Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels strengthens Team in Asia Pacific

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (JLLH) has appointed Mike Batchelor as Managing Director, Investment Sales Asia based in Singapore.

Recognised for his proven ability at developing successful client relationships and executing key mandates, Mr Batchelor will lead and expand JLLHs’ hotel investment sales business across the wider Asian region in his new role. He has relocated from JLLH’s Australian business where he was Managing Director, Investment Sales for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

“Having played an instrumental role in cementing our dominant position in the Australian market, Mike will be an influential force in the development of our business in the region. He has the knowledge and experience to lead our highly talented team, providing quality advice to hotel owners and investors in the specialist tourism sector,” said Mr Scott Hetherington, Managing Director Asia for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

“Mike’s familiarity with Asia, his understanding of global hotel investor requirements and involvement in sourcing new capital from emerging Middle Eastern and Southeast Asia markets will assist in these challenging economic times.”

Mr Batchelor’s most recent success was the sale of Park Hyatt Sydney for A$201 million. Representing a price of $1.276 million per room for the iconic 158-room hotel, the price is an Australian record on a per room basis. The property attracted a shortlist of predominantly Asian investors and was subsequently sold to a private Japanese investor.

His predecessor, Craig Collins, who led the Asia team for seven years, has meanwhile relocated back to Australia as Managing Director, Investment Sales for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

In the past six months, JLLH’s Asia hotel team also welcomed 12 new team members as it expanded its operations in Singapore, China and Japan. Key appointments include Mr Julian Whiston, Senior Vice President Corporate Advisory; Ms Min Min Wong, Vice President, Marketing and Ms Tea Ros as Associate Corporate Advisory - all of whom are based at the regional office in Singapore; Beijing-based Ms Karen Tan, Vice President Corporate Advisory; Shanghai-based Ms Julie Tang, Vice President Corporate Advisory; and Ms Aya Yoneshima, Vice President Research, who is based in Tokyo.

With almost 17 years of experience in the fields of property consultancy and valuation spanning more than 20 countries across three continents, hospitality specialist Mr Julian Whiston has a cross-section of experience as a hotel valuation consultant and valuer. Having also just relocated from JLLH’s Australian business where he was Senior Vice President, Advisory for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, Mr Whiston will be responsible for providing strategic advice, particularly on hotel valuations and related consultancy assignments in Asia.

Recognised for her ability in driving forward pre-opening and rebranding marketing and communications strategies, Ms Min Min Wong joins JLLH from her previous role as Assistant Director - Corporate Communications for the Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association where she was responsible for spearheading the Association’s advocacy and reputation management strategies and overseeing brand communications. Having worked for international corporations within the service and hospitality sectors in London, New York, Sydney and Singapore and Dubai, her global experience will come as an advantage in her new role as she will be overseeing JLLH’s marketing and public relations activities within Asia.

New to the region, Ms Tea Ros has worked throughout the Middle East, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain and Finland, and possesses extensive experience in advisory and operational roles within the hotel and broader real estate industry. Prior to joining JLLH’s corporate advisory team, Ms Ros was with TRI Hospitality Consulting in Dubai and undertook a variety of advisory assignments in the wider Middle East region.

Ms Karen Tan joins the advisory team in Beijing in line with JLLH’s plans to expand this fast growing part of our business. She held hotel consulting positions with Horwath in both Singapore and Beijing; most recently as Project Director. Ms Tan also spent some time in the educational sector having taught research at the Nanyang Business School in Singapore.

A Certified Public Accountant, Ms Julie Tang transferred to JLLH from Jones Lang LaSalle Property Management where she was responsible for managing several serviced apartments. In her new role, she will be responsible for strengthening JLLH’s business development activities in China. Ms Tang was also a Hotel Rating expert for the Shanghai Tourism Authority.

Ms Aya Yoneshima will be spearheading the research role in Japan. A licensed US Certified Public Accountant, her previous role at KPMG AZSA & Co. in Tokyo included the statutory audit of domestic/overseas listed companies and financial due diligence.

Asia remains one of the world’s fastest growing regions and JLLH expects a total sales volume of around USD5.0 billion for the Asia Pacific region during 2008. “Given the current challenging conditions for hotel trading, we believe 2008 will see transaction activity softening from 2007 to the same level as 2006,” Mr Batchelor said.

Mr Batchelor added that investment activity is expected in key markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali, and Phuket, and emerging markets such as China, India and Vietnam.

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