On the face of it this seems a daft decisions. There is a lot of growth in the low to bottom end of the hotel market in China. At the top end hotels are suffering. And yet the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the luxury hotel company, says it may open more hotels in China because domestic business and leisure travel may rise on the country’s RMB4 trillion ($586 billion) stimulus package.Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer at Ritz-Carlton, said, “We are definitely looking at opening more hotels in China. The economy is growing and the stimulus has been efficient. Domestic business travel is still strong.”
Cooper said Ritz-Carlton’s hotel in Sanya (seen in our illustration) on Hainan island in China’s south is more than 80% occupied at “very good” average rates.
China Hotel reported that Ritz-Carlton will open hotels in Shanghai and Hong Kong next year.