InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), the world's largest hotel group by room count, just inaugurated its two hundredth hotel in China, Tuesday marking 30 years of its presence in the country.
IHG cut the ribbon to inaugurate InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin, which stands majestically at the place which was once an old state guest house called, The Ruijin Hotel. The older hotel had received many important guests including Zhou Enlai, the first Premier of China and U.S. President, Richard Nixon.
IHG took over the guest house and renovated the place. It seems to have added its signature style to the guesthouse while also preserving its regal aura. Two new buildings have been constructed to add to the existing Japanese gardens and the beautiful Taiyuan Villa, reports China Daily. The new buildings now have 240 guestrooms, high end restaurants and elegant meeting and conference rooms.
"We are very proud of this historical property and pleased to put it in the hands of IHG, one of the earliest partners in China's hospitality industry. With IHG's international hotel management expertise and our local knowledge and resources, I have no doubt of the success of this partnership and that of InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin," Chen Geng Rong, President of Shanghai Donghu Group Corporation, owner of Ruijin Hotel said in a statement.
Meanwhile, IHG is also quite pleased with the introduction. Despite the economic slowdown of china and the increasing risk of an asset bubble in the country, IHG is expanding in the market and hopes to continue doing so. There are around 170 more hotels in the development anvil of IHG for China.
The company claims that it has placed itself in some of the major areas of China including two key market areas, Bloomberg reported.
"We were the first international company to enter the Chinese hotel market almost 30 years ago and it is now our second largest market in the world. The opening of our 200th hotel here is testament to how much our brands are loved by owners and guests alike," Richard Solomons Chief Executive of IHG said in the statement. "Our deep understanding of the underlying needs of local consumers is a strategy which is working and we are extremely positive of our future in China and excited about the opportunity ahead."
In February, IHG declared its Operating Profits Result for 2012 stating that it had accounted for a 11 percent profit, most of which was contributed by its operations in China.
