Shinsegae Chosun Hotel’s boutique hotel L’Escape, which is slated to open on July 19. (image: Shinsegae Chosun Hotel Inc.)
SEOUL, Jul. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean conglomerates are scrambling to bolster their hotel businesses or build new hotels as part of efforts to achieve positive synergy for their flagship businesses, industry sources said Wednesday.
Shinsegae Chosun Hotel Inc., the accommodation arm of retail giant Shinsegae Group, plans to open a boutique hotel with its own brand L’Escape in downtown Seoul on July 19.
The new hotel, with 204 rooms of 10 types, was designed under the concept of a “Parisian Escape in the heart of Seoul” in collaboration with French interior designer Jacques Garcia.
It will mark the business group’s first operation of an independent brand hotel, which Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin has been actively pushing for. Shinsegae Chosun Hotel currently runs Westin Chosun hotels in Seoul and Busan, along with Four Points by Sheraton in the capital.
Shinsegae Co., the department store arm of the group, is also slated to open JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul next month after eight months of renovation.
Shinsegae is not alone. SK Networks Co., the trading and hotel unit under SK Group, plans to launch a compact hotel in the southern port city of Yeosu on Aug. 1 in an effort to strengthen its hotel business.
The opening comes as its two capsule hotels at Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, have been gaining popularity among travelers.
(Yonhap)
