CDL hotel arm partners German hospitality group in global loyalty programme
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The partnership will see members of both the MyMillennium and MyMaritim loyalty programmes enjoy special benefits.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
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SINGAPORE - City Developments Limited’s (CDL) Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) and Germany’s Maritim Hotels have teamed up to allow members of their loyalty programmes access to exclusive privileges when staying at both sides’ participating hotels.
MHR is the global hotel brand owned by CDL, which bought Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, the parent company of MHR, in 2019 and subsequently delisted it from the London Stock Exchange.
The partnership will see members of both loyalty programmes enjoy special benefits.
The more than four million MyMillennium members will get loyalty discounts on the best available rates – applicable for rooms only and bed and breakfasts – when they stay at selected Maritim Hotels’ properties.
MyMaritim members, who number about two million, will enjoy loyalty discounts on flexible rates – also applicable for rooms only and bed and breakfasts – when they stay at participating MHR properties worldwide.
They also get to enjoy access to more properties.
MyMaritim members can now enjoy stays in additional properties in Singapore, London, New York City, Dubai, Phuket and Penang, among other destinations.
For MyMillennium members, this partnership offers access to a new portfolio of hotels in Germany across prime locations, from Dresden to Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin and more.
The deal was formalised at a signing ceremony held at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel and Spa, London.
It was signed by Mr Saurabh Prakash, MHR’s interim chief operating officer and chief commercial officer, and Mr Roland Elter, Maritim’s chief commercial officer.
Mr Kwek Leng Beng, MHR’s chairman, said the collaboration was a strategic step to expand the company’s access to Germany and the larger European Union, an important travel and business region.
Combining the two hospitality brands offers members more value, wider choices and enhanced rewards across an expanded network, added Mr Kwek’s nephew Kwek Eik Sheng, who is MHR’s executive director.
The news of the strategic collaboration fell short of some analysts’ expectations. Many of them have been awaiting details of CDL’s plans to address the group’s ballooning debt.
They also said CDL has not adequately addressed investors’ concerns on recent board governance lapses and is yet to articulate a clear long-term strategy.
Earlier in 2025, CDL was embroiled in a high-profile family feud involving Mr Kwek Leng Beng,
The feud, which became public in late February, involved accusations of a boardroom coup orchestrated by the son,
The dispute also involved concerns about corporate governance lapses and financial losses under Mr Sherman Kwek’s leadership.
It was eventually resolved in March after senior establishment figures intervened.
RHB analyst Vijay Natarajan said the strategic global loyalty partnership with Maritim Hotels will help broaden the group’s customer base. It will also allow both brands to leverage their strengths and markets without incurring additional capital.
“We believe this asset-light approach is well-suited for MHR to scale the brand portfolio, considering CDL’s higher debt load and plans to deleverage,” he said.
RHB has a target price of $4.90 a share for CDL, which closed at $5.19 on June 30.
Mr Natarajan said in RHB’s latest research report that CDL’s proposed sale of its stake in the South Beach mixed project is a positive step to addressing its ballooning debt.
“Further active capital recycling – particularly for its low-yielding overseas assets – is needed to improve return on equity,” he said.
Early in June, CDL said it had agreed to sell its 50.1 per cent stake in the South Beach mixed project to its partner, Malaysia’s IOI Properties Group, for about $834.2 million.
The sale is expected to unlock $465 million in disposal gains that would help trim CDL’s bank borrowings and improve its net gearing by 14 basis points, from 117 per cent to 103 per cent.
In 2024, CDL’s group interest cost surged to $588.7 million from $485.8 million the year before owing to a higher loan burden. Total interest-bearing borrowings rose to $13.3 billion from $11.6 billion in 2023.
CDL aims to divest $1 billion in assets, and has divested over $600 million in 2024.
Key divestments have included the Ransome’s Wharf site in London, the freehold eight-storey industrial building Cideco Industrial Complex in Singapore, as well as various strata units at Citilink Warehouse Complex, Cititech Industrial Building, Fortune Centre and Sunshine Plaza in Singapore.
MHR’s portfolio spans brands including The Biltmore, Grand Millennium, Millennium, M Social, Studio M, M Hotel, Copthorne and Kingsgate.
