September 20, 2007 -- Howard Johnson International (China) announced last week that it plans to open its new Howard Johnson ITC Plaza in Chongqing by the end of November. The new hotel will offer standard and extended stay rooms in addition to a new 900 square meter ballroom.

"This is an excellent opportunity to invest in a rapidly emerging segment of China's hotel industry," said Scott Kelly, chief executive officer of Aetos Capital Asia, an investment partner of Wyndham Worldwide in China, in a statement. Wyndham Worldwide is the parent company of Howard Johnson International (China). Neither Howard Johnson nor Wyndham Worldwide were available for comment.

"They [Howard Johnson] will do well in primary and secondary cities and the Chongqing Municipality," Christopher Sheldon, vice president of operations at Shanghai-based Jinjiang Inns, told Emerging China. "If there was ever a time to be expanding your brand in China, then it must surely be upon us. Every global and domestic brand is looking to increase 'dots' on the map of China and quickly, so as to increase their distribution widely."

Hotel chains are clamoring to build their property portfolio outside of China's heavily developed coastal front. Budget hotels have opened or are planning to open 20 new locations in Chongqing this year alone. Intercontinental Hotel Group opened its second "IHG Academy" to train hospitality employees in Chongqing to serve China's southern and western regions.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels predicts that in 2007, hospitality investors will show continued strong "demand across the mid to upper-scale hotels in primary and strategic secondary locations across Mainland China." Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels further states that hotel investors have begun to actively look towards prominent second tier cities as "hotel stock" in Beijing and Shanghai becomes increasingly tight.

"Chongqing is a major economic powerhouse and largest city in China by population. All the brands are looking to add properties in Chongqing due to its central location in the country as a hub of commerce and tourism," explains Sheldon. "Jinjiang currently has 2 hotels open [in Chongqing] but is looking for sites and business partners for several more in this booming part of China to open over just a couple of years."

Chongqing, formerly part of Sichuan province, became its own administrative municipality in 1997. With a population of 32.7 million in 2006, Chongqing is China's largest municipality. In 2006, the municipality generated a total output of 348.62 billion yuan, and has become a major economic hub in the Southwestern China region.

The Chongqing Transportation and Tourism Investment Group (CTTIG) announced earlier this month that it will invest 6 billion yuan to improve tourism to the Three Gorges from Chongqing. CTTIG's announcement comes on the heels of Chongqing municipality's announcement that it had attracted 22.7 billion yuan (US$3 billion) in tourism related investment in the first half of 2007.

Howard Johnson, a member of Wyndham Worldwide, currently operates more than 70 hotels in China, including 16 that have already opened in 2007. The group operates up-scale hotels in all major Chinese cities including Chongqing, Dalian and Wuhan.