Deutsche Hospitality rebrands as H World International

FRANKFURT, Germany – Deutsche Hospitality is rebranding to H World International to drive the expansion of its ownership group, H World, outside of China.

All of H World International’s brands, most notably Steigenberger, will be part of the H Rewards global loyalty program and online booking platform. Other brands include Jaz in the City, House of Beats, IntercityHotel, Maxx and Zleep Hotels.

New to the international brand family is Ji Hotel, one of H World China's fastest-growing midscale brands with the recently opened Ji Hotel Orchard Singapore as the first of its kind outside of China.

Oliver Bonke will serve as CEO H World International alongside the established executive leadership team of the former Deutsche Hospitality. Bonke and Choon Wah Wong, CFO H World International, will remain managing directors of the Steigenberger Hotels GmbH. H World International includes Europe, Middle East, India & Africa (MEIA), as well as Asia Pacific (APAC).

To kick-start its growth in APAC, H World International has entered into a joint venture with Conduit House, a fully integrated hotel operator and hospitality asset manager in Asia, for pre-opening support, technical services and operations. Conduit House is run by industry veterans Grant Healy and Achim Lenders “whose Asian expertise, relationships and networks will be hugely beneficial for our ambitious growth plans,” Bonke said.

H World International just signed an agreement with Tantakitt Co. Ltd. for the 475-room Montien Surawong Bangkok, a Steigenberger Hotel. Having recently finished a complete renovation, it will be the first Steigenberger hotel in Thailand and carry the brand as of July this year. Furthermore, an agreement was signed with Tai Xiang International Co. Ltd. for the 108-room  Maxx Huay Yai Villa, Pattaya, Thailand with an expected opening towards the end of 2025.

In the MEIA region, the company recently signed an agreement for the new-build, 90-room Steigenberger Resort Byoum Lakeside in Egypt, adding to the existing 16 Steigenberger Resorts in the country. The hotel is located about 90 kilometers southwest of Cairo, close to Qarun Lake and is expected to open in late 2025. Earlier this month, H World International announced the opening of the IntercityHotel Bawshar in Muscat, Oman – the fourth IntercityHotel in Oman and sixth in MEIA overall.

In Europe, the Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts brand announced the addition of the renovated and historical Bielefelder Hof in Germany. Furthermore, the economy brand Zleep Hotels, of Danish origin, is on the rise with openings in Horsens, Denmark as well as Lausanne and Zürich, Switzerland. Agreements for two further Zleep Hotels were recently signed for the Zleep Hotel Bern, set to open in late 2025, and the Zleep Hotel Göppingen in Southern Germany, which is expected to open in 2026.

Originated in China and as of the end of 2023, H World Group Ltd.’s H World operated some 19 brands with 9,394 hotels and 912,444 rooms in operation in 18 countries. In addition, H World also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region.

H World's business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, H World directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, H World manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that H World appoints, and H World collects fees from franchisees. At the end of last year, H World operated 11% of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 89% under manachise and franchise model.