Starwood to launch St Regis in Africa and other international hotel news

Starwood to launch St Regis in Africa
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is to launch its St. Regis brand in Africa, with a new property set to open in Cairo in 2011. The St. Regis Cairo will include 299 rooms and 103 serviced apartments and will form part of a mixed-use development overlooking the Nile River. It will include more than 8,000sq ft of meeting and conference space, as well as a business centre, shops and parking area. There will also be four restaurants and a lounge, an outdoor pool, a spa and fitness centre.

New Conrad Beijing to open in 2010Hilton Hotels Corporation is to expand its presence in China with the opening of a new Conrad hotel in Beijing in 2010. The 300-room Conrad Beijing will include a spa, meeting facilities and recreational facilities as well as a variety of all-day dining and speciality restaurants, and a roof-top bar and restaurant. Koos Klein, area president Hilton Hotels Asia Pacific, said: "The Conrad Beijing will be a stunning addition to our growing portfolio of luxury properties in China, building on the success of the Conrad Hong Kong which opened in 1990 and our upcoming Conrad Shanghai which opens in August this year."

Accor to enter India French hotel group Accor said it would set up its first hotel in India in April through a joint venture with India's InterGlobe Enterprises. The company said it plans to develop its Ibis brand of economy hotels in partnership with the Indian company. Ibis hotels in India would provide a value offer, priced at less than half of upscale hotels and cater to the burgeoning business and leisure travellers in the country, Accor said.

Beijing to introduce smoking ban Beijing is to ban smoking in 70% of the city's hotel rooms in a bid to clean up its air before this year's Olympic Games. A draft law on the official website of the Beijing Legislative Affairs Office bans smoking inside all hotels except for in "well-ventilated and clearly indicated smoking rooms". The new Beijing regulation, which is open to public consultation, will be enacted on 31 May and will later be expanded to cover fitness centres, cultural heritage sites and offices.

By Kerstin Kühn

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