Kempinski Hotels recently opened The Capitol Kempinski Hotel
Singapore (157 rooms) and will open Emerald Palace Kempinski Dubai (389 rooms)
later this month.
Henk Meyknecht,
chief operating officer of Kempinski Hotels, shared these developments with the
travel trade on a recent visit to South Africa.
According to Henk, South Africa is an important market for
the group, for leisure and corporate business. Two-thirds of the group’s
business is made up of corporate city hotels and the balance is resorts. Henk
said the group was looking to grow its resort offering and also tap into the
leisure market by twinning its corporate hotels with leisure resorts.
For example, he said the group would open a resort in Bali next
year that would be an ideal leisure add-on for corporates travelling to
Singapore. It also plans to open a beach resort next year, which will
complement its hotel in Havana. He added that the group’s two properties in
Kenya also tapped into this market: Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi and Olare Mara
Kempinski Masai Mara.
The group also has its eyes on new developments in Western
Africa. According to Henk, while the group has no specific plans at present, it
is keen to have a presence in South Africa.
