Wu was the first to build privately financed hotels in China in 1978.
Hilton Worldwide now operates 21 hotels in China and expects to have more than 100 hotels there within the next five years.
With a product portfolio of over 32, 000 hotels in China and 155, 000 international hotels in more that 100 countries, eLong offers the largest directly-bookable hotel options for its customers.
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Mr. Sorenson said Marriott plans to more than double the number of hotels in China in the next three years from 54 today and plans to hire 30, 000 employees to fill new hotels in Beijing and Shanghai and smaller cities.
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Accor has tried to gain a foothold in the Chinese market with its Grand Mercure brand, known locally as Mei Jue, and Marriott plans to more than double the number of its hotels in China in the next three years.
Beijing also requires government agencies to buy energy-efficient products, and it has focused on improving building efficiency in hotels in the China's cold northern regions.
The company has benefiting at home from increasing construction of hotels and commercial property in China.
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The group expanded and now operates 16 hotels in Hong Kong, China and Malaysia under several brands.
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Now as more Chinese people travel for business and for pleasure, these types of hotels are becoming commonplace in modernized China.
The average room rates for luxury hotels are still too low in China, leaving little room to open midrange options that would operate at an attractive profit, Mr. Sorenson said.
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What is known of the economic impact in China is that five-star hotels in Beijing are registering occupancy rates of around 20%.
Starwood has deals to license or operate Baccarat hotels under development by third parties at several sites in China, one in Dubai and a few in Japan.
Marriott is looking to hire around 20, 000 people in China by 2015 to staff 40 new hotels it plans to build in addition to the current 60.
Owing to aggressive expansion by the likes of the Hyatt and Starwood, travelers to China increasingly have few troubles finding five-star hotels in the country.
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China also has the largest number of hotels (by room count) in the pipeline.
Travelers stay at hotels such as the Four Seasons in Shanghai and The Peninsula in Bejing and dine in spots like the private China Club in Beijing.
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