Gloria Hotels & Resorts is currently concentrating on further expanding and building two of its brands in its portfolio – four-star Gloria Plaza and boutique chain G-LUXE by Gloria – in light of the growing number of domestic business travellers in China.
Explaining the expansion push in the four-star and boutique product range, Thomas Jouan, corporate director of branding, Gloria Hotels & Resorts, told TTGmice that many domestic and international companies are turning to “nice four-star hotels” as these properties are more affordable and offer upscale facilities and services oriented towards business travellers. As well, big cities are now “saturated” with five-star hotels.
Jouan pointed out that Gloria’s four-star properties could well be worth five stars, although they are not classified as such because they do not meet the strict five-star criteria. In a number of second-, third-, and fourth-tier city, upscale four-star properties are the best hotel choices in the destination.
“It’s because we choose to have different elements within the property. For example, instead of choosing to have a speciality French or Italian restaurant – which is crucial for a five-star – we opt to have (hotel facilities like) a large Chinese restaurant and 25 private meeting rooms to better fit the local market demand. Four-star hotels offer more flexibility,” he explained.
Currently, there are around 22 Gloria Plaza properties in main Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In the near future, there will be another Gloria Plaza in Shanghai and Xi’an. Expansion will not be limited to tier-one Chinese cities, as the company enjoys good corporate business for secondary and third-tier cities.
“A good number of these properties have complete meeting facilities. Smaller hotels may have large meeting venues too. For example, a hotel in a third- or fourth-tier city may only have 150 rooms, but it may have a ballroom that can cater up to 1,000 people, a response to local meetings and F&B demands,” he said.
He added that four-star hotels also offer more affordable meeting options and packages, allowing Gloria to host a wider range of meetings.
Currently, room keys for Gloria Plazas are around 180 to 400, and would appeal to medium-sized corporate groups. Moreover, most Gloria Plazas are conveniently situated in the city centre or in a new business district.
As for the G-LUXE by Gloria brand, Jouan shared that these properties are apt for smaller business meetings. For instance, the G-Luxe Hongqiao Shanghai by Gloria stands next to the new Shanghai International Convention Centre, and after an event, smaller board meetings can take place in one of the meeting rooms on the property.
When asked what the group’s future plans were, he said: “Moving forward, we want to focus more on growing the Gloria name outside of China. We are using Malaysia as a point to expand our presence in South-east Asia.”
New properties upcoming in Malaysia include a residence in Lumut, and a resort in Melaka. Gloria Hotels & Resorts has also signed three new properties in Genting Highlands. The company will be adding a new serviced apartment brand to its portfolio once the Gloria Residence Shangrao opens in August 2018.
The second Gloria Residence will be located within the Ion Delemen complex in Genting Highlands, and has an opening date set for December. Aside from the residence, the complex will also have a G-LUXE-branded boutique property, set to open in mid-2019. Both residences will share the complex’s meeting facilities.
