Shimao Star Inks Joint Signing for 16 Hotels, Unleashing Cross-Industry Synergies to Drive National Hotel Development to New Heights
July 30, 2021, Shanghai, China – On the occasion of its fourth anniversary, Shimao Star Hotels Group (hereinafter “Shimao Star”) held a press conference and joint signing ceremony for 16 new hotel projects at the Yuluxe Sheshan, Shanghai, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel. In the presence of industry guests, partners, and investors, the group reflected on its achievements, looked ahead, and formalized the new hotel signings.
Mr. Tang Ming, President of Shimao Star Hotels Group, remarked: “Leveraging the strong backing of Shimao Group and Starwood Capital Group, Shimao Star has over the past four years focused on first- and second-tier cities and regions with robust economic and tourism development, steadily advancing on the path of an international hotel group. Amid shifting market trends, Shimao Star has remained agile, with innovation as its growth engine, meticulous operations as its profit guarantee, and cross-sector synergy as its development compass, creating value for partners while driving urban renewal and consumption upgrades. Our meticulously crafted brands have not only won consumer recognition but also gained owners’ trust through professional hotel operations, management capabilities, profitability, and innovative service technologies. We look forward to continued mutual benefit and collaboration with our partners.”
16 New Hotel Signings Signal Steady Expansion
Under the new ‘dual circulation’ development framework, Shimao Star closely follows national strategy, promotes the integrated development of culture and tourism, and actively expands across domestic and international markets, empowering cities and regions. More than 80% of the 16 newly signed hotels are full-service properties, covering a portfolio of brands including Maoyu, Shiyu, and Maoyuju. Destinations include first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities as well as strong economic regions and tourist hubs such as Beijing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Yantai, Qingdao, Xi’an, Kunming, Lanzhou, Huai’an, and Nantong, enriching business and leisure travel options while highlighting Shimao Star’s strong momentum in deepening its domestic presence.
While consolidating its domestic footprint, Shimao Star has never wavered in its mission to bring its national brands overseas, actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative. In November 2017, it signed its first overseas projects – the Maoyu Resort & Spa Bali and Maoyuju Serviced Apartments Bali – earning professional management acclaim abroad. In May 2018, it added Yuluxe Resort Lombok and Maoyu Resort Lombok in Indonesia, reinforcing its internationalization and asset-light strategy. To date, Shimao Star has secured eight overseas pipeline projects, extending its footprint to Bali, Lombok, Malaysia’s Malacca, and Bentong. At the ceremony, a live link with a Malaysian owner showcased confidence and prospects for that project.
As of July 30, 2021, Shimao Star’s seven brands encompass 136 owned-brand hotels (including pipeline) across more than 60 domestic and international cities, with over 50% in first- and second-tier Chinese cities and overseas markets. The total room count exceeds 24,000, up 30% year-on-year. Nineteen hotels are already operating, with nearly 3,500 rooms, covering a rich brand spectrum and increasingly dominated by full-service management contracts. Yuluxe, Maoyu, and Shiyu brands account for 50% of signed projects. Shimao Star also recorded new business innovation, offering technical advisory services as an independent management output, helping owners navigate the asset management lifecycle from investment and financing to construction, management, and exit.
Partnership with Rezen to Deepen Digital and Smart Hotel Innovation
At the fourth-anniversary celebration, Shimao Star Hotels Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Rezen Group, a subsidiary of Trip.com Group. Leveraging Rezen’s tech and marketing strengths alongside Shimao Star’s diverse brand matrix and rich experience in hotel investment, design, construction, and operations, the two will integrate online operations with meticulous offline management. Their cooperation will span brand collaboration, project expansion, and operations management, covering technology service extension, offline operational empowerment, online distribution strategies, membership operations, and digital solutions. The goal is to break through traffic growth bottlenecks and drive new value in online transaction conversion and supply chain empowerment.
Seven Brands Crafting Diverse Experience Scenarios
Founded by Shimao Group and Starwood Capital, Shimao Star has steadily advanced its own-brand portfolio, with all seven brands now fully operational. Aligned with the 14th Five-Year Plan, the group is expanding rapidly into popular tourist destinations, strengthening its presence in the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to support local tourism consumption upgrades and meet the travel needs of high-end domestic guests. From luxury resorts to urban hotels, lifestyle to inspired business travel, Shimao Star’s seven distinctive brands – Yuluxe, Maoyu, Maoyuju, Shiyu, Fanxiang, Ruixuan Shangpin, and Ruixuan – create seven distinct consumption scenarios.
Flagship Quality, Distinctive National Travel Experiences
Consumer upgrades and the experience economy drive demand for unique travel. Yuluxe, Shimao Star’s luxury resort brand, built its core competitiveness on in-depth traditional culture experiences. In 2020, the first Song Dynasty-inspired Yuluxe Wuyi Mountain Resort opened to immediate acclaim, collaborating with food connoisseurs Shen Hongfei and Xiao Kuan on a ‘Heritage Cuisine’ menu that showcased the hotel as a cultural experience platform. In April 2021, the hotel successfully hosted the foreign ministers of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, embodying cultural confidence. Its quality travel experience was also a commercial success, with an average EBITDA rate exceeding 42% from March to June 2021, and it will continue to deepen its Eastern cultural offerings.
Capturing the rise of the new generation, Shimao Star launched Fanxiang in spring 2019, a high-end lifestyle brand tailored for Chinese millennials. Positioned around a ‘Proudly Chinese, Trendy Lifestyle,’ Fanxiang creates an entire ecosystem of youthful, trendsetting hotel experiences. Cross-over collaborations include Fanxiang x Li-Ning for street sport style, Fanxiang x CHALI for new tea tastes, Fanxiang x Saturnbird Coffee for refined lifestyle, Fanxiang x Panda Brew for honey-infused craft beer, and Fanxiang x Ximalaya for a branded podcast, continuously expanding the hotel experience into trendy culture.
Fanxiang also excels in non-room revenue innovation, leveraging online owned channels (official social media, brand magazine, podcast, Xiaohongshu, lifestyle and travel KOLs) and offline events and community operations. The brand turns lobby space into a new retail zone for cross-over products and hosts activities like murder mystery games, English corners, KNOWYOURSELF tea sessions, and city walks to attract young travelers, injecting vitality while boosting non-room revenue. A Fanxiang hotel at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Port City is in the pipeline, set to become a trendy social hall for young people in the Greater Bay Area.
Elegant ‘Yu’ Service Redefines Full-Service Premium Business Travel
With domestic business travel demand surging past 2019 levels on some platforms and leisure travel flourishing thanks to consumption repatriation, Shimao Star has keenly adapted its full-service business travel model. The refreshed Maoyu brand introduces 24° Comfort Service, blending food culture, tea culture, hospitality, and meticulous banquet and meeting services to define a modern Eastern hotel experience that integrates an elegant lifestyle with local culture and history, creating an all-around ‘Yu’ (elegance) service.
Among Shimao Star’s most-signed high-end brands, Shiyu hotels uphold the spirit of ‘Hidden in the World, Refined as Jade,’ highlighting each destination’s character and offering diverse ‘Yu’ style experiences. Shiyu hotels have opened in Gaobeidian, Shuyang, Chongming Island (Shanghai), Luofu Mountain (Huizhou), and Jianshui (Yunnan), with a dense network empowering the leisure travel market. With the newly signed Huai’an Hongze Lake Shiyu Hotel, Shangrao Poyang Fuli Shiyu Boutique Hotel, Beijing Yanqing Zhongyin Shiyu Hotel, Shangrao High-Speed Railway Station Shiyu Hotel, Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park Shiyu Hotel, Xi’an Xixian Cultural Creative Shiyu Boutique Hotel, and Kunming Xiting Shiyu Hotel, the Shiyu brand now totals 40 hotels.
Maoyuju serviced apartments, centered on contemporary living, deliver the ‘Yu’ service spirit through professional hotel-style management for long-stay guests, creating a home-away-from-home experience. Upcoming Maoyuju properties include those at Zhuhai Artificial Island, Yantai Fushan, Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park, and Nantong Huifeng Tower.
Breaking Boundaries for Inspired Business Travel
Seizing new opportunities in cultural tourism integration, Shimao Star continues to drive quality and personalized hospitality, delivering inspired business travel. The Ruixuan and Ruixuan Shangpin brands will surge into emerging domestic tourist cities. Later this year, the Chengdu Shimao Longquanyi Ruixuan Hotel will open in Longquanyi District, rich in historical sites and natural beauty, offering guests a multidimensional, warm, and textured journey through Sichuan culture. The newly signed Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park Ruixuan Hotel becomes the 37th in the Ruixuan family.
Owner-Centric Technical Services, Safeguarding Hotel Development
Shimao Star is committed to an owner-centric perspective, providing professional guidance across the entire hotel development chain from project positioning, planning, and design to construction and cost control. Continuous innovation optimizes space and costs, helping owners save construction expenses and boost ROI. For example, in a combined Maoyu & Shiyu complex, joint-operation planning saved 6,000 square meters and RMB 54 million in investment; at a resort Shiyu boutique hotel, design optimization increased room count by 12%, significantly expanding revenue-generating space. Shimao Star also pioneered a hotel management technical service satisfaction survey, with over 100 site visits in the first half of 2021 and 100% owner satisfaction.
Meticulous Operations Maximize Owner Profit
Drawing on Shimao Hotels’ rich operational experience accumulated over 16 years of management partnerships with international hotel groups, Shimao Star has developed a deep ‘owner’s mindset’ attuned to the Chinese market and an ‘international vision’ in brand building.
The post-pandemic era not only brings shifting consumer markets but also exposes challenges like intense competition, altered supply-demand dynamics, high operating costs, and single revenue streams. Shimao Star has turned these challenges into opportunities, embracing industry innovation and symbiosis to capture new growth points and weather market shocks alongside partners. In the first half of 2021 alone, full-service brand hotel revenue grew 21% over the same period in 2019, with an average EBITDA margin of 36%. Key financial indicators were robust: the Shimao Chengdu Maoyu Hotel achieved 40% EBITDA, while Yuluxe Wuyi Mountain reached 42%. GOP (gross operating profit) margins also excelled, averaging 59% across select-service brands. As of June, the two Fanxiang lifestyle hotels exceeded 58% GOP.
Integrated Industry Chain, Synergistic Empowerment
Since inception, Shimao Star has pursued diversified development, creating a hotel industry ecosystem that empowers managed projects under Shimao Group’s ‘Jumbo Jet Strategy.’ Coordinating with Shimao Hotel Company’s procurement, technology, and construction arms, Shimao Star helps owners save costs and innovate products. Its procurement arm has served managed projects such as Shangrao Fuli Shiyu Hotel, Yunnan Airport Hilton DoubleTree, Wuxi Nanchangjie Ancient Canal Shiyu Hotel, and Qingdao Zhanqiao Shiyu Hotel. Strategic centralized procurement covers 107 categories (construction/opening operational supplies), with significant price advantages; first-half 2021 procurement contracts exceeded RMB 130 million, with innovative IP products accounting for over 60% of sales revenue.
In technology, the group’s tech subsidiary focuses on smart hotel solutions and integration services, enhancing guest satisfaction through smart technology applications. It has built a full ‘Smart Hotel System’ with 24 product categories covering guest arrival and back-office operations, generating over RMB 30 million in revenue in the first half of 2021.
For project management and construction, the construction arm originated from the former Shimao Shanghai regional company and combines contractor and owner advantages with vast experience in large-scale international hotel development and urban construction. It is well-versed in current design trends to build hotels with national characteristics. Completed projects include the new Shimao Sheshan InterContinental, renovation of the Royal Meridien Shanghai, renovation of the Yuluxe Sheshan, and the new Yuluxe Sheshan Resort.
Activating Talent, Setting Service Benchmarks
Since its founding, Shimao Star has placed great emphasis on talent development, employee empowerment, and cultivating professional hotel management talent. It has built cross-training platforms for managed hotel staff at owned hotels and provided intra-group support and transfer opportunities. With strong backing from Shimao Group, Shimao Star has consecutively earned titles like ‘Kincentric Best Employer in China’ and ‘Best Employer in Tourism & Hospitality,’ winning industry recognition. To implement group philosophy and deliver beyond expectations, it organizes activities such as the ‘Versatile M Skills Competition,’ allowing employees to experience the ingrained corporate culture and providing a stage for display, exchange, and improvement.
Shimao Star actively pursues school-enterprise cooperation, having partnered with institutions like the Haihua College of Liaoning Normal University (Shimao Hotel Class), Wuhan Technical College of Communications, Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone Secondary Vocational School, Tianjin University of Commerce International Education Cooperation College, and Sichuan Modern Vocational College (Shimao Star Chengdu Region Hotel Order Class), underscoring its excellence in talent strategy and contributing to the development of China’s hotel industry talent.
Looking ahead, Shimao Star will continue to deploy strategically, empowering urban and regional development and connecting the north-south artery to promote balanced growth. It will actively embrace digital and smart hotel scenario innovation, drive industry transformation, and satisfy diverse consumer needs with distinct brand experiences. With a long-term view and innovative vision, Shimao Star will develop its brand internationalization and asset-light strategy, ensuring its national hotel brands stand tall in China and face the world.
List of the 16 Newly Signed Hotel Projects:
Chongqing Jiangbeizui Hongrui International Hotel
Located in the core CBD of Jiangbeizui and along a prime urban landscape axis, adjacent to Central Park and Central Plaza, this hotel offers dual views of the Yangtze River and the park. With excellent transportation links, it will be the first high-star boutique full-service hotel in the area, meeting the full service and accommodation needs of destination travelers. Shimao Star will serve as technical service advisor, providing end-to-end support from development to construction.
Hangzhou Gongshu Asian Games Park Maoyu Hotel
Located on Fengqing Road in Gongshu District, Hangzhou, with convenient access to the Liushipo Expressway and North Bus Station, this hotel is surrounded by rich amenities, including the 2022 Asian Games venue, top medical institutions, Xixi National Wetland Park, and prestigious schools. The hotel features a well-designed all-day dining restaurant, luxurious private dining rooms, a 1,000 sqm pillar-less ballroom, and supporting meeting facilities.
Huai’an Maoyu Hotel & Huai’an Shiyu Hotel
Situated north of Provincial Highway 348 and east of Hongsan Road in Hongze District, Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, with easy access to S348 and 6 km from Hongze Bus Station, these hotels enjoy proximity to the national 4A-level Hongze Lake Ancient Weir Scenic Area and the Fantawild Bear Haunt Theme Park. Fronting the lake, they will form Huai’an’s first twin-landmark high-star full-service hotel complex, offering premium facilities for the region’s burgeoning tourism industry.
Shangrao Poyang Fuli Shiyu Boutique Hotel
Set within a 4,200-mu smart eco-manor in Poyang County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, this hotel will enhance the overall project’s quality and diversity as part of an industrial chain. Embodying green and wellness concepts, it will integrate nature and health elements, offering dining, banqueting, indoor recreation, fitness, and more to create an Instagrammable destination hotel with full-service amenities.
Yantai Fushan Maoyu Hotel & Yantai Fushan Maoyuju Serviced Apartments
Sited in the core area of Fushan District, Yantai, at the intersection of traditional commercial and political centers, this development will be Fushan’s first integrated complex combining a full-service upscale hotel and serviced apartments. With about 50,000 sqm of GFA, it will provide comfortable spaces for corporate travel, banquets, and meetings.
Beijing Yanqing Zhongyin Shiyu Hotel
Located at No. 12 Qingyuan Street, Yanqing District, Beijing, this hotel is 15 km from the Badaling Great Wall, 89 km from Beijing Railway Station, 96 km from Capital Airport, and 160 km from Daxing Airport. With a total area of about 16,425 sqm, it is designated as a fixed conference venue for central party and government organs and an official reception hotel for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Shangrao High-Speed Railway Station Shiyu Hotel
Situated in the High-Speed Rail New Zone in the eastern part of Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, this hotel is adjacent to the high-speed railway station and tourist distribution center, located along the main pedestrian tourist corridor. It will serve tourists from the distribution center with 284 guestrooms, a lobby on the first floor, guestrooms on floors 30–45, and podium floors (1–3) housing fitness, pool, dining, meeting, and reception facilities.
Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park Ruixuan Hotel & Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park Maoyuju Apartments
Located at No. 395 Nanjing Road, Shibei District, Qingdao, in the CBD core adjacent to Central Park and Central Plaza with expansive views, this will be the area’s first complex combining a boutique business hotel and high-end serviced apartments, supporting the rapid development of Qingdao’s CBD with quality services and diverse amenities.
Qingdao Sci-Tech Innovation Park Shiyu Hotel
Also at No. 393 Nanjing Road in the CBD core with open views, this is the second Shiyu brand in Qingdao and the first high-star boutique full-service hotel in the area, providing top-tier facilities for the CBD’s fast growth.
Nantong Huifeng Tower Maoyuju Serviced Apartments
Located in the North Street commercial zone of Nantong’s railway station area, in the core of the Shibei New District, this serviced apartment occupies a twin-tower building with approximately 55,000 sqm GFA, offering high-quality long-stay accommodation.
Xi’an Xixian Cultural Creative Shiyu Boutique Hotel
Set within the Xixian New District International Cultural Creative Town on the scenic Fenghe River southwest of Xi’an’s new center, the town spans 80 mu (approx. 53,300 sqm) with a total GFA of 205,000 sqm. Phase I covers 45 mu and 120,000 sqm, centered on pan-cultural themes to create an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem integrating co-working, small-scale exhibitions, startup apartments, and retail. Focusing on ‘culture + trade,’ it aims to be a national foreign trade platform and the most dynamic ‘Dream Innovation Showground’ in Greater Xi’an. The project adjoins a 10,000-mu eco-wetland park and has easy access via the Lianhuo Expressway, Metro Line 5, Ring Expressway, and Epanggong High-Speed Railway Station, with the airport about 25 km away.
Kunming Xiting Shiyu Hotel
Located at the intersection of Caiyun North Road and Erji Road, Guandu District, Kunming, this hotel sits in the southern commercial center of the city, close to the Century City business hub. Famous attractions such as the new Yunnan Provincial Museum, Guandu Ancient Town, and Yunnan Grand Theater are within 3 km, with convenient transport and rich business resources.
Lanzhou Zhongshanlin Maoyu Hotel
Located at the southwest corner of Zhongshanlin Cross in Chengguan District, Lanzhou, at the intersection of Baiyin Road and Huochezhan West Road, the hotel is adjacent to Gansu Daily and Gansu Post & Telecommunications Tower. It is 2 km from Lanzhou city center, about 3.5 km from the municipal and provincial governments, 3 km from the iconic Zhongshan Bridge on the Yellow River, and 7 km from Lanzhou West High-Speed Railway Station. The surrounding area features a mix of tourist attractions, universities, government offices, and diverse commercial and residential properties.
About Shimao Star Hotels Group
Shimao Star Hotels Group is an international hotel group jointly created by Shimao Group and Starwood Capital, focusing on the fast-growing Chinese hotel market. It develops, operates, and manages hotels in first- and second-tier cities and economically and touristically dynamic regions. Shimao Star owns seven distinctive brands – Yuluxe, Maoyu, Shiyu, Maoyuju, Fanxiang, Ruixuan Shangpin, and Ruixuan – spanning from full-service luxury to mid-scale select-service, urban hotels to distinctive resorts, and serviced apartments. In 2019, it launched Fanxiang, a new-generation lifestyle hotel brand tailored for Chinese millennials. As of July 30, 2021, Shimao Star has over 136 hotels operating or in the pipeline, with 19 already in operation.
