GLOBAL BRAND EXPANSION
In order to bring our individual brand of acclaimed luxury hospitality to a wider market we began extending our reach, embarking on a growth trajectory to establish our award-winning brand in key city and resort destinations around the globe. In 1987 we launched our first US property in San Francisco, and in the mid-1990s, we purchased our London flagship.
2000
At the beginning of the millennium, the Group created a mid-term goal to double the number of hotel rooms around the world to over 10,000. This would be achieved by capitalizing on our brand heritage via a combination of ownership and management agreements.
Our expansion began in earnest in 2000 with the purchase of the prestigious Rafael Group of hotels which immediately increased our portfolio from 14 to 20 unique properties, and gave us critical mass across three continents. During this year, we also completed an extensive renovation of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London and successfully positioned the hotel as one of the finest in the city. We also opened a stylish urban resort in Miami, and began the global implementation of our holistic spa concepts.
Today, our extensive collection of holistic spas, which combine Asian and western treatment techniques, achieve numerous individual awards. Mandarin Oriental is the only luxury hotel group to have 10 Forbes ‘Five-Star’ spas across our global portfolio – more than any other hotel group in the world.
2003-2004
In late 2003, we opened the iconic Mandarin Oriental, New York. This exciting project, located in the ground breaking Time Warner building, firmly established the Group in the all-important US market. During this time, we also successfully launched the first of our Residences at Mandarin Oriental above our New York hotel, offering owners the chance to live a truly luxurious Mandarin Oriental lifestyle. Our expansion in the US continued in 2004 with the opening of Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC.
2005
In 2005 we opened a second luxury hotel in Hong Kong - The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. This intimate and contemporary property offers spacious, modern facilities combined with Mandarin Oriental’s faultless service, and has proved a resounding success. It was clear by now that we were becoming increasingly renowned for spectacular design, and one of our core competencies has been to build established relationships with internationally acclaimed architects and designers, in order to create our collection of unique hotels. At the end of 2005 we opened another important milestone property in Tokyo, a hotel which is a fine example of striking design that truly reflects the individuality of its location.
At the same time we began to further develop our expertise for creating superb in-house restaurants and bars. By working with some of the best chefs in the industry together with encouraging homegrown culinary talent, we are able to offer guests innovative and exciting dining experiences that are exclusive to Mandarin Oriental. Today, we are the only luxury hotel group to achieve 16 Michelin stars for dining in 11 of our restaurants – more than any other hotel group in the world.
2006-2010
Between 2006 and 2010, we extended our reach further, and established select hotels in Prague, Boston, Las Vegas, Macau and Barcelona. We also completed a comprehensive USD140 million dollar renovation of our Hong Kong flagship, which was re-launched with much fanfare at the end of 2006. During this time, we began our growth in mainland China, opening our first resort property in Sanya, on Hainan Island. We also renovated several of our more established Asian properties, in order to better reflect our growing brand stature.
2011-2015
In 2011 we entered the Paris market to great acclaim, with a superb property situated in a prime location on the Rue St. Honoré. In 2012 we successfully re-branded a project in Atlanta and in 2013 we continued our China expansion with the launch of two hotels in Guangzhou and Shanghai. Both hotels received the Hurun ‘Hot Hotel’ award in their opening year, one of the most recognized awards in China. In 2013 we also celebrated ‘50 Fantastic Years’, with a grand celebration gala held at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, which was attended by many of the celebrities who are ‘fans’ of Mandarin Oriental, as part of an award-winning advertising campaign.
In 2014 we opened a new luxury landmark hotel in Taipei and a beautiful resort in Bodrum, Turkey. We are currently on track to open hotels in Milan, Marrakech and Beijing in 2015.
THE GROUP TODAY
Today, we are firmly established as a truly global luxury player, with a presence in major cities and resort destinations around the world. Our development team continues to review opportunities globally, and we have a current total of 27 hotels in operation, with a further 17 under development, representing almost 11,000 rooms in 24 countries across four continents.
We have also expanded The Residences at Mandarin Oriental and now have 15 residences around the world that are attached to, or in close proximity to our award-winning hotels. All of these private homes offer owners exclusive and immediate access to hotel services and facilities together with world class, trusted, management attention.
As we grow, we continue to invest behind our 12,000 dedicated colleagues, who provide extraordinary service, based on our oriental heritage, and who remain our most valuable resource.
Looking to the future, as we continue to grow, our aim is not to be the biggest hotel group in the world, but to be recognized as providing the very best in luxury hospitality.