Chinese hotel chains expand overseas operations

Indonesian appeal

The Shenzhen-headquartered Delonix Group has been actively preparing its Model J hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, for opening.

It will be the first project the Chinese hospitality management and lifestyle group is the sole operator of in the country, and is part of its efforts to increase its presence abroad.

"Our overseas operations are now mainly in Indonesia and Japan," said Wei Biao, who is in charge of Delonix's Indonesian market operations.

To date, it has holdings in more than 250 hotels, such as Swiss-Belhotel, Artotel, Model J and Hotel MONday in multiple cities abroad, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Last year, Delonix reached a cooperation agreement with Indonesia's major hotel assets management platform Indies Hospitality Investments, which has given it control over more than 200 hotels across Indonesian business and tourism hot spots, Wei said.

Delonix is also planning to give its members full access to bookings at the Japanese hotel chain it has invested in, Hotel MONday, under its membership program.

"The investment in the Indonesian and Japanese markets holds significant strategic importance for Delonix's Asia-Pacific arrangements," Wei said.

First, it allows for early positioning in the potential high-growth markets of Southeast Asia and Japan, ensuring sustained growth and a leading edge in the Asia-Pacific region, he explained.

Second, investment abroad facilitates the transfer of Delonix's advantages in products, membership, and internet technology to overseas markets.

"This not only enhances the growth of our investment business, but also offers our nearly 35 million members a wider range of travel options abroad," Wei added.

Delonix's business development strategy features two main approaches.

On the one hand, it expands its commercial footprint through strategic cooperation with local hotel management groups, leveraging each other's resources and strengths, Wei said.

On the other, it creates its own hotel chain brands and then offers franchises, enabling rapid brand establishment and expansion of the hotel chain business.

The great market potential in Indonesia has been the driving force behind Delonix's expansion.

"Benefiting from accelerated urbanization, rising per capita income, and the growth of a large young labor force, Indonesia's hotel market presents significant investment opportunities," Wei said.

Compared with the domestic hotel market, Indonesia's hotel market is in the early stages of development, characterized by fragmentation, low franchise rates, low competition concentration, and inefficient management models, he said.

"It is also home to numerous internationally renowned tourist destinations, making the market highly promising for development," he said.