hospitalitystyle.com

(April 2010) posted on Thu Apr 15, 2010 EDT

Partners with Jin Jiang Hotels on third-party hotel management venture

Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the largest U.S.-based independent hotel management company, said it has signed a joint-venture agreement with Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Co. Ltd. to offer third-party hotel management services in China.

The venture, called Interstate China Hotels & Resorts, has already entered into discussions with prospective clients. Interstate China Hotels & Resorts will open an office in Shanghai and has begun a search for a chief executive officer to lead the initiative.

“We will build a similar platform to ones we have successfully established in Moscow, Mexico and, most recently, India,” said Thomas Hewitt, Interstate's chairman and ceo. “We have already begun putting the infrastructure in place to support our planned growth in China, one of the most dynamic hotel markets in the world, and we continue to expand our existing third-party business in the Americas and Europe."

Yu Minliang, chairman of Jin Jiang Hotels, said the joint venture “will be a milestone in the development of the services sector in Shanghai and China. Interstate will be the first independent hotel management company in China, which will give it a competitive advantage over companies that follow in its footsteps. We expect the Sino/U.S. collaboration will be mutually beneficial to both parties."

Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels operates and/or manages nearly 550 properties under the Jin Jiang and Jin Jiang Inn brands in China. Interstate Hotels & Resorts is wholly owned subsidiary of a 50/50 joint venture between subsidiaries of Thayer Lodging and Jin Jiang, and manages and/or has ownership interests in a over 225 properties in the U.S., Russia, India, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, Ireland and England.