Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIHC, 晶華國際酒店集團) chairman Steven Pan (潘思亮) yesterday announced the launch of the group’s fourth hotel brand as the company develops a double brand strategy in China.
FIHC, which currently operates three brands — Regent Hotel & Resorts, Silks Place (晶英酒店) and Just Sleep (捷絲旅) — is scheduled to create a luxury hotel brand called “Regent Place (晶華麗晶),” with an eye on the Chinese market.
“Chinese still prefer traditional five-star hotels with 500 rooms, luxurious lobbies and ballrooms, as well as conference rooms,” he told shareholders.
The first Regent Place hotel is expected to open in China in two or three years at the earliest, with the location yet to be decided, Pan said.
OVERSEAS EXPANSION
Meanwhile, the company will continue its overseas expansion of the Regent franchise, with Doha in Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as possible locations, he added.
Shareholders yesterday approved the company’s plan to pay a cash dividend of NT$9.79 per common share, based on last year’s net income of NT$1.09 billion (US$36.19 million), or NT$11.24 per share.
Multi-brand strategy has been a trend for major hotel operators in Taiwan.
Earlier this week, Ambassador Hotel Ltd (國賓大飯店), which runs four hotels and various restaurant brands in Taiwan, announced that it would rent a building on Zhongshan North Road in Taipei to launch a budget hotel under the brand name Amba (意舍) in early 2015.
Ambassador Hotel plans to operate a total of four Amba hotels by the end of 2016.
The company, which currently operates Amba Taipei Ximending (台北西門町意舍), has been planning to launch a new Amba hotel near Songshan Railway Station in Taipei in 2015, with another planned for Pingtung County in 2016.
RESTAURANT BRANDS
Ambassador Hotel also aims to boost profits in the second half of this year by expanding its restaurant brands.
The company plans to launch the second outlet of 1Bite2Go Cafe and Deli in east Taipei City in August, following the success of the first outlet in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) over the past year.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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