citizenM Hotels Announce Roll Out Plans For Asia

citizenM, the hotel group that has introduced an exciting new lifestyle hotel concept to Europe, has now announced a partnership with the Artyzen Hospitality Group, the hotel management subsidiary of Shun Tak Holdings Limited – that will allow it to expand into and throughout Asia. The partnership will see flagship citizenM hotels established in major gateway Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore and Jakarta.

Launched in 2008 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, citizenM is already revolutionizing the hospitality world and challenging the status quo of the travel industry. The brainchild of Rattan Chadha (founder and former CEO of the fashion brand Mexx), citizenM focuses on offering its guests a stylish, luxury experience at a very affordable price.

"citizenM offers a new type of hotel experience for sophisticated travellers. Our guests are people who value personal choice, contemporary design, user-friendly technology and the proximity to a city - for an astonishing price," says chairman Rattan Chadha. citizenM hotels introduced the living room concept, which presents multiple zones to relax, have meetings and work, which are filled with inspiring contemporary art and designer furniture by Vitra. Another highlight is the food and beverage concept canteenM, featuring a full cocktail bar and high quality food 24/7. The rooms themselves combine modern design with user-friendly technology that allows the guest to control their space completely in terms of amenities and entertainment.

citizenM currently has hotels located in London (on Bankside), Glasgow, Amsterdam City and at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s major airport hubs. In early 2014, the group will open its first property in New York (Times Square) and Rotterdam. Current hotels under development include three more properties in London (Tower Hill, St. Pauls, Shoreditch), Paris (Charles de Gaulle Airport) and New York (Bowery). In addition to the Asia roll out, the company has plans to expand in major cities like Milan, Barcelona and Istanbul.

A high profitability model
The citizenM concept delivers a higher return per square meter on hotel investment for owners and investors and takes a much shorter time to develop. This is due to the highly developed product standards.

The secret to citizenM’s successful financial model is a combination of is its extremely efficient use of space, a very-low operating cost model and achieving revenue per available room (RevPAR) that exceeds upscale hotel in its competitive sets.

“The premium ROI proposition of a citizenM hotel is definitely appealing to the savvy hotel owners and investors in Asia. This is especially important where land prices are very high in key cosmopolitan cities.” says Robbert van der Maas, President of Artyzen Hospitality Group. “We are very confident that investors will be drawn to this concept which has been proven a success in Europe.”

Growth strategy in Asia
Artyzen Hospitality Group and citizenM hotels have set up a joint venture operating company - Artyzen citizenM Asia Limited - to introduce and manage the rollout of the citizenM brand in Asia. The company shall own the perpetual rights and concept to the brand in Asia exclusively and will grow the brand distribution through hotel management agreements with owners and investors.

“We already have a strong team of industry experts under Artyzen Hospitality Group with offices in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and soon Shanghai. This will provide citizenM hotels with ample resource and market knowledge to support the expansion of the brand in Asia.” Say Ms. Pansy Ho, Chairman, Artyzen Hospitality Group and Managing Director, Shun Tak Holdings Limited “With the success we have had in Europe, it is natural that our next growth phase be in Asia. Choosing the right partner was our main strategic priority and we are ecstatic to be able to partner with Artyzen who are innovators themselves and have the resources to grow citizenM in Asia” says Mr. Chadha.