A property group that happens to own hotels
Shangri-La Asia is listed on both the Hong Kong and Singapore exchanges and is controlled by the Kuok family. As of the end of 2025 it ran 106 hotels and resorts, and the important detail is that it owns 82 of them outright rather than managing them for third parties.
It also holds well over a million square metres of office and commercial investment property alongside the hotels, plus serviced apartments and active residential development. That balance sheet is why a Shangri-La refurbishment tends to be thorough: the group is improving an asset it owns, not a contract it manages.
Shangri-La and Kerry only
The Luxury Circle covers Shangri-La and Kerry properties. Traders and JEN by Shangri-La sit outside it, which matters because the group's own loyalty programme covers those brands too and the advisor programme does not.
That loyalty program, Shangri-La Circle, is points-based and runs from Gold through Jade and Diamond to an invitation-only Polaris tier. Whether a Luxury Circle rate earns points and qualifying nights is reported by advisors but not published by Shangri-La, so we confirm it for your property rather than promising it.
Named after a novel, and still expanding into new territory
The first Shangri-La opened in Singapore in April 1971, and the name comes from the fictional valley in James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon.
In May 2025 the group launched Shangri-La Signatures, an ultra-luxury brand whose first property, The Silk Lakehouse in Hangzhou, was named to TIME's World's Greatest Places for 2026. A second, Songtei Kyoto, has been announced as the brand's first outside China, with the first guests expected from late 2026.
What we do with the booking
You pay Shangri-La's own rate, with the commission coming from the hotel. The reservation is flagged to the property ahead of arrival with your arrival time and any preference worth recording.
Because the portfolio is heavily Asian and much of it sits in cities with long-haul arrivals, the early check-in is usually the benefit that changes the day. Give us your flight number and we will work it. Start an enquiry or send a booking you already hold.