Hotels on the Greater Bay area horizon for Nina brand

Chinachem's Nina Hospitality, formerly known as L'hotel, aims to expand its hotel business to mainland China, especially the Greater Bay Area, says the group chief executive Donald Choi Wun-hing.

Nina Hospitality is discussing with some potential mainland partners on hotel developments. Nina brand will be used in mainland business and participation in community development.

In addition to buying sites, the group will also target existing hotels for renovations. However, an asset-light strategy is adopted.

"Nina Hospitality is not only a hotel owner but also a hotel operator," Choi says.

Apart from hotel construction, the team will seek opportunities to offer hotel management services for other hotel owners.

Choi says the company will try to serve more 3-4-star hotels. However, 5-6 star flagship hotels are ruled in.

He believes the cooperation with mainland companies will bring synergy effects as Hong Kong hotel services quality reach a fairly high level and mainland tourism has developed rapidly in the past 10 years.

In the Hong Kong hotel business, Choi says local consumption is stable as local customers have strong purchasing power and it is effective for the group to put in more resources and efforts.

The average room occupancy rate is 70-80 percent. On holidays, like Easter and Mother's Day, Nina's hotel was fully booked.

As the hotel intends to focus on local consumption, the group will bring in more value-added services to improve the customer experience. For instance, the company offers a one-stop wedding package from fetching the bride in the room to the banquet in the ballroom.

In mid-2022, the point of sales and property management system of all hotels with over 2,000 rooms will be upgraded, says Sylvia Chung, Nina Hospitality Company's deputy managing director. One hotel has introduced the first robot in Hong Kong to serve customers.

Chung believes that the value-added items will raise the average room price.

After the border reopens, the hotel operator will look for a customer base with local and visitor in a ratio of 6:4.