Pioneered in Europe, the Neighbourhood lifestyle hotel brand is expanding its presence in Asia and targets 80 hotels worldwide by 2020.

Hong Kong based New World Hospitality, its hotel management company, is spearheading the movement, targeting pentahotels' expansion to 80 locations globally by 2020. The "neighbourhood lifestyle hotel" brand is currently represented in Asia in Shanghai and Beijing, with the Beijing property which unveiled its full pentahotel repositioning in March 2012.

Two other new locations have been confirmed: pentahotel Guiyang will open in 2013 with 197 rooms; and pentahotel Shenyang with 390 rooms in 2014.

Together with the expansion comes an edgy new visual identity for the brand that conveys its energy and essence, from in-room collateral to a new website design that features a fresh user-friendly navigation concept, snapshots of the hotels' surrounding areas and inside tips on making the most of their neighbourhood lifestyles.

Pentahotels has a long pedigree in Europe, beginning in 1971 as a joint venture between five British and European airlines, and opening in its modern incarnation as pentahotel Eisenach, Germany in 2007.

There are 13 pentahotels in Europe today, in Germany, Austria and the UK.

"We see tremendous potential for pentahotels in Asia," says Sonia Cheng, chief  Executive officer of New World Hospitality.

"Pentahotels aims to keep road warriors grounded while onthe- go with distinctive design, a mix of fun with functionality, comfort with creativity, and style with simplicity."

At the heart of every pentahotel is multi-purpose lounge, not lobby, designed as a lively bistro-style gathering place for meeting friends and an extension of the hotel's guestrooms – a living room where guests can hang out and chill out, connect or disconnect.

With WiFi throughout the hotel, guests can bring their own laptops or use the complimentary Internet corner.

At the core of pentahotels are five guiding concepts:

• pentastyle – a cool design ethos that exudes comfort and warmth
• pentalounge – a "lifestyle lobby" that multi-functions as a reception, bar, and café,
  perfect as a neighbourhood hub
• pentasleep – practical, comfortable guestrooms that ensure a sound night's sleep
• pentafun – an element of fun and surprise in lounge and guestrooms
• pentapeople – a sense of lively community amongst hotel guests, drop-in customers
  and hotel associates

Future locations will be in urban centres, convention and exhibition complexes, airports and rail stations – "Anywhere young-spirited travelers do business or have fun, where they want to feel connected, yet forego fluff, fuss and five-star hotel prices," says Ms. Cheng.

Pentahotels is a design-led, neighbourhood lifestyle brand providing independent travellers with comfort and style in a contemporary environment. Launched in Europe, pentahotels are located in Germany, Austria and United Kingdom and China.

The brand is represented in Asia by pentahotel Shanghai and Beijing, with a target of 80 pentahotels in operation globally by 2020. A combined lobby, reception, bar and café -- designed as a lively gathering place for hotel guests and local patrons alike -- is a pentahotels hallmark.