SINGAPORE, 19 July 2021: JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has named Tao Zhou the group’s managing director and head of Greater China.
Based in Shanghai, Tao assumed the newly-created role on 15 July and will draw on his extensive Greater China hospitality experience to facilitate the next phase of growth for the business in this priority market.
“Greater China represents a significant growth opportunity for hospitality industry participants, backed by supportive demographic and consumption trends. Tao’s appointment will position JLL strongly to facilitate the next phase of this market’s development,” says JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group CEO Asia Pacific Mike Batchelor.
For JLL, Tao will have oversight for the Hotels & Hospitality Group’s advisory, asset management and investment sales activities across Greater China. He will also join the business’ executive committee from 15 July. In his new role, Tao will report to Xander Nijnens, Managing Director, Head of Advisory & Asset Management, Asia Pacific, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, and Nihat Ercan, Senior Managing Director Head of Investment Sales, Asia Pacific, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.
Tao joins JLL from Huatian International Hotel Management Co., Ltd., where he served as its General Manager. He has also held the role of President at Country Garden Hotel Group and CEO of Luneng Group Hotel Management Co. Before moving back to China at the end of 2012, Tao worked for nearly six years at the hotel asset management division of Morgan Stanley Capital in Japan and over 16 years in the areas of hotel operation and asset management in North America.
“China’s strong tourism and economic recovery has boosted investment in the hospitality sector, with more than US$1.3 billion worth of hotels and serviced apartments transactions recorded in the first half of 2021 – the highest in the region. Together with the existing hotel investment sales team, Tao will assist investors looking to tap into the largest domestic travel market in the world,” says Ercan.
