Serviced residence group The Ascott Limited has been expanding rapidly in Asia-Pacific over the past six months, with the opening of properties in Thailand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong and Melbourne, to name a few. Now the company is set to further expand its footprint in China with the signing of management agreements for six new properties across as many cities.
The agreement follows Ascott’s earlier announcement late last year to open eight new properties in China by 2020. The latest signing will see this footprint expand further, with the addition of more than 1,200 apartment units in Changsha, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan, Handan and Xuzhou.
“China is Ascott’s fastest-growing and largest market,” said Ascott’s recently appointed managing director for China, Tan Tze Shang. “Our investment in [online holiday-rental service] Tujia has spurred our growth in China and expanded our reach to more customers through online and offline channels.
“Our bookings in China have increased through Tujia’s website and we will be able to cater to the rapidly growing outbound Chinese travellers with the listing of our properties worldwide on the website by the first half of this year.”
Ascott plans to open more than 30 properties globally this year, with just over half of those located in China. Of the six new properties Ascott has signed management agreements for, the Citadines Sunhope e-Metro Shenzhen in Guangdong is set to become the company’s largest property in China when it opens this year. Meanwhile, the Citadines Qingshan SCPG Centre Wuhan and Tujia Somerset Jundu Tianjin are scheduled for a 2018 opening, while Ascott Xiangjiang FFC Changsha, Citadines Yunlong Lake Xuzhou and Tujia Somerset Congtai Handan will open in 2019.
