Regal says new airport hotel will be ‘iconic landmark for Hong Kong’

Shares in Regal Hotels Group gained in Hong Kong trading after it announced late on Thursday it had won a contract for the development of a new hotel project at the city’s airport.

The HK$2.19 billion project was agreed with Capital Charm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Regal, according to an announcement on the Hong Kong stock exchange website.

Following the announcement the company’s shares surged by 0.94 per cent to a new three-month high of HK$4.3.

The new hotel, which will have 1,000 guest rooms and suites, is expected to be completed by 2020 and would be spread over a 6,650 square metre site.

The hotel is the first stage of the SkyCity development near the airport’s Terminal 2 and AsiaWorld-Expo. When finished, the project will also include retail, dining and residential facilities.

In a statement, Regal said once the infrastructure projects on Lantau, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok link and the three-runway system, were finished SkyCity would “become a new entertainment and leisure spot”.

Poman Lo, Regal Hotels’ vice-chairman and managing director, said the new hotel would be an “iconic landmark for Hong Kong”.

“Apart from creating new job opportunities, Regal Hotels Group is committed to promoting tourism development in Hong Kong and redefining service standards through training the next generation of hospitality professionals in Asia,’” she said.

Regal, which ran its first airport hotel in 1980s at the former Kai Tak Airport, already manages an existing Regal Airport Hotel, 10 other hotels in Hong Kong and a further 22 in mainland China.

It also owns the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel & Conference Centre La Mola, in Barcelona, Spain.

Regal Hotels is part of property and hotel operator Century City Group which is also listed in Hong Kong. Century City closed at 54 HK cents on Friday, down 1.8 per cent from Thursday.

Thomas Lam, senior director at property management firm Knight Frank, said the new hotel project would be positive to the future development of the Regal Hotels brand.

“Regal Hotels already has a hotel at the Hong Kong International Airport which is doing very well. The addition of a new hotel will help expand its market share,” Lam said.

That existing airport hotel has a room occupancy rate of over 90 per cent, compared with the average 80 per cent rate for hotels in the city.

“The Hong Kong International Airport will build a third runway which will bring in more travellers to the city and increase demand for airport hotel rooms,” Lam said.