America’s Best Franchising continues its expansion in China with a new contract effective November 1st for management of a four-star hotel in Wuyi, a city of 210,000 people located about 250 miles southwest of Shanghai in a prominent tea-producing region and a developing tourist area.
It becomes the third hotel and the first management contract in China for America’s Best Hotels China Limited, a partnership which has operated two hotels since January of 2010 in Yiwu, a city of two million people located about 190 miles southwest of Shanghai – a 107-room Budgetel Inn and a 103-room America’s Best Hotel.
The new property in Wuyi, which features 169 deluxe rooms and suites, has been rated by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) as the top hotel in the city and is being rebranded as the America’s Best Koshine Hotel.
Amenities include a gym, a sauna, an in-house laundry, multiple game rooms, eight meeting rooms for groups ranging from 12 to 60 people, and a ballroom for weddings, large meetings, and special events. There is also a lobby lounge, an executive lounge, and a 200-seat restaurant that serves three meals a day featuring both Chinese and Western cuisine.
The America’s Best Hotels China Limited partnership is scheduled to open four additional hotels within the next six months, the first being a 168-room America’s Best Hotel in January of 2012 in Wuxi, which has six million people and is often dubbed “Little Shanghai” because of its close proximity to that city.
The three other new hotels will all be within 200 miles of Shanghai – a 103-room Budgetel and a 250-room 3 Palms in Jinhua, plus an 88-room America’ Best Boutique in Yiwu.
In July of this year, America’s Best Franchising signed another master licensee in China – Golden Wisdom Management Consulting Ltd. of Bejing – which has an aggressive schedule for opening as many as 15 properties a year under various of the company’s brands.
“As travel for business and leisure increases in China both by domestic residents and by international guests, there is a big need for hotels that are dependable and reasonably priced,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising. “Our licensees are providing those accommodations to the traveling public by building on our system of proven brands and support services.”
Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates 303 hotels with about 20,000 rooms in almost 20 countries around the world under its five upper economy brands – America’s Best, Budgetel, Country Hearth, and Parkside – plus its upscale 3 Palms brands for independent hotels.
Guest room at America’s Best Koshine Hotel in Wuyi, China
Lobby of America’s Best Koshine Hotel in Wuyi, China
