Hong Kong’s Tang Shing-bor, a known retail magnate, is stepping into the hospitality arena with the $57.5-million purchase of the Hotel Bonaparte in the territory’s Wan Chai district. Tang founded the Stan Group, a real estate investment firm, which acquired the 80-room property for roughly $718,000 per room. Currently, Tang’s portfolio of hotel and serviced residence assets sits at 17 properties.
Hong Kong hotel operator Rhombus Group sold the Hotel Bonaparte to Tang. Rhombus described the 24,278-square-foot property as a “micro boutique hotel,” which includes a ground-floor shop leased to the Pacific Coffee chain through June 2018. The 23-story hotel opened in 2008 following a conversion, and was renovated as recently as 2011.
After selling Hotel Bonaparte, Rhombus Group now operates two hotels in Hong Kong and one in Chengdu, China.
Hong Kong hotels are currently in the midst of a redevelopment trend whereby they are closing shop to be converted into office space or penthouses, a fate that nearly befell the Hotel Bonaparte before Tang swooped in to purchase it. In fact Rhombus Group shut down its Hotel LKF, which was located in Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong district, in July to begin its conversion into an office building leasing space to the co-working company WeWork.
Since Tang has taken an interest in hospitality, Stan Group has spent roughly $1.3 billion on hotels this year alone, purchasing 14 hotels and two new apartment projects. Five of Tang’s new hotels are expected to open this year, and his holdings now include 4,000 rooms and serviced apartments. These properties are managed by the Living Group, a company run by Tang’s son, Stan Tang.