Singapore-based Park Hotel Group has purchased Harbour Plaza Kunming for an undisclosed price as part of its expansion plans into mainland China. Effective immediately, the hotel is operating under the new name Grand Park Hotel Kunming (昆明君乐酒店).

At a press conference yesterday announcing the hotel's purchase and new name, Grand Park Hotel Kunming General Manager Michael Lew said Park Hotel Group will invest 5 million yuan in upgrading guest accommodations, the hotel lobby, information management systems, restaurants and employee training.

The purchase of the former Harbour Plaza Kunming by the Singapore-based group is expected to increase competition for high-end travelers in the area around Cuihu Park, which is also home to the five-star Green Lake Hotel.

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Thai group buys Bank Hotel with eye on high-end market

In a recent nationwide reassessment of star-grade hotel ratings 138 hotels in Yunnan Province were punished by the China National Tourism Administration, with 27 hotels being revoked of star-grade qualifications, according to a China Hospitality News report citing Chinese media.

There were more hotels punished by the national tourism body in Yunnan than in any other province in China. Yunnan is one of China's most popular domestic and international tourist destinations, but the development of its hospitality sector seems to be lagging behind the growth in visitors to the province, with inflated star ratings common.

Aside from the hotels that were stripped of their stars, 14 Yunnan hotels were downgraded, 50 were ordered to rectify before a given deadline and 47 received suspended assessments.

We just read in this China Hospitality News report that Singapore-based boutique luxury hotel chain Amanresorts Group will be moving into Diqing County's Shangri-la area (it still feels weird not calling it Zhongdian).

Amanresorts signed a cooperation agreement with the Diqing Government and Beijing Zhaode Property to construct a new hotel with an investment of 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million). The deluxe five-star hotel will be Tibetan-themed.

Because of its remoteness and development lag in relation to coastal China, Yunnan has until recent years been considered a risky investment destination for luxury hotels. This attitude seems to be changing, however, with Singapore-based Banyan Tree opening pricey resorts (US$500-$600/night) in Diqing County and near Yulong Snow Mountain outside of Lijiang in the last couple of years.

More recently, Thailand-based TCC Group purchased the Bank Hotel here in Kunming, which it intends to convert into a deluxe five-star hotel - Kunming's first.

We have to wonder, now that there are golf courses and airports all over Yunnan and smaller luxury hotels are establishing themselves in the province, will the big luxury hotel groups like Hilton, Starwood and Accor start trickling in too? One can imagine that these companies are watching Amanresorts, Banyan Tree and TCC's investments very closely.

Thailand-based TCC Group signed a deal yesterday with the Yunnan Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to buy the Bank Hotel for 210.1 million yuan (US$26.2 million).

The Bank Hotel, located at 399 Qingnian Lu, is officially a five-star hotel, but it doesn't quite compare to most of the five-stars in Shanghai and Beijing. TCC Group, which owns the Imperial Hotels Group and the Hôtel Plaza Athénée New York, says it plans to convert the hotel into a 'super five-star' hotel - which should easily make it Kunming's swankest and best-managed hotel.

This is a good move for both sides. After recording a US$21.9 billion initial public offering last month, the largest IPO ever, ICBC seems to have decided to focus on its financial business and divest itself of its non-finance-related holdings.

TCC Group on the other hand, enters Kunming's promising hospitality market with very little competition for high-end leisure and business travelers. Chances are, the new hotel, whatever it will be called, will put pressure on other hotels in Kunming that wish to stay competitive to raise their service levels and efficiency.

TCC is expected to introduce international management standards and management software that should make its hotel Kunming's first international-standard five-star.

It seems that the outside world is waking up to Kunming's business potential. TCC's purchase of the Bank Hotel, Shui On's recent land purchase, the opening of Kunming's first international hospital and Parkson's purchase of two Kunming stores make government talk about making Kunming an international city a little more believable.