Onyx signs 30 deals for development through 2021
Onyx Hospitality Group has signed management deals for 30 hotels under development in Thailand and overseas as part of efforts to cash in on booming tourism driven by Chinese travellers.
Under the plan, 30 hotels are set to open by 2021, adding to the existing 49 for a total of 79.
The group has set a target of 99 hotels to be operating by 2024, with the additional 20 properties expected to reach deals before 2024, according to Douglas Martell, president and chief executive.
Mr Martell said Onyx has robust development projects throughout the region, including in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand. The expansion aims to enhance the group as a leading mediumsized hospitality player in the region.
Through the end of 2019, the group anticipates opening 16 new hotels in various locations such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Pattaya, Melbourne and Colombo, with about 5,150 new rooms in total.
“This is significant and shows that we are signing projects on a larger scale, considering our total current operating room count is about 7,200 for 49 hotels,” Mr Martell said.
The group will expand to 12 different countries across Asia, the Persian Gulf and Australia in the next few years, he said.
Onyx, the Bangkok-based hospitality firm, has identified China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Australia as the overseas markets it will be focusing on.
In China it has more than 15 hotels of various brands; last year it opened Amari Yangshuo as its first Amari property on the mainland.
Another brand, Shama serviced apartments, will be a keen focus after a deal was signed with Sincere Holdings Group, one of China’s leading property developers, to develop Shama properties in 12 big cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou.
“China is a dynamic economy that continues to grow, with significantly increasing numbers of middle-income travellers who love to travel both domestically and internationally,” Mr Martell said.
In Malaysia, Onyx recently signed an agreement with SP Setia Group in Malaysia to have Amari hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Malaysia is a key expansion market where Onyx opened its first hotel, Amari Johor Bahru, last year.
By 2021, the group will have at least six hotels across three of the key gateway cities of peninsular Malaysia.
Mr Martell said Sri Lanka is another market that continues to prosper with rapidly improving infrastructure and significant investment in airports, highways and rail.
In this fast-developing market, Onyx has three hotels in Colombo, Kandy and Galle and will open a fourth, a brand-new Amari in Colombo.
Additionally, Onyx will enter the Australian market with the opening of Shama Luxe Melbourne, l ocated within t he Aurora Melbourne Central development, to be the second-tallest building in the city on completion.
Australia is a key market where Onyx is in active discussions with other partners on hotel management deals across different territories.
For Thailand, the group is readying the launch of Amari Pattaya after extensive renovations and a US$100-million (3.33-billionbaht) investment to redevelop the property in North Pattaya.
Projects include the relaunch of the existing Amari Pattaya Ocean Tower with a new all-suites wing set for early 2019. Another project is Ozo Pattaya, to open in 2020.
In recent years, the group renovated and relaunched Amari Phuket, Amari Koh Samui and Amari Watergate Bangkok. The Pattaya project also aligns with the wider Eastern Economic Corridor strategy to further develop the eastern provinces into a leading economic zone in Asean, Mr Martell said.
Farther south, the group recently began work on the new Ozo Phuket, a 255-room hotel on Kata Beach scheduled to open in 2019.