Hotel group develops Chinese brand

Tea house instead of bar, signature local food rather than fine dining, foot message replacing spa: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is doing everything it can to attract Chinese customers, including building up a new brand for the massive market.

Just 20 days after launching EVEN Hotels, the new hotel brand focusing on health in the United States, the United Kingdom's IHG PLC announced in Beijing the creation of Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts - a brand especially designed for Chinese people.

With its first property scheduled to open in late 2013, the upscale hotel brand says it will cover more than 100 Chinese cities within 15 to 20 years. The majority of Hualuxe properties will be located in second- and third-tier cities as well as Beijing and Shanghai.