Will Kempinski return to India?

Martin R. Smura, Chief Executive Officer, Kempinski Hotels and Chairman of the Management Board, talks exclusively with Hospitality Talk about the brand’s exit from India and a comeback anytime soon.

- Anupriya Bishnoi

Can you explain in detail about the expansion plans of Kempinski, globally?

At Kempinski, we are focusing on ambitious international expansion plans as part of our long-term strategy. Our goal is to operate more than 100 luxury hotels by 2021. In the next 12 months alone, nine new hotels with a total of 1,961 rooms and suites will open three of them in the Caribbean and one hotel in Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Brazzaville, and Almaty respectively. And further seven hotels with 2,404 rooms are currently under construction.

Part of the development growth plan is the opening of the very first Kempinski hotel in New-York in partnership with the German 12.18 Investment Group. Originally built in 1927, the property is strategically located in Manhattan’s central and fashionable Midtown East, close to the Rockefeller Center and the Museum of Modern Art, and will go through a total refurbishment before re-opening as the 7 Pines Kempinski Manhattan by the end of 2020.

So far, the Kempinski strategy was based on management contracts. We sell management know-how to hotel owners for a fee. In the future, our expansion won’t be only based on management contracts but also on the acquisition of properties in order to leverage our core business of hotel management services to create additional value through real estate. We will only focus on hotel development projects that can deliver the brand promise in terms of product and performance.

Which are the latest innovations in terms of facilities and services at Kempinski hotels worldwide?