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.
