Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts is looking for a property in downtown Shanghai as part of its plan to expand its 19-strong portfolio.
Director of sales for the UK and Europe Roger Niemeyer said the hotel chain already had a hotel in Wuxi, a 3hr drive from the Chinese business capital but its parent company Tokyu Corporation wanted a hotel in the city centre.
Niemeyer hopes a new hotel will come on board within the next two years. Australia and the east coast of the US are also targets for expansion, he added.
Meanwhile, the group’s Hotel Yokohama property is hosting event sponsors and media for the football World Cup in Korea and Japan in June 2002. Niemeyer said the hotel was ideally suited for the event because it was a 15min drive from the Yokohama International Sports Stadium, the venue for the final.
The 485-room and suites property joined Leading Hotels of the World in November last year. Facilities include a health spa, international business centre and restaurants serving Japanese, French, Chinese and Italian cuisine.
The hotel group’s three Kuala Lumpur properties also play host to participants in the Malaysia Grand Prix Formule 1 in October. The Formule 1 racing team stay at the airport hotel.