NH Hotel Group enters in China

* NH Hotel Group unveils Chinese brand names and development plans to grow in the country through the joint venture created together with HNA Hospitality

* NH China, the joint venture with new office in Beijing, will develop prototype hotels in China for positioning their NH Hotels and NH Collection brands with a target of developing 120 to 150 hotels in the midscale and upscale segments by the year 2020

* The joint venture is in progress of developing two NH Hotels branded hotels in Sanya and Haikou which are expected to open in the second half year of 2016. The company expects total signings to reach 10 to 20 hotels by year end 

BEJING, MARCH 31, 2016 - NH Hotel Group, the leading hotel chain in Europe, announced the launch of the joint venture office and Chinese brand names: “Nuo Han”, which represents a promise to meet the guest expectations and bring them a brilliant future. It also announced its development plans including two new hotels under NH Hotels brand to enter in the China market before the end of the year.

NH China (Beijing NH Grand China Hotel Management Co., Ltd), the joint venture between NH Hotel Group and HNA Hospitality, is located in the central business district of Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The establishment of this company follows the strategic memorandum of understanding signed between NH and HNA as part of the bilateral trade summit between Spain and China in the presence of Spanish President Mariano Rajoy and Premier Li Keqiang of People's Republic of China.

The joint venture’s corporate purpose is to build a portfolio of NH Hotels and NH Collection brand hotels in the midscale and upscale segments in China owned by HNA or by third parties. The target is to develop 120 to 150 hotels by the year 2020. This business approach fits with NH Hotel Group’s strategy of pursuing growth using capital-light formulas.

Bai Haibo, Chairman of HNA Hospitality Group, stated, “The joint venture’s establishment is a key milestone for the international development of HNA Hospitality Group with NH Hotel Group to build a brand portfolio in midscale, upscale and luxury segments. HNA Hospitality Group will leverage the leading operation experience, brand awareness of NH Hotel Group and the HNA resources to collaborate very closely to provide high quality services to Chinese travellers and loyalty members of the two groups.”

Federico J. González Tejera, CEO of NH Hotel Group, stated, “China, the second largest economy in the world, is a fast-growing market for both international and local hotel chains. The middle-class boom with more than 100 million China citizens is expected to be the key driver of an increase of high level consumption in travel and hospitality. With its strategic plan, NH Hotel Group will be ideally positioned to take advantage of this development in the Chinese market.”

The joint venture is developing two NH Hotels branded hotels to open in the second half year of 2016 in Sanya and Haikou of Hainan Province. The NH Sanya Phoenix International Airport will have 334 rooms, while the NH Haikoi Meilan International Airport will have 1.001 rooms, making it the largest NH Hotels branded hotel in the world. The Joint Venture is also expecting to grow its portfolio under management to 10 to 20 hotels by the end of the year. It is already pursuing opportunities in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and exploring potential in key tier 2 and 3 cities in China. The receptiveness to NH Hotels and NH Collection brands has been very strong.

Markland Blaiklock, Managing Director of NH China and CEO of the joint venture, said “We are grateful to our shareholders and extremely proud to launch our operations in China and establish a strong foundation from which to develop our own brands and achieve the vision and ambition of NH Hotel Group which is: “One day, whenever anyone contemplates a trip to a city for an overnight stay or meeting, for business or pleasure, they will always ask themselves: Is there an NH hotel at my destination?”

NH Hotel Group Chinese brand names

The selection of the Chinese brand name ¨Nuo Han¨ was the result of extensive research and internal discussions. The character “Nuo” represents NH Hotel Group´s promise to meet the expectations of their guests with sincerity and emotion. The character “Han” represents flying higher and a brilliant future whether guests are traveling for business or leisure. This is aligned to NH Hotel Group’s operational promise to place customer satisfaction as its highest priority.

NH Collection and NH Hotels

NH Collection hotels are upper upscale establishments designed for urban travellers, business or pleasure, and the meetings and events segment, seeking personal attention and extraordinary service in authentic and distinguished buildings. NH Collection’s philosophy is to go beyond the consumers’ expectations in order to deliver extraordinary experiences. At a global level, this brand has 51 hotels, and the Company is planning to increase this number in its current markets by the end of the year. The Chinese brand name for Collection ¨Jing Xuan¨ means well selected with excellence. This conveys in Chinese the essence of NH Collection, which is to ¨feel the extraordinary¨ and to surprise guests by going beyond their expectations.

NH Hotels offers top locations with the best value for money, connecting its guests with the center of the city and its main neighbourhoods, making travel easy and simple. These hotels pay close attention to detail and client services. Rooms are comfortable and functional, with services and facilities that adapt to the guests’ needs. The essence of this brand is “Always a pleasure”.

About HNA Hospitality Group

The HNA Hospitality Group was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of HNA Group. Through the years, the hotel group has won several awards including being inducted into the Worldwide Hotel Corporation Top 300, acknowledged as the Most Competitive National Hotel Brand in China, and recognized as the Best Hotel Management Corporation in China.

About NH Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group (www.nh-hotels.com) occupies third place in the European business hotels rankings. The company operates around 400 hotels with nearly 60,000 rooms in 30 countries in Europe, America and Africa and in destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Mexico FD, Milan, Munich, New York, Rome and Vienna.

Official Press Photo 1:

Federico J. González Tejera, CEO NH Hotel Group

Official Press Photo 2 (left to right):

Federico J. González Tejera (CEO of NH Hotel Group), HE Mr. Manuel Valencia (Ambassador of Spain in the People’s Republic of China) and Haibo Bai (Chairman and CEO of HNA Hospitality Group).