Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is the largest Asian-based deluxe hotel group in the region and regarded as one of the world's finest hotel management companies.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is the trade name of Shangri-La Asia, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This ownership change took place in 1997; before this the management company was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kuok Group.

The Kuok Group, a Malaysian family concern established by Robert Kuok, has a major equity holding in Shangri-La Asia. The Kuok family's business operations span a range of activities and a number of countries in Asia. In addition to hotels, the group's operations also include commodity trading, real estate, newspaper publishing and plantations. Although Shangri-La is purely a hotel management company, the Kuok Group has a major or significant shareholding in almost all the hotels that Shangri-La manages.

The group has two brands: Shangri-La and Traders hotels. Shangri-La properties are primarily five star deluxe with the majority having over 500 bedrooms, whereas the resort properties tend to be slightly smaller. Introduced in 1989, Traders is a four star brand of mid-priced hotels consisting of five hotels in Beijing, Manila, Singapore, Shenyang and Yangon.

In 2001 Shangri-La celebrated 30 years of Asian hospitality representing a tradition of service excellence which has earned the group international awards and recognition from prestigious award-issuing magazines as well as industry partners.

It began in 1971 with the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. The hotel's 15 acres of landscaped gardens, beautifully appointed guest rooms and gracious Asian style set a new standard for hotel excellence in Asia.

Over the years the company has grown rapidly with deluxe hotels and resorts in Asia's capital cities and most sought after leisure destinations. Today there are 38 properties throughout Asia Pacific representing a rooms inventory of almost 20,000.

Training is Shangri-La's top priority and significant resources are allocated annually to ensure employees have the skills and knowledge to be the best in their fields. This has made Shangri-La one of the preferred hotel employers, with approximately 22,500 people serving travellers throughout the world with the philosophy 'Shangri-La Hospitality from Caring People'.

Shangri-La operates dedicated sales and marketing offices in nine cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney and Tokyo. The group is linked to 29 frequent flyer programmes and its guest recognition programme, the Golden Circle, has been widely credited as being one of the best in the industry with membership growing rapidly.

The following is a brief chronology of the development of the hotel company:

1971
April Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, opens (managed by Westin until January 1983)
1979
Kuok Hotels established to manage five properties:-
Rasa Sayang
Golden Sands
Palm Beach
The Fijian
Fiji Mocambo

1981
April Kowloon Shangri-La opens (managed by Westin until April 1991)

1983
January Shangri-La International Hotel Management Limited established / management takeover of Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore

1984
November Shangri-La Hotel, Hangzhou (management takeover of Hangzhou Hotel)

1985
April Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur opens

1986
March Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok opens
April Shangri-La Hotel, Penang opens
October Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing opens

1988
December Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort, Kota Kinabalu (management takeover)

1989
December Traders Hotel, Beijing opens

1990
July China World Hotel, Beijing opens

1991
March Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong opens
April Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong (Shangri-La assumes management)

1992
August Edsa Shangri-La, Manila opens
September Shangri-La Hotel, Shenzhen opens

1993
March Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort, Singapore opens
April Makati Shangri-La, Manila opens
June Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel, Xian (management takeover)
October Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort, Cebu opens

1994
March Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta opens
March Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei opens

1995
January Traders Hotel, Manila opens
January Shangri-La Hotel, Surabaya opens
April Traders Hotel, Singapore opens

1996
April Shangri-La Hotel, Beihai opens
June Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, Kota Kinabalu opens
August Traders Hotel, Shenyang opens
August Shangri-La Hotel, Changchun opens
November Traders Hotel, Yangon opens

1997
August Shangri-La Hotel, Qingdao opens
December Shangri-La Hotel, Dalian opens

1998
August Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai opens

1999
April Shangri-La Hotel, Wuhan opens
April Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin opens
August The Kerry Centre Hotel, Beijing opens

2001
July Shangri-La Dingshan, Nanjing opens

CONFIRMED FUTURE PROJECTS:

The company continues to expand and will open the following nine new hotels and the extension of the Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai within the next three and a half years:

November 2002 Putrajaya Shangri-La Hotel
March 2003 Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai
July 2003 Traders Hotel, Dubai
July 2003 Shangri-La Hotel, Zhongshan
July 2003 Shangri-La Hotel, Zhengzhou
Late 2003 Shangri-La Hotel, Fuzhou
Feb 2005 Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai (Extension)
July 2005 Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort, Muscat, Oman
2005 Jingan Shangri-La, Shanghai
2005 Shangri-La's Sunny Bay Resort, Sanya