杭州市是福布斯認證的世界最佳商業(yè)城市,是浙江省的政治經(jīng)濟中心,也是中國酒店業(yè)一扇靚麗的“發(fā)展之窗”。1984年開業(yè)的杭州香格里拉酒店最近迎來時隔三十二年后的本家晚輩:2016年3月12日開業(yè)的城中香格里拉大酒店,新的“香派”環(huán)境和服務令人期待。
近年來杭州城市規(guī)劃建設蕩氣回腸,商業(yè)開發(fā)和房地產(chǎn)發(fā)展飆速,在國內外頂級財團爭相進場的巨大支持下,隨之而來的國際酒店大品牌相繼登臺逐一亮相,好不熱鬧。最近,柏悅酒店和康萊德酒店兩家新店即將在杭州錢江新城閃亮登場,前者出現(xiàn)在新加坡地產(chǎn)大鱷凱德置地打造的來福士廣場最高頂端位置中,后者是中資華潤集團和香港新鴻基地產(chǎn)兩個大牌聯(lián)手的錢江新城萬象城商業(yè)中心內的一顆明珠。此外,萬豪、希爾頓、喜來登、費爾蒙、美高梅、卓美亞等近十家新店也被諸多大型城市商業(yè)開發(fā)業(yè)主邀約加盟,只待大戲開演,連四季酒店也罕見被傳要與杭州再續(xù)前緣。
浙江寧波,也是孕育現(xiàn)代新城市生命的熱土,受到長江三角洲和省府杭州經(jīng)濟暖流的影響,商業(yè)房地產(chǎn)走勢上升,請來國內外酒店品牌搭臺唱戲既理所當然也順理成章,據(jù)悉,未來兩年居然會有多家外來酒店品牌入贅。
但是,影響酒店開業(yè)的因素很多,流傳最多的擔憂是如此眾多豪華名牌酒店一起吹響集合號可能會有問題,時過境遷之際,人們看到市場發(fā)生著快速變化,超大商業(yè)綜合體的資本負擔不可超限,寅吃卯糧也未必一直靠譜,抱團取暖雖說有理,但抱個多大的團最合適最安全?
一個大型現(xiàn)代城市打造一個巨無霸商業(yè)文化+房地產(chǎn)綜合體不僅可行而且必要,但再多一個就可能立馬出錯;三兩個奢華頂級酒店做鄰居可能勉強還行,但五公里之內再有三兩家競品搶戲,日子就沒法過了。因為誰都知道,酒店市場的同城競爭一定會傷害原本健康的格局,一定會對投資者和股東不利,也一定會拖累酒店自己。就像香格里拉酒店在杭州,三十年后才會再出一牌,謹慎之至無可挑剔。
其實,“做大不如做精,進城不如進郊”
的理念在浙江已經(jīng)開始逐漸深入人心,浙江酒店投資,也已經(jīng)更加精明了。
據(jù)當?shù)孛襟w報道,截止到2016年4月,浙江已確定開業(yè)試營時間的大型新酒店只有三家,在已知即將開業(yè)的三十幾家國內外著名品牌酒店中只占10%,而且還有不確定因素。速度,這個一直被歌頌被追求的城市發(fā)展情懷,被新局面新現(xiàn)實注射了一針清醒劑,競跑者們似乎停下來了,在來得及控制損失的時候他們多數(shù)人停下了快跑的步伐。與此同時,原本悶聲推廣的中低端連鎖酒店、原本名不見經(jīng)傳的郊區(qū)小酒店,風景山林民宿和多種熱情眾籌的創(chuàng)新酒店或度假村模式卻如雨后春筍般在浙江各主要城市,也在杭州周邊區(qū)域雀躍生長,朝氣蓬勃!
有些停下來,有些開步走,對浙江是大好事,對全國也是榜樣。
江蘇省的酒店發(fā)展,也有與浙江省較為類似的現(xiàn)狀。蘇州就很像杭州,這幾年發(fā)展速度超快,負重也逐漸增多。而南京、無錫、揚州、常州、鎮(zhèn)江和鹽城等地則各有特色,酒店業(yè)或倚老或求新,都在思考盤整再發(fā)之中。江蘇雖然交過學費,只要該停就停該走就走,不落俗套科學規(guī)劃,機會還有一大把。
無論浙江和江蘇,類型太集中模樣太相似的高檔奢華大酒店顯然面臨瘦身、整理和局部戰(zhàn)略退出的選擇;而中小型城市酒店和鄉(xiāng)郊魅力民宿們擇地而生,因地制宜,輕資產(chǎn)輕成本,真正生逢其時!當然,多數(shù)中小酒店正在追求數(shù)量熱衷眾籌的擴展階段,不少民宿產(chǎn)品也憑著依山傍水的自然環(huán)境,以及住老房拉體驗的辦法,在新媒體推起最早的口碑,但多數(shù)對酒店產(chǎn)品的專業(yè)化設計和服務品質關注不足,對長期發(fā)展策略考慮不足,這可能是成長初期難免的身體缺欠,期待也相信他們能很快補足營養(yǎng),健康成長。
畢竟,這幾年長江三角洲的酒店,比起全國,步伐快了好幾步,體格也要健壯起來才更好。
為了自己的命運,為了我們的酒店,告別過去,重新啟航!
(作者是345酒店規(guī)劃設計機構董事長兼總建筑師,酒店精品傳媒出版人)
Hangzhou city, the political and economic center of Zhejiang, is certified by Forbes as one of the world's best commercial cities. It is also regarded as a beautiful \"window of development\" across China's hotel industry. Opened in 1984, Shangri-La Hotel Hangzhou has recently greeted its younger brother after a lapse of 32 years: on March 12, 2016, Midtown Shangri-La Hangzhou opened and its \"Shangri-La style\" environment and service are drawing enormous attention.
In recent years, Hangzhou city has been experiencing magnificent planning and construction and its commercial development and real estate industries have been developing very fast. With the ensuing support of domestic and foreign top consortiums, the international hotel brands have successively appeared on stage one by one. Recently, a Park Hyatt hotel and a Conrad hotel will make their shining debuts in Hangzhou Qianjiang New City. The former will appear on the top of Raffles City built by Singapore's CapitaLand, and the latter will appear in Qianjiang New City MIXC City Commercial Center built by China Resources Group and Hong Kong Sun Hung Kai Properties. In addition, 10 new hotels brands including Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Fairmont, MGM and Jumeirah are also signed by property developers and owners, and a great show is about to begin. Even the Four Seasons hotel may renew its connections with Hangzhou again.
Ningbo, Zhejiang Province are also hotspots for breeding modern new city life. Influenced by the economic recovery of the Yangtze River Delta and Hangzhou, the real estate industry is on the rise, so it becomes natural for domestic and international hotel brands to start business here. It is learned that in the next two years there would be two dozen foreign hotel brands to begin operations here.
However, many factors affect the opening of hotels, and problems may occur when so many luxury brand hotels come together. As time passes, the market is undergoing rapid changes and large commercial complexes cannot exceed the limit of the capital burden. It may not always be advisable to borrow money for starting business. Although it makes sense that one stays safe by being closely located to each other, but what is the most suitable and safest pattern for this?
Building a giant complex featuring commerce, culture and real estate in a large modern city is not only feasible, but also necessary, but building one more could likely be a mistake; a couple of luxury hotels as neighbors could barely work; however, if two or three more open within five kilometers, they cannot survive. Because everyone knows that the same-city competition will certainly harm the otherwise healthy hotel market pattern, which is unfavorable to investors and shareholders, but also poses difficulties for the hotel itself. Shangri-La has opened another hotel in Hangzhou, three decades after the opening of its first hotel in this city. Such is impeccable caution.
In fact, \"refinement matters more than size, and the suburbs are better than city centers.\" Such concept has been widely accepted in Zhejiang, so businesspeople in Zhejiang are becoming more shrewd when they invest in building a hotel.
According to local media coverage, as of April 2016, only three large new hotels have determined the opening dates of their trial operations; in the 30 domestic and foreign well-known brand hotels which are known to open, this number only accounts for 10%, and there are further uncertainties involved. The speed of growth has been the sole praise and pursuit of the city, and now injected
with the understanding of the new reality, the competing runners have slowed down. They know they still have the time to control the loss. At the same time, the once quiet low-end chain hotels, originally unknown small suburban hotels, scenic mountain lodges, innovative crowd-funded hotels and resort hotels are now sprouting in the main cities in Zhejiang as well as the surrounding areas of Hangzhou.
Some stop while others continue to stride forward. It is good for Zhejiang and serves as a good example for the whole country.
The development of the hotel industry in Jiangsu Province also has a status quo similar to that of Zhejiang Province. Much like Hangzhou, Suzhou has entered a super-fast development phase in recent years, and its burden has gradually increased. Cities like Nanjing, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and Yancheng have their own characteristics. Their hotel industries, old or new, are all planning for a new future. Although Jiangsu has paid a lot for this, there are still a lot of opportunities for it as long as it follows scientific planning and knows where to start and where to stop.
Regardless of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, similar hotels are now facing options–downsizing, restructuring and exiting. Small and medium-sized urban hotels and rural homestay hotels, with light asset and costs, are adjusting themselves to local conditions. They are coming at the right time! Certainly, the majority of small and medium-sized hotels are still expanding their business and pursuing crowd-funding , and many homestay hotels are also promoting the charming scenery around them by advocating the idea of \"Stay in Old Houses, Enjoy New Experiences\". They may have accumulated initial word-of-mouth referrals on social media, but most of them lack professional design, service and a long-term development strategy. Such may be an inevitable physical defect in the early development stages. We expect and believe that they will grow healthily with adequate nutrition soon.
After all, the hotel industry has been developing faster in the Yangtze River Delta than in the rest of the country in recent years, but it is also advised to maintain a \"robust physique.\"
For the destiny of our hotels, we need to bid farewell to the past and set sail again!
(The author of this article is president and general architect of the 345 Hotel Design Group and publisher of Hotel Elite.)