Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is one of the world's premier hotel ownership and management companies. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is the trade name of Shangri-La Asia Limited's management arm.
The Kuok Group, a diversified and dynamic business conglomerate with origins in Malaysia, has a major equity holding in Shangri-La Asia, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Established by Robert Kuok, the group's business operations span a range of activities and a number of countries in Asia. In addition to hotels, the group's portfolio also includes commodity trading, real estate, beverages, logistics, newspaper publishing, shipping, edible oil refining and plantations.
Inspired by the legendary land featured in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon published in 1933, the name Shangri-La encapsulates the serenity and service for which Shangri-La is renowned worldwide. The group has three brands: Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders hotels. Shangri-La properties are primarily five-star deluxe city centre and resort hotels with the majority of the city centre hotels having over 500 guestrooms, whereas the resort properties tend to be smaller. Kerry Hotels are designed to appeal to business travellers who prefer a vibrant and relaxed environment without compromising on service or quality. The hotels are contemporary in style and provide a seamless link between business, entertainment and recreation. Extensive leisure facilities serve as a social activity hub for both hotel guests and the local community. Introduced in 1989, Traders is the four-star brand of mid-priced city centre hotels consisting of 13 hotels in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Changzhou, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Male, Manila, Penang, Singapore, Shenyang and Yangon.
Shangri-La's tradition of service excellence started with the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore in 1971. The hotel's 15 acres of landscaped gardens, beautifully appointed guest rooms and gracious Asian style set a new standard for hotel excellence, which to this day continues to guide the group's design features.
Training is Shangri-La's top priority and significant resources are allocated annually to ensure employees have the skills and knowledge to be the best in their fields. This has earned the group international awards and recognition from guests, prestigious magazines as well as industry partners and made Shangri-La one of the preferred hotel employers, with over 33,000 people serving guests with the philosophy "Shangri-La Hospitality from a Caring Family."
Since its origin, the group has grown rapidly to satisfy the increased demand for deluxe hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific's capital cities and most sought-after leisure destinations. Today there are 72 properties, of which only 18 are third party management agreements, throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the Middle East, representing a rooms inventory of over 30,000. In addition, the group has a substantial development pipeline with projects in Canada, mainland China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and United Kingdom.
The group uses the most advanced reservation technology and has migrated to the Fidelio Opera central reservation system in March 2004.
Shangri-La also operates its own dedicated sales and marketing offices: Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, and Dubai. The group is linked to 30 frequent flyer programmes and has its own frequent guest recognition programme - Golden Circle. The Golden Circle programme has been acknowledged as being one of the best in the industry with over two million current members.