Hilton Worldwide announced that it has achieved a strong first half-year performance in new hotel signings in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and currently has the largest pipeline of new hotel projects for those regions in its history.
The global hospitality company has secured 43 new signings so far this year in key Asia Pacific and Middle East markets including Australia, Greater China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. With these new signings, Hilton Worldwide expects to add approximately 12,000 rooms to its portfolio in both regions across six brands – Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton.
In the first six months of 2012, Hilton Worldwide expanded its DoubleTree by Hilton portfolio across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, with 24 new signings. The brand also achieved a global milestone this year with the opening of its 300th location worldwide, the DoubleTree by Hilton, Naha in Okinawa, Japan.
Andrew Clough, senior vice president, development, Middle East & Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Hilton Worldwide was the fastest growing hotel company globally last year in terms of portfolio expansion and total rate of room growth. With experienced in-country development teams in major markets throughout the regions, we believe our growth strategy across six brands will more than double our portfolio in Asia Pacific and the Middle East from over 110 hotels and approximately 40,000 rooms currently, to over 350 hotels and 114,000 rooms within the next five years*. Both regions continue to present promising potential based on the expected sustained increase in domestic and international business and leisure travel, and thanks to the efforts of the team, we expect this growth momentum to continue.”
Development Successes in Asia Pacific
• This year saw a number of key signings in Asia Pacific, including the entry of new brands in Thailand, Vietnam and Australia. A selection of the projects in the pipeline include:
o Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, scheduled to open in 2015, marks the debut of Hilton Worldwide’s world renowned luxury brand in Southeast Asia.
o Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Worldwide’s award-winning, mid-price brand, is scheduled to open later this year in Hanoi, Vietnam. It will be the first Hilton Garden Inn in Southeast Asia and Hilton Worldwide's second property to open in Vietnam.
o The Waldorf Astoria Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2016, making it the fifth Waldorf Astoria for China. This is a recent addition to the city which will also see the opening of Hilton Chengdu located in the South Chengdu Hi-Tech Development Zone; Conrad Chengdu, which will be located in the center of the current downtown; as well as DoubleTree by Hilton Chengdu Longquanyi, which will be located in the Longquanyi new district.
o Other signings include DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru, Malaysia, DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Phuket-Surin Beach, Thailand and DoubleTree by Hilton Karratha, Australia – which will be the first DoubleTree by Hilton property to open in the country around mid-2014.
Development Successes in the Middle East
• Four DoubleTree by Hilton properties were signed in the Middle East in the first six months of 2012:
o DoubleTree by Hilton Marjan Island, which is expected to open in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE at the beginning of 2014. It will be one of the first hotels to open on the prestigious Marjan Island, an area covering 2.7 million square meters of premium offshore tourism development land.
o DoubleTree by Hilton Doha Al Sadd and DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Doha are expected to open in 2014 and will join another three Hilton Worldwide pipeline properties scheduled to open in Qatar over the next three years.
o DoubleTree by Hilton Bur Dubai will open in 2013 followed by a comprehensive two-year refurbishment and upgrading program of an existing 174-room property.
o Other significant signings include Hilton Riyadh King Fahd Road, Saudi Arabia signifying Hilton’s commitment to the expansion of the Saudi hospitality market.
*Figures as of June 30, 2012
