{"id":147282,"date":"2024-08-14T13:45:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T11:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/peninsula-hotels-ceo-and-coo-on-the-move\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14T15:57:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T13:57:19","slug":"peninsula-hotels-ceo-and-coo-on-the-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/peninsula-hotels-ceo-and-coo-on-the-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Peninsula Hotels: CEO and COO on the move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Kadoorie, 82<\/strong><\/b>, remains at the helm of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels<\/strong><\/b>, parent company of Peninsula Hotels<\/strong><\/b>, despite succession rumors<\/strong><\/b>, as the company suffers a loss of HK$448 million<\/strong><\/b> in the first half of 2024, mainly due to pandemic-related challenges<\/strong><\/b> and renovation costs<\/strong><\/b> at its properties. The succession of CEO Clement Kwok<\/strong><\/b>, however, remains a major concern<\/strong><\/b>.<\/h4>\n

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While Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, the operator of the Peninsula luxury hotels<\/strong><\/b>, is going through a period of financial turbulence<\/strong><\/b> marked by a net loss of HK$448 million (US$57 million)<\/strong><\/b> for the first half of 2024, its long-standing chairman and second-generation<\/strong><\/b> descendant of the group’s founders<\/strong><\/b>, Michael Kadoorie, remains determined to maintain his role at the helm of the company. Kadoorie shows no signs of handing over, while steering the company through major challenges<\/strong><\/b>, including a stalled hotel project in Burma<\/strong><\/b> and disappointing performance in Hong Kong<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n

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Unwavering leadership in the face of challenges<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Despite the pressures of his age, Michael Kadoorie<\/strong><\/b>, Chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels since 1985<\/strong><\/b>, reaffirmed to the press last May his commitment to remaining in his post for as long as his health allows.<\/p>\n

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Interviewed at the company’s annual general meeting, Kadoorie said: \u201cAs long as I feel I can bring value, I will continue, as long as I am in good health\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His father, Lawrence Kadoorie<\/strong><\/b>, and his uncle Horace Kadoorie<\/strong><\/b> formed the second generation of<\/strong><\/b> one of Hong Kong’s most powerful business dynasties, alongside Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Group.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At 82<\/strong><\/b>, Kadoorie, whose father passed away at 94<\/strong><\/b> but remained active to the end, seems determined to maintain the family tradition of prolonged leadership<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, the company faces the imminent departures<\/strong><\/b> of Clement Kwok<\/strong><\/b>, CEO for 22 years<\/strong><\/b>, and Peter Borer<\/strong><\/b>, COO, at the end of October and July 2024 respectively.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The question of succession remains pressing<\/strong><\/b>. Philip Kadoorie<\/strong><\/b>, Michael’s son, is tipped to take over eventually. Although absent from the press conference, Michael stated that his son was \u201c deeply interested in the hotel business<\/strong><\/b> \u201d and<\/strong><\/b> well placed to continue thefamily legacy<\/strong><\/b>. The forthcoming transition will be crucial<\/strong><\/b> for the company’s future, especially as it has already gone through many successful successions<\/strong><\/b> in the past. Stable leadership will be essential<\/strong><\/b> to navigate the current challenges.<\/p>\n

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Financial losses and uncertain international projects<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The challenges facing the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels<\/strong><\/b> Group are not limited to the question of succession<\/strong><\/b>. For the first half of 2024<\/strong><\/b>, the company reported a net loss of HK$448 million<\/strong><\/b> (US$57 million), after briefly returning to profit post-COVID. The company’s financial situation has intensified as a result of several factors.<\/p>\n

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The renovation project at the Peninsula hotel in New York<\/strong><\/b> weighed on results, while the new hotels in London and Istanbul<\/strong><\/b>have yet to achieve their full financial performance, while depreciation has already begun<\/strong><\/b>. Financing costs also increased<\/strong><\/b>, with net interest reaching HK$366 million<\/strong><\/b> (US$43 million), due to high interest rates<\/strong><\/b> and the discontinuation of interest capitalization on the Peninsula London<\/strong><\/b> project.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In addition, the company incurred a revaluation loss of HK$139 million<\/strong><\/b> (US$18 million) on its investment properties, notably the Repulse Bay complex in Hong Kong<\/strong><\/b>. The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel’s low occupancy rate<\/strong><\/b>, down to 38% in the second quarter of 2024<\/strong><\/b>, reflects ongoing difficulties in a local market where international travelers are slow to return.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The US$130 million hotel project in Yangon, Burma<\/strong><\/b> remains another point of concern. Originally scheduled for 2022, the project was suspended due to the military coup in 2021<\/strong><\/b>, resulting in an impairment charge of HK$679 million<\/strong><\/b>(US$87 million). Although Chairman Serge Pun of local partner Yoma Group<\/strong><\/b> was recently replaced by his son Cyrus<\/strong><\/b>, the project remains frozen. Kwok insisted that the company retain its development rights on this strategic site<\/strong><\/b>, despite the political and economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels<\/strong><\/b> thus finds itself at the crossroads of internal<\/strong><\/b> succession challenges<\/strong><\/b> and external difficulties<\/strong><\/b> arising from the global economic and geopolitical situation. The company’s ability to overcome these obstacles will largely depend on the strength of its leadership<\/strong><\/b> and its resilience in the face of uncertainty<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

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Read also > Hotels: Shangri-La continues its expansion in China with Shenzhen and Kunming<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 The Peninsula<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Kadoorie, 82, remains at the helm of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, parent company of Peninsula Hotels, despite succession rumors, as the company suffers a loss of HK$448 million in the first half of 2024, mainly due to pandemic-related challenges and renovation costs at its properties. The succession of CEO Clement Kwok, however, remains a major concern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Michael Kadoorie, 82, remains at the helm of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels despite a loss of 448 million Hong Kong dollars.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1964,5239],"tags":[22999,22419,24718],"class_list":["post-147282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brand-strategy","category-careers","tag-hotel-and-catering","tag-news-en","tag-peninsula-hotels-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}