Hong Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will manage two new hotels in Doha with the opening of Shangri-La Hotel, Doha, as well as Traders Hotel, Doha; both scheduled to open in 2013.
Bernhard Haechler, vice president and general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai, says: “Our focus is on expansion and growth. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open over 20 new hotels in the next two years across eight countries. Five of these properties will open new markets for the group, including Turkey, Mongolia, the UK, Sri Lanka and Qatar.”
“We have remained resilient in 2011 given the global economic challenges and are optimistic that 2012 will be a positive year for us with healthy growth. In Dubai, 2011 was extremely successful with year-end RevPar results staying above budget. We have seen increased demand as a result of the Arab Spring. Our key market continues to be the GCC for both business and leisure,” adds Haechler.
Besides the Middle East, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will also open hotels in many new important strategic locations. “Shangri-La began in 1971 with the opening of Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. This first property established the brand’s hallmarks of gracious service from the heart, spacious well-appointed guestrooms, expansive lobbies, gourmet restaurants, and landscaped gardens. During the following four decades, the group has expanded across three brands: Shangri-La, the group’s flagship; Traders, four star business hotels; and Kerry, a contemporary luxury lifestyle brand and the newest member of the Shangri-La family.”
The first of the openings will be the Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto opening in August 2012. This will be followed by: Shangri-La Hotel, Mumbai (mid 2012), Shangri-La Hotel, Doha (Q4 2012), Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu (late 2012), Jing An Shangri-La, Shanghai (Q1 2013), Shangri-La Sanya, Hainan Island (Q1 2013), Shangri-La Hotel, At the Shard, London (Q1 2013), Shangri-La Hotel, Istanbul (Q1 2013), Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa (2013), Shangri-La Hotel, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia (2013) and two hotels in Sri Lanka, a beachside resort on the southern Hambantota coast (2013) and 700-room city hotel one in Colombo (2014).