Luxury hotels bringing new business to E China

The city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province reports that it has eight international hotel groups planning to open property there over a five–year period starting from 2015, with six of them close to commercial complexes, such as, Midtown Shangri-La making its debut this November, along with Kerry Central, Hangzhou, a multi-use property in the Xiacheng district, near the popular West Lake.

Another Shangri-La Hotel in Hangzhou, in fact China's very first, was built already 31 years ago, in 1984. And, the Jumeirah Group, which has the 7-star BurjAl-Arab, in Dubai plans to open a new luxury hotel in Hangzhou by the end of this year on a 5-acre land with a manmade lake called Donghu to provide water views. Keeping it company will be the Goldtak Center, in the Qianjiang New City, along the Qiantang River.

Conrad Hotels and Resorts, a brand of the US' Hilton Group, will open a new place in 2016 at Raffles City. And Canada's Fairmont Hotels and Resorts will start a new operation in 2017 at the international office building. Both are within the Qianjiang New City neighborhood.

The State-owned commercial giant China Resources will build another MIXC Mall in Hangzhou, with a Park Hyatt Hotel as part of the development. China now contains four of the 24 Park Hyatt Hotels around the globe. A second Four Seasons in Hangzhou is scheduled to open by 2020, occupying the top floors of one of two 130-meter towers at the Hangzhou Plaza, another iconic landmark, on Wulin Square.

This business of combining top hospitality services and shopping is no novelty in China's other major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as a way of attracting crowds and helping the consumer economy, with fancy restaurants and popular entertainment facilities in one district. In commenting on the development, Michael Henssler, president of Kempinski China, said that their company looks to partner with large commercial complexes to better meet customer needs for diverse, top-quality products.