After divesting some of its assets, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International is looking to grow by 50% with 150 properties during the next five years, COO Michael Glennie told HotelNewsNow.com.
"That’s pretty dramatic,” he said.
Almost 90% of that growth will be outside North America , he said. Properties are being added in Zurich , Dubai , Singapore , Shanghai and India .
He said each of the three brands in Fairmont Raffles’ portfolio—Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts—are focused on getting into primary cities across the globe.
For various reasons that include a scarcity of inventory and restrictive zoning, these are often cities that are difficult to add new properties.
The company will continue to hold on to a select few assets; it also will buy, renovate and resell a few others, Glennie told the site.
Fairmont Raffles was “incredibly lucky” by bringing most of its assets to market between 2006 and 2008, when hotels were fetching peak values, he said.
“We’re coming out of one of the worst recessions and everyone has cut back, and now we’re starting to see the business improve,” he said.
By David Wilkening
