Howard Johnson International is to increase its portfolio to 17 properties in China through 2004 with openings in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Conghua (Guangdong), Hangzhou, Tianjin and Wuhan.

Currently operating five hotels and resorts in China, Howard Johnson is set to bring at least one five-star hotel to each provincial city in the country over the next three to four years under full management agreement.

President and CEO Mr. Ken Greene said: “Howard Johnson might have entered China later than most of the international hotel chains, but I firmly believe that the key to success in this industry is not a matter of who enters first, but who gets to deliver the highest quality of product and service, the most innovative technology and customer satisfaction.”

Beijing, being the first stopover of Greene’s visit, boasts the very first Howard Johnson hotel opened in 2001. Since then, the expansion of Howard Johnson network in China has driven to full speed with the openings of four other properties in Shanghai, Guiyang and its latest addition, Xi’an.

(CNTA.com May 27, 2004)