Raffles allies with Okura
Singapore-based hotel chain Raffles International has signed a strategic alliance with Japanese rival Hotel Okura, designed to give both sides a greater chance of taking on industry giants Marriott and Starwood.
The alliance will see Raffles, which bought the Swissötel chain last year, working closely with Hotel Okura, which has one European hotel in Amsterdam, on a variety of projects.
The two groups will share customer information, develop a joint cross-selling and reservations system, and create a combined sales and marketing programme.
Arthur de Haast, European managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, which advised Hotel Okura on the deal, said that the deal was part of the growing trend for emerging international hotel chains to strike marketing alliances of this kind.
Raffles operates 38 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Hotel Okura runs 23 hotels covering Japan, north Asia, Europe and Hawaii.
