Aaron Desange will lead JLL’s expanded hotel team
International real estate service provider JLL is ramping up its hotel brokerage team in Greater China as the mainland undergoes an unprecedented tourism boom.
The US-based property consultancy is expanding its Hotels & Hospitality Group in Shanghai and Hong Kong by adding four new team members across the two cities, according to a statement today by the company.
Multinationals such as Disney, which opened a $5.5 billion theme park in Shanghai last month, have been betting big on Chinese tourism, and China’s State Council (the equivalent of its cabinet) predicts that the country’s domestic travel industry will be worth RMB 5.5 trillion ($823 billion) per year by 2020, up from just RMB 3 trillion in 2014.
Deploying More Hotel Brokers in Shanghai and Hong Kong
JLL’s new team for the hotel industry in Greater China includes vice presidents Ed Hui and Stephany Chen (who relocated from Chicago) in Shanghai, plus dedicated associates in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. The company’s Greater China hospitality crew will be led by executive vice president Aaron Desange.
“We’re delighted to be growing our offering in Greater China,” Desange said. “Mainland China is seeing around US$1 billion in hotel trades annually and this level is expected to increase in 2016 and beyond.”
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has been operating in Greater China since 2005 but has grown in importance with the upswing in mainland travel.
In 2015 the consultancy advised on deals including the sale of the Intercontinental Hong Kong and the Four Seasons Shanghai Pudong. Earlier properties transacted in China include the Swissotel Kunshan, ANA Xi’an (now known as Grand Park Xi’an), Somerset Olympic Tower Tianjin, Harbour Plaza Kunming (now known as Grand Park Kunming) and the Sheraton Wuxi.
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