Chinese hotel giants set to be mega operator
Two of China's giant hotel and resorts operators, Plateno Group and Jin Jiang Hotels, are on track to merge to create China's biggest player in the industry, according to a news report by TravelDaily China.
Citing unnamed insiders close to the deal, the report said that the two hotel groups, which own and manage more than 4,000 hotel properties and 500,000 rooms combined, would keep running their brands separately after the strategic merger.
However, consolidation of the duo's database, membership program and sales and purchasing functions would begin to forge the biggest hotel group by number of rooms in China, the report said.
China Daily could not confirm the details of the news report with Plateno and Jin Jiang by press time, as calls to both were not returned.
Plateno Group's website said it operates 14 hotel brands, three customer-centric lifestyle brands, 3,000 hotels and shops covering 300 cities in China.
The website says the group has 80 million members in its loyalty program. The company is expanding to Southeast Asia, Europe and other overseas markets.
Thriving on the basis of its successful operation of hotel chain brand, 7 Days Inn, Plateno said on its website it focuses on "innovative customer experience, creating dynamic and valuable brands based on customer needs, and offering the customers the most rewarding brand experiences".
Jin Jiang Hotels own and manage 1,566 hotels with 235,500 rooms and has business and equity partnerships with international players including Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, Fairmont Raffels and Accor.
Jin Jiang said it has 18 million members in its loyalty program.
Currently leading the market is Homeinns Hotel Group, which operates more than 2,600 hotels across 338 cities in China. It has the largest number of rooms in China, 31,600, according to the latest report by the China Tourist Hotels Association.
zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 07/11/2015 page10)
