GUANGZHOU: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has further strengthened its presence on the mainland with the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Guangzhou on March 11.

It is the company's fourth hotel on the mainland, and new openings are planned for Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sanya, Shenzen and Macao in the next two years - making the Ritz-Carlton the largest luxury hotel brand on the mainland.

The hotel has 351 guestrooms, featuring European designs, amenities and views of the Pearl River. The entry-level guestrooms, at 50 sq m, are the largest in Guangzhou, according to the company.

"We are very excited to open our fourth hotel on the Chinese mainland in Guangzhou, a city that is developing at an impressive rate and attracting more and more foreign companies, investment and business travelers," said Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Cooper said the first luxury hotel in the region helps the company boost its presence on the mainland.

The hotel strives to be picked to host meetings and other events. With more than 1,000 sq m of space, including a 648-sq-m ballroom, the hotel is equipped to host a variety of meetings groups.

According to Cooper, the average occupancy of Ritz-Carlton's global hotels is 75 percent. Some of their occupancies in Europe even reach the 85-percent rate. The Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai has an 80-percent average occupancy rate, Cooper said.

Ritz-Carlton chooses its locations carefully.

"All of our hotels on the mainland are located in big cities, which have advanced international airports and a large number of international luxury travelers," Cooper said.

The new Guangzhou hotel will be in the city's new central business district, Pearl River New Town, which features convenient transportation means and a large number of luxury business people.

The mainland will be the second-most-important market for hotel operator Ritz-Carlton after the United States.

The mainland business occupies 10 to 15 percent of its global business currently, but the rate will increase sharply in the near future.

(HK Edition 03/25/2008 page2)