<>Twenty months after the rebranding of the Langham
Hotels International (LHI) from the Great Eagle Hotels
International, the LHI is getting ready for bigger things -
literally.</>
It's opening the HK$11 billion (US$1.4 billion) mega
office-hotel-shopping complex - the Langham Place - in the
fourth quarter of this year.
The Langham Place complex includes a 59-storey office
tower, a 15-storey shopping mall and a 42-storey Langham
Place Hotel.
It's located in the bustling Mongkok district in
Kowloon, and has 1.8 million square feet of rental
space.
Dr Ka-Sui Lo, chairman of the LHI and deputy chairman of
the Great Eagle Group (LHI's parent company), told
TravelWeekly, "It will be the flagship of the group and
most of the group's revenue would be generated from this
complex."
"I've named it Langham Place as it helps to promote the
Langham name in Hong Kong and China."
<>The shopping mall will feature the first digital
sky which spans the entire roof of the mall. It will show a
continuous medley</> of visuals ranging from
fireworks to rolling clouds, and two indoor escalators -
the longest in Hong Kong.
There'll also be Cirque de Solei type entertainment in
the mall, said Dr Lo. It is projected to receive 80,000 to
100,000 visitors on weekdays and 120,000 to 150,000
visitors on weekends.
A special feature of the Langham Place Hotel is its
hi-tech communication system. The LHI spent HK$35 million
(US$4.5 million) installation some of the most advanced
technology available. It includes wireless broadband access
in the rooms and throughout the building complex.
Dr Lo explained Langham is a brand that focuses on
technology as the Langham London in 1865 was the first
hotel in the world to install hydraulically-operated
elevators and also modern flushing toilets.
"We will install the most advanced technological
services in all Langham hotels in due time," said Dr
Lo.
He said the next step is to consolidate all the group's
owned hotels under LHI's management. At the moment, there
are three hotels managed under other brand names out of the
eight hotels the LHI owns.
"I must consolidate all our owned hotels under Langham's
management, and upgrade them to Langham's standard. This
will be done within the next twelve months," said Dr
Lo.
"Secondly, we are actively pursuing ownership
opportunities in Shanghai and Beijing, either by joint
venture or redevelopment."
The LHI opened a Shanghai office in the Portman complex
recently for brand marketing and developing corporate
business.
"We are looking for management opportunities, with
priorities in Asia/Pacific, but spreading through Europe
and Americas."
<>He said the LHI would be expanding with a very
strong financial foundation.</><>"The hotel
group itself should achieve an EBITA (earnings before
interest, taxes and amortisation) of US$60 million this
year, and would be expected to be over
US$100million</> in a few years. So it's a pretty
sizeable group," said Dr Lo.