Beijing: Olympic Dreams

REVIEWS:

Aloft
The Emperor
The Park Hyatt
Hotel G

The triumphant Beijing 2008 Olympic Games showed the world that China has not only joined the international community politically and financially; it possesses the creative clout to do it in style.

In the past twenty years, the country has evolved from being the world’s most populated communist country to become the world’s most populated capitalist country. Less than a century after the founding of the Republic of China by Dr Sun Yat-sen in 1911 – what is commonly referred to as the birth of modern China after an unbroken line of dynastic rule over the preceding few millennia – the country has settled back into a triangle of activity that promises to fuel its economic machine indefinitely.

These consist of manufacturing, industry, and trade in the south, centred around Guangzhou; finance and showbiz in the east, centred around Shanghai; and politics flavoured with indigenous art and culture in the north, centred around Beijing. Linking these three mega cities are more domestic flights and rail connections than any single European or North American country, supplemented by road networks that can be repaired in record time after the worst natural disasters imaginable. Pre-Olympics, China was promising to cement its newfound status as a serious global player, with a Games which would deliver on all counts.

Post-Olympics, given earlier concerns about smog, political protest and construction delays, it is still remarkable to reflect on the panache with which it did so.

To accommodate the 10,500 athletes and 600,000+ visitors that stormed the city in August, Beijing embarked on perhaps the most aggressive building campaign the world has ever seen. By the time of the opening ceremonies, Beijing hoped to offer more than 800 hotels and 4,000 hostels with a total of 420,000 rooms. Just as the combination of inexpensive labour, enormous investment and ruthless efficiency ensured that the various venues were built, and the Olympics ran smoothly, they also helped get the hotels up and running in a short amount of time. 

This massive construction effort found its emblem in the Bird’s Nest National Stadium by Herzog and de Meuron, finished ahead of schedule by several months, and now firmly established as an instantly recognisable architectural icon worldwide. There are other icons too.

Over in the Central Business District, Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheren’s China Central Television (CCTV) complex will also accommodate a Mandarin Oriental, in a striking annexe building, slated to open at the end of 2008. This is far from the only iconic hotel building to grace the Beijing skyline.

“China, being a place for [rapid] growth, certainly offers a great opportunity for many new and innovative hotel products,” says Liu Wi Li, who as Starwood’s head of technical services for the region is responsible for opening four hotels in the city this year. “Owners in China usually are more willing to go beyond the minimum required and peruse better [budgets]. Certainly some owners call for iconic building forms and unique experiences.”

“Generally speaking, China is taking centre stage within the world’s economy,” explains Auyeung, Managing Director with PKF Consulting’s Shanghai office. “All well-known architects are eager to put their masterpieces in Beijing or Shanghai. So [in these cities], one can see architectural icons everywhere by architects from all over the world. Furthermore, the Chinese are willing to accept new concepts and ideas after being closed to the outside world for so many years. We have even seen smaller boutique hotels and hotels situated outside commercial centers to be very luxurious and avant garde, to attract different segments of clients. [But] China is still a very controlled economy. The government plays a significant role. Beijing, being the capital of China, will likely [see] policies implemented to help the hotel industry should it suffer significantly after the [Olympics].”

Certainly the Olympics produced the expected short term spike in hotel performance with average room rates tripling according to James Chappell, Managing Director of STR Global. At their peak, occupancies reached 90.72%, with an average of 88.47% during the event. Yet as Chappell observes, “With the increased supply in the city, it will be interesting to see how the legacy of the Games will impact the city in the future.” Analysts are predicting lower occupancies as Beijing’s hotels experience the traditional post-Games hangover.