Shanghai based hotelier Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. plans to continue its expansion this year as well, opening from 260 to 280 hotels in 2011. This will increase the total size of the portfolio up to 1,100 properties around the world.
Around 100 or 110 hotels from the abovementioned 260 will be leased-and-operated hotels. The remaining properties will be managed or franchised.
One of the primary goals of the company for 2011 is the opening of new hotels in China. Home Inns pays particular attention to midscale accommodations and plans to open three or four properties under its new middle-class brand Yitel.
As David Sun, the company’s CEO, mentions, 2011 is the right year for Home Inns to enter the era of rapid growth. The company has been able to recover from negative consequences of the financial crisis and has built a strong development team. Now Home Inns feels ready to invest all its efforts into the future long-term growth.
Home Inns is known as one of the most fast-growing hoteliers in the world and the second largest hotelier in China. Hotels’325 ranked Home Inns the 19th in its annual listing of the world’s hoteliers.
Home Inns specializes mostly in midscale and budget hotels. 2010 was a successful year for this company as it managed to open 208 properties, increasing the total number of hotels in the company’s portfolio to 818. 141 hotels from the abovementioned 208 are franchised or managed, and 67 are operated or leased.