Neqta Hotels debuts in China

FRHI Hotels & Resorts, in a joint venture with China’s Jiangsu Golden Land Group, announces the debut of Neqta Hotels, a brand and hotel portfolio consisting of upper mid-scale hotels located in some of the most in-demand destinations across China.
The inaugural hotel to fly the Neqta flag opened in Shanghai’s Xuhui District, close to the city’s World Expo site, and a second is expected to debut soon in Nanjing.
“With domestic business travel on the rise and market research indicating Chinese consumer spending will more than double over the next five years, we see this as a remarkable opportunity to further grow our footprint in China,” said Wayne Buckingham, FRHI’s senior vice president of operations, Asia Pacific and chairman of the new joint venture.
“Guided by extensive research and our own customer insights, we have designed a contemporary hotel brand that will be highly attractive to both property developers and the Chinese consumer, in particular the millennial business traveller in the 22 to 40 age demographic.”
Neqta Hotels aims to have high appeal to “tech-savvy travellers who want seamless integration of work and life while away from home”.
The company says lifestyle will also play a key role in the guest experience with hotels featuring open and stylish lobbies that will serve as social hubs. It says these well-appointed public spaces will be multi-functional, incorporating innovative dining concepts that will see a breakfast and coffee shop by day transform into a vibrant cocktail bar and lounge in the evening.
Joseph Soh, managing director of the new joint venture, said: “It’s the perfect time to be developing a dynamic, new hotel brand in China; the travel market in China has matured greatly over the last decade and there is now significant demand for this type of hotel product.
“Expanding into the right markets will be a top priority and we believe there is a natural opportunity to develop Neqta Hotels within many of Golden Land’s predominantly mixed-use developments.
“With an average room count of about 150 and room sizes in the 28 to 32 square meter range, we also see the brand being a compelling business proposition for Chinese property developers looking to invest.”