Starwood Capital Group announced the establishment of a hotel joint venture with Shimao Hotels & Resorts, a Chinese property developer with 20 hotels in the country with nearly 6,500 rooms. Together, the companies will work together over the strengthening of position of Shimao on the Chinese market.
The new joint venture will be 51% owned by Shimao and 49% owned by Starwood Capital Group. Starwood Capital Group will offer financial and operational help for Shimao Hotels & Resorts, and will help the company open more hotels in China and other Asia Pacific regions, particularly the regions that become increasingly popular with Chinese travelers.
Shimao Hotels & Resorts will keep running hotels under its own brands Yu, MiniMax, and MiniMax Premier. The Yu family of brands in its turn consists of the following Yuluxe Hotel, Yu Hotel, Yu Resort, and Yu Residence. These are upper upscale traditional hotels with national Chinese elements. The MiniMax and MiniMax Premier brands belong to the 3- and 4-star categories respectively and offer a modern and affordable product for Chinese millennials who seek a unique experience. According to Starwood, strong brand recognition and growing popularity of Shimao together with global expertise and funding capabilities of Starwood will bring positive results for both the partners.