Gloria Hotel Group (華泰大飯店集團) is to shut down its 50-year-old Gloria Prince Hotel (華泰王子大飯店) in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) next month to pave the way for an urban renewal project and cut losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hotel on Linsen N Road said on its Web site that it would cease operations on Oct. 11, in line with the group’s plan to maximize the property’s value.
The announcement came after several local peers, including Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧), Ambassador Hotel Taipei (台北國賓飯店), the Sherwood Taipei (西華飯店), San Want Hotel (神旺大飯店) and Imperial Hotel Taipei (台北華國大飯店), made similar moves.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Tourist hotels have been affected most heavily by border controls and quarantine requirements that have kept foreign tourists away for most of the past three years. Occupancy rates at popular properties put up decent showings on weekends and holidays, but remained soft on weekdays.
Gloria Prince, allied with Japan’s Seibu Group, has focused on serving group and individual tourists from the neighboring country. To hedge losses, it relocated its Lidiot (驢子) and Chiou Hwa (九華樓) restaurants to Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area.
The group also owns hotel brands Gloria Residence (華泰瑞舍), Hotel Quote and Hotel Proverbs in Taipei, resort property Gloria Manor (華泰瑞苑) in Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁), and Gloria Outlets (華泰名品城).
The group is reportedly planning to collaborate with UT Land Development Group (忠泰建設) to turn Gloria Prince into a mixed-use complex with 21 floors above ground and 6 basement floors.
The upcoming complex would feature a new hotel with 100 guestrooms and set aside the remaining floors as upscale office spaces that could come into service in 2026 if work on regeneration starts next year.
The two sides seek to extend the urban renewal project to neighboring apartments, pending their owners agreement to participate.
The government has encouraged regeneration projects by granting favorable floor space ratios and sparing them of credit controls as it seeks to enhance building safety and stimulate domestic demand.
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