at least a third of the hotels they are opening were already operating under other brand names and managers beforehand.