Peninsula operator switches strategy to Europe

HONGKONG and Shanghai Hotels Ltd will switch its focus to Europe after opening its ninth Peninsula hotel in Shanghai next fall.

"The group will have two hotels on the Chinese mainland after the Shanghai hotel opens, so its energy will be transferred to other regions, especially Europe, and its first European hotel will open in Paris in 2012," said Paul Tchen, general manager of the Peninsula Shanghai.

The Shanghai complex, costing HK$2.8 billion (US$361 million), is a joint venture project between the group and Australia-based SPG Hotel Ltd. The mixed-use development will comprise of a 15-story luxury hotel with 235 rooms and suites, and a shopping mall and serviced apartments on a 56,000-square-meter site in the Bund area.

"The 39-unit apartment building is our first residential property on the Chinese mainland and we will sell the rooms to people who seek a home in the city," Tchen said. He said owners and guests of the apartment building ''will enjoy the same service as hotel guests, including security."

The Peninsula Shanghai will continue the tradition of ferrying guests in Rolls-Royce sedans and it will even use a helicopter to serve guests if regulations permit.

Incorporated in 1866 in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the group was one of the first firms to list in Hong Kong. The group operates hotels in Hong Kong, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Bangkok, Beijing, Manila and Tokyo.