NH Hotel Group, one of Europe’s leading hotel chains, has announced the launch of a joint venture office in Beijing with HNA Hospitality. The company will develop prototype hotels for positioning their NH Hotels and NH Collection brands in China, with a target of developing 120 to 150 properties in the midscale and upscale segments by the year 2020. The joint venture is in the process of developing 2 NH brand hotels in Sanya and Haikou, which are expected to open in the second half of 2016, and the company predicts total signings to reach 10 to 20 hotels by the end of the year. The Chinese brand name will be “Nuo Han”, which represents a promise to meet guest expectations and bring them a brilliant future.
NH China (Beijing NH Grand China Hotel Management Co. Ltd.), the joint venture between NH Hotel Group and HNA Hospitality, is located is located in the central business district of Chaoyang, Beijing, China.The establishment of the company follows the strategic memorandum of understanding signed between NH and HNA as part of the bilateral trade summit between Spain and China in the presence of Spanish President Mariano Rajoy and Premier Li Keqiang of People’s Republic of China.
The joint venture’s corporate purpose is to build a portfolio of midscale NH Hotels and upscale NH Collection brand properties in China, owned by HNA or by third parties. The target is to develop 120 to 150 hotels by 2020. This business approach fits with NH Hotel Group’s strategy of pursuing growth using capital-light formulas.
Bai Haibo, Chairman of HNA Hospitality Group, stated, “The joint venture’s establishment is a key milestone for the international development of HNA Hospitality Group with NH Hotel Group to build a brand portfolio in midscale, upscale and luxury segments. HNA Hospitality Group will leverage the leading operational experience and brand awareness of NH Hotel Group and HNA resources to collaborate very closely to provide high quality services to Chinese travellers and loyalty members of the two groups.”
Federico J. González Tejera, CEO of NH Hotel Group, stated, “China, the 2nd largest economy in the world, is a fast-growing market for both international and local hotel chains. The middle-class boom with more than 100 million China citizens is expected to be the key driver of an increase of high level consumption in travel and hospitality. With its strategic plan, NH Hotel Group will be ideally positioned to take advantage of this development in the Chinese market”.
The joint venture is developing 2 NH branded hotels to open in the 2nd half of 2016 in Sanya and Haikou in Hainan Province. The NH Sanya Phoenix International Airport will have 334 rooms, while the NH Haikoi Meilan international Airport will have 1,001 rooms making it the largest NH Hotels branded hotel in the world. The Joint Venture is also expecting to grow its portfolio under management to 10 to 20 properties by the end of the year. It is already pursuing opportunities in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and exploring potential in key tier 2 and 3 cities in China. The receptiveness to NH Hotels and NH Collection brands has been very strong.
Markland Blaiklock, Managing Director of NH China and CEO of the joint venture, said “We are grateful to our shareholders and extremely proud to launch our operations in China and establish a strong foundation from which to develop our own brands and achieve the vision and ambition of NH Hotel Group which is: “One day, whenever anyone contemplates a trip to a city for an overnight stay or meeting, for business or pleasure, they will always ask themselves: Is there an NH hotel at my destination?”.
NH Hotel Group Chinese brand names
The selection of the Chinese brand name ¨Nuo Han¨ was the result of extensive research and internal discussions. The character “Nuo” represents NH Hotel Group´s promise to meet the expectations of their guests with sincerity and emotion. The character “Han” represents flying higher and a brilliant future whether guests are travelling for business or leisure. This is aligned to NH Hotel Group’s operational promise to place customer satisfaction as its highest priority.
NH Collection and NH Hotels
NH Collection are upper upscale establishments designed for urban travellers, business or pleasure, and the meetings and events segment, seeking personal attention and extraordinary service in authentic and distinguished buildings. NH Collection’s philosophy is to deliver extraordinary experiences. At a global level, the brand has 51 hotels, and the company is planning to increase this number in its current markets by the end of the year. The Chinese brand name for Collection “Jing Xuan” means well selected with excellence. In Chinese, this conveys the essence of NH Collection, which is to “feel the extraordinary” and to surprise guests by going beyond their expectations.
NH Hotels offers top locations with the best value for money, connecting its guests with the centre of the city and its main neighbourhoods, making travel easy and simple. These hotels pay close attention to detail and client services. Rooms are comfortable and functional, with services and facilities that adapt to the guests’ needs. The essence of this brand is “always a pleasure”.
