BY JAMES WILKINSON
The new owners of Constellation Hotels, SilverNeedle Hospitality, are using the recent acquisition of the company’s Australian properties to significantly grow the business throughout Asia-Pacific and launch a new flagship brand.
SilverNeedle Hospitality’s President, Bill Black, yesterday announced that the company would launch NEXT Hotels and Resorts and embark on an ambitious growth platform throughout the region.
“Having a vision to be a leader in Asian Hospitality with substantial scale, the opportunity to acquire Constellation Hotels has given us a great platform to launch our own new brand, Next Hotels and Resorts,” he said.
“Constellation with its operating expertise, know-how and insights gained in the mature tourism market of Australia will be of great benefit to our new company.”
Black said SilverNeedle would launch a new portfolio properties “through strategic investment, development and management” in primarily the mid-upscale segment across key destinations in China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Leading the charge would be the new flagship brand NEXT, which SilverNeedle Hospitality said would target both the modern ‘road warrior’ (hotels) and families seeking authentic cultural experiences (resorts).
Black said SilverNeedle Hospitality’s target for growth is over 10,000 rooms by 2015.