Hotel executives still believe that China is a safe haven for luxury hotels, despite the occupancy rate for 2011 hovering at around 60 percent. The "super five-star" Waldorf Astoria hotel in Shanghai, which opened in April 2011. Hotel operators continued to strengthen their foothold in China in 2011 despite the competitive market. Demand has mainly stemmed from the increasingly wealthy domestic customers. According to a report, China had 960,000 individuals with a personal wealth of $1.5 million or more in 2010. [Xiaoyang / for China Daily] "We haven't felt the crisis that they are experiencing in the US and Europe," said Charlie Dang, general manager of Northern China for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, owner of nine hotel chains including the St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin and W brands. "The domestic economy is still very strong. Generally the second- and third-tier cities are growing rapidly and that helps our business." The American company opened 40 hotels on the mainland in the last five years. It currently has 92 hotels in operation and another 90 in the pipeline. The Crowne Plaza Hotel, owned by InterContinental Hotels Group Plc, in the third-tier city of Dandong in Northeast China's Liaoning province, reported an occupancy rate of 80 percent during the summer season and 60 percent during the winter. "These are very good results for us," said the hotel's public relations manager, Ren Shixuan. Crowne Plaza is still the only international luxury hotel in the port city. It sits in a new development area overlooking the Yalu River that marks the border between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. InterContinental believed when the hotel was built in time for the Beijing Olympics, that there was scope to accommodate businessmen from the two countries. There was also potential to expand beyond first- and second-tier cities.
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