storewanderer

Be happy they at least added the HGI.

You raise a good point they need to get some lower price point stuff into Hong Kong given what is happening and the potential shift in who will be traveling to Hong Kong. It would seem the Hampton brand would be a good fit. What is the deal with Hampton in China, isn't it on a separate loyalty program? Maybe more HGIs would be a better fit.

Hilton has a lot of "holes" in major cities or tourist hubs. Vancouver in Canada is another one. Nothing but a Hampton Inn downtown, and two so so Hiltons in C-grade suburb locations. Another Hilton "hole" is Lake Tahoe in Nevada/California; they have no properties (I guess the Hampton Inn Truckee kind of counts- 20 minutes from North Lake Tahoe, not the most happening part of the lake). Hyatt, IHG (okay- just a Holiday Inn Express at South Lake Tahoe, nothing too special), and Marriott all have properties right on the lake itself.

asovse1

What's a candidate independent/3rd party hotel that you guys think Hilton could buy (or contract) and re-brand? This is probably a cost effective avenue that Hilton could pursue if they wanted to expand in HK.

I'm not too interested in luxury/hotel amenities myself, location within a city is most important to me, and I'm glad the HGI exists with its proximity to MTR and bus. Would love for a Hilton branded hotel to be on the Airport Express, though, but the last time that criteria was important to me, I just Airbnb'd near HK Station.

lsquare

Unless I'm mistaken, Hilton doesn't own most if not all of its hotels. They're franchises.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but HGI requires like a 10 min walk to the MTR station. Not as convenient as having a station next to the hotel.

moondog

If you own a prime property, it's in your best interest to use a hotel group that helps you maximize ROI, or else just run it yourself (e.g. Shangri-La or Wanda, an interesting case because it has been reflagging using its own brands).

If your hotel happens to be a commodity location on a US interstate, the other side wears the pants, and you will go with Marriott, IHG, or Hilton based on their terms. But, Hong Kong is not Red Bluff, CA. The Grand Hyatt is not going to reflag simply because Hilton makes an attractive offer.

That having been said, there are lots of nonbranded hotels in HK that could boost ADR if they were managed by a major brand. The problem is that they can renovate all they want, but changing the size of the rooms isn't a feasible option.

lsquare

I share the same view as you. I think the Mainland have had enough. They're not going to tolerate anymore protests. I think this is the first step in its attempt to crush the protests once and for all.

lsquare

How about a DoubleTree or just a Hilton? I think a lot of Hilton fans would be pleased with that.

I agree, I'm surprised that Hilton haven't addressed its footprint problem in Vancouver, Canada.

Fims

I see it is more drifting into Crimea direction, sadly. Currently, Beijing is just ignoring the agreement to keep HK autonomy until 2047 and converting it to 1 law system. Likely this causes USA + UK + EU to create sanctions on TOP Mainland China officials etc what we have seen in Crimea case. As an outcome, HK likely turns into fully occupied territory, which is only recognised by Mainland, for which you'd need a Chinese visa.

Of course, time will tell, but it does not look good for the foreseeable future.

est-gratuite

Most of those cities are now doing more business and making more money than Hong Kong. They have thousands of business travellers coming through their doors every week.

Without the foreign companies & investors & western style legal system, Hong Kong will slowly morph into an obscure 2nd or 3rd tier Chinese city, that only older nostalgic tourists, and mainland Chinese (many on their way on their way to Macao) will visit.

In the long run, this seems to be Beijing's plan...let the city slowly descend into non relevance on the global stage.
At that stage only a few 4 star or 5 star luxury properties will be necessary and will survive.

lsquare

China is not Russia. China is much more important to the global economy than Russia will ever be. China is a rising superpower. Russia is a declining regional power. Are the western powers prepared for a Cold War with China over Hong Kong?

craig44485

I get the feeling that Hong Kong will be left to rot by Mainland China, and moving most business to the coastal areas. Having stayed at the Conrad Hong Kong one to two times a year for the past 10 years, each time it has gotten a just little worse. It is starting to show its age and is in bad need of remodeling, hopefully better than the remodel they did with the EL. I can't see a remodel happening in the near future.

travelinmanS

It’s in the interest of both the PRC and the western countries to have HK keep its semi autonomous status, especially when it comes to business and banking rules and regulations. You are overly pessimistic about HK’s future as a major city IMHO. Beijing wants to turn it into Singapore, not Guangzhou.

The demand for 4 and 5 star hotels in HK will remain and grow for the foreseeable future once the protests are under control and Covid is no longer an issue.

lesteryen

I have actually responded in another thread. Actually I have been hearing rumors that Conrad Hong Kong will be rebranded as the Fullerton Hong Kong later this year. Perhaps someone can fact check to see if the rumor is true. The remaining 80% shares of the hotel is owned by the Sino Group (https://www.sino.com/en/our-business...rad-hong-kong/) who owns the Fullerton brand.

moondog

In the Conrad thread, I was trying to figure out who owns the place out of curiosity. Thanks to you and lsquare that is no longer a mystery. The rebranding makes sense to me for several reasons: 1. Fullerton wants an opportunity to make a name for itself; 2. as long as the SL and Upper House continue to establish market rates, the Conrad/Fullerton can fetch 80% (the Ren v GH already provides proof of this); 3. if you want to build your own brand, what do have to lose by putting one of your best properties to the test?

est-gratuite

Beijing does not care anymore.
They have so many other cash cows now worldwide, HK has outlived its usefulness to mainland China.

Hotels in Hong Kong have been operating at half (or less than half) capacity since protests started a WHOLE YEAR ago.
Then the virus started there in December/Janaury and killed off the rest of businesses that were still making SOME money
How many of these hotels have actually used this full year of down time to rennovate and refurbish their old properties ?
Very few. Almost none.

Neither the protests, nor the virus, are going away anytime soon.
The writing is on the wall for HK.

eponymous_coward

It's going to be a little difficult to turn HK into Singapore if HK gets the same politics and legal system as Guangzhou after the PRC suppresses unrest. The fish is going to rot from the head down.

As to the major point of the thread... Hilton's presence in HK isn't that different from their presence in Tokyo (5 hotels, but consider that's 7x the population and a much larger metro area), Singapore (3 hotels), Paris (2 hotels + 2 airport hotels). They're an American chain. Sure, they might expand some, but exactly how much would they need?