A China-owned hospitality group is launching a new homegrown five-star hotel brand in Shanghai, reported Travel Daily Media Tuesday.

Wealthy Chinese travelers prefer to stay at the Hyatt and Marriott chains of hotels, according to New York-based wealth research firm Luxury Institute.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea plans a one-billion-euro move into the hotel sector, opening at least 100 hotels in Europe.

“We’ve been searching for property across Europe for a while and we’ll announce in a few weeks where we’ll open our own hotel,” Svenska Dagbladet quoted as saying Harald Mueller, the Ikea group executive in charge of the project.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has announced the brand’s first hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), marking another step in the group’s expansion in Asia.

The 250-room hotel is set to open in 2017 and will be located in the historic centre of Saigoni9 adjacent to the famous Ben Thanh Square market, in a 48-storey tower.

The Ritz-Carlton, Saigon is part of a development project called The One Ho Chi Minh City, which also includes prime office space, retail outlets and 350 luxury apartments.

The Qatari owners of Harrods are planning to launch a line of hotels under the name of the famous luxury London store.

“The target plan is to open Harrods hotels at sites in key cities such as Kuala Lumpur, New York and Paris as well as in China.

“Preference will be given to construct on sites already owned by Qatar Holding or its affiliates, for example at Chelsea Barracks in London or Costa Smeralda in Sardinia.

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has recently unveiled a revamped website. New features, which include sharing the best of the group’s photography, aim to help travellers get closer to their destinations.

To commemorate the new site, the group is set to launch the ‘#LovingTheMoment’ Instagram initiative to encourage everyone to share photos of their location.