TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Tuesday, 7th April 2026
Page 1225

New hotels: Raffles Shenzhen, Quay Perth Hotel and more

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Raffles Shenzhen, China
Accor’s Raffles hotel brand has opened its latest property in Greater China. Raffles Shenzhen is situated in One Shenzhen Bay, a 72-storey high building in the CBD, where guests are welcomed through the 34th floor Sky Lobby with views of Shenzhen Bay. Views also extend to the 168 guestrooms and suites above.

Amenities on-site include six restaurants and bars, and 3,000m2 of event space including a pillarless grand ballroom supported by eight multifunction halls. There are recreational facilities as well, such as the Raffles Spa, fitness centre, and an indoor swimming pool area that includes a Jacuzzi, vitality pool and sauna.

Quay Perth Hotel, Australia
Singapore-based Louis T Collection has officially opened the doors to its 80-room Quay Perth Hotel on Elizabeth Quay. Rooms range in size from 17m2 to 41m2, and are furnished with a smart TV, small fridge and in-room safes. There are two F&B options on-site: the HQ Bar & Kitchen, an open-air rooftop bar on the 10th floor with a modern Chinese menu; and the all-day sidewalk eatery, Community at Quay.

There is also a 24/7 co-working space on level nine, furnished with a long communal workstation, chairs and lounges. Within this space are two meeting rooms which can accommodate five people each, a kitchenette, as well as private phone booths, and business services such as printing and scanning.

Hotel Oriental Express Tokyo, Kamata, Japan
The newly-opened six-storey hotel in Japan’s capital city stands a five-minute walk from the east exit of Keikyu Kamata Station. It offers a restaurant, as well as 158 rooms across five categories, where all living spaces come equipped with modern Bluetooth speakers and Apple TV. As the hotel was conceived to evoke the spirit of Kamata’s traditional family-owned workshops, its interior has been decked out with manufacturing machines and industrial goods, as well as products made with processing techniques by the local workshops.

Days Hotel & Suites by Wyndham Hamilton, New Zealand
Days Inn by Wyndham has made its debut in New Zealand with its latest opening in the heart of Auckland’s CBD. The hotel is set within a 19th -century building on the corner of Hamilton’s Collingwood and Victoria streets, and features 69 keys spanning studios to two-bedroom suites with balconies. Other amenities on-site include private meeting facilities, a lounge, guest laundry facilities and parking.

InterContinental Jakarta Pondok Indah

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Location
The hotel is located in Pondok Indah, south Jakarta, where upmarket residences, international schools, reputable hospitals and entertainment facilities call home.

South Jakarta has increasingly becoming a popular location for companies to open their businesses, but only a few upmarket hotels are currently operating in the area.

The hotel itself is strategically integrated within a high-end commercial complex where the well-known Pondok Indah Mall, an office tower, a water park and a 18-hole golf course are interconnected.

Room
My Club InterContinental room on the 23rd floor offered a clear view of the surrounding area through the full-length windows. The colour scheme and the elegant interiors combine to make the 47m2 room feel even more spacious than it already is.

The room is equipped with a large screen IP TV and mobile platform access to a range of personal experiences, such as the sound bar.

The bathroom is not only large but also has features expected of a luxury property, such as separate bathtub, shower and toilet.

F&B
The all-day dining Sugar & Spice is located on the Level 1, serving buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner with cuisines from across the five continents. A teppanyaki ‘speakeasy’ bar will come soon be added.

The Indonesian selection offered authentic tastes and for spice lovers, the chefs are not shy about playing things up with the variety of sambal chilli sauces. (A word of caution: the chilli is really hot.)

The Indian food is sumptuous and the papadam is so light and crunchy, not to mention the creamy home-cured salmon.

I had a taste of the chef’s new menu item of the BLT soup (bakso meatball, lidah ox tongue, tunjang tendon), which was still in its test kitchen. The soup was surprisingly light and fragrant, while the ox tongue was tender and the tendon melted in my mouth. This dish, in my opinion, should be included in the menu.

I checked on the breakfast spread at the restaurant and found such a tempting selection that I chose to dine at the Executive Lounge, just so that I could rein in my appetite by tucking into the fresh and healthy options – and equally delicious food.

The Lounge at the lobby level is a great spot to connect with friends or business partners. Trolleys feature a variety of single-origin coffee and tea throughout the day as well as gin in the evening, plus a selection of canapés. DJs and live bands will perform on Wednesdays to Fridays, but the sound system is set in such a way that patrons could easily talk over drinks and music.

The Lounge also serves daily afternoon tea and on weekends, offers a buffet of light meals like sate, dim sum, samosa and mini chocolate fondue.

Two additional F&B facilities, The Aqua Lounge by the pool and a rooftop dining venue, are coming soon.

Facilities
The most outstanding facility is the meeting and banquet facilities. Not only does the hotel have a huge ballroom with an 11m-high ceiling that can host up to 3,500 people and multiple breakouts, it also has a dedicated wedding lounge, and wedding gallery displaying wedding elements as well as bridal changing rooms. A Chef Table, a dedicated food-tasting room is available for planners of big events, with direct access to the banquet kitchen.

Other facilities include the Inaria Spa with Jacuzzi, steam and sauna, fitness centre and swimming pool. The Planet Trekkers, the signature children’s facilities include swimming pool and playground on Level 8, and an indoor play area near Sugar and Spice.

Service
The hotel soft-opened last December but it has been keeping a low profile in the past months to overcome any glitches a new hotel might have. And based on my stay, this strategy worked out fine. The services are top notch: smooth check-in and out, quick response to enquiries, requirement and orders.

Verdict
A business hotel boasting luxury comfort, surrounded by playgrounds for children and adults.

No. of rooms 311
Rates from US$149
Contact details
Tel: (62) 21 3950 7355
Email: rsvn.intercontinentaljakartapondokindah@ihg.com

Mandarin Oriental, Macau welcomes new GM

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Christian Dolenc has been named general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Macau, following his most recent role as hotel manager of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

A native German national, Dolenc’s hospitality career began after receiving his diploma in hotel and catering business in 2001, as he underwent a range of placements in the UK, Switzerland and Germany.

Dolenc was appointed assistant front office manager at The Peninsula, Hong Kong in 2008 and in 2010, joined Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong as front office manager. In 2012, he transferred to Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta to take on the role of director of rooms before relocating back to Hong Kong as hotel manager of The Excelsior, Hong Kong in 2016.

New Mekong river cruise to sail Vietnam, Cambodia next year

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Rainforest Cruises is introducing a new luxury cruise vessel, the Mekong Jewel, which will begin sailing the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia in 2020.

The ship will feature a panoramic sky lounge, private balconies in all 34 suites, a 2:1 guest-to-staff ratio, and sustainable elements like no use of plastic and support for local produce and artisans.

“Building on our success in the Amazon and Galapagos, we believe expanding our offering to South-east Asia is a natural fit. South-east Asia is rich in cultural, archeological and biological treasures with numerous navigable rivers,” said Jeremy Clubb, director of Rainforest Cruises.

“Additionally, a cruise vessel like the Mekong Jewel provides a luxury experience, while allowing guests to visit several countries in a single itinerary.”

Offshore itineraries will take guests to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, experience a water blessing by the monks of Wat Arang, admire French architecture of the Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City, among other highlights.

Mekong Jewel bookings made before September 30 are entitled to a free two-night stay at Hotel Grand Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City and/or the Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa in Siem Reap.

Kempinski names Martin Smura as new CEO

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Following its earlier announcement that current CEO Markus Semer and CFO Colin Lubbe are stepping down from their roles, the Kempinski Group has found a new CEO in Martin Smura, who will take the helm beginning July 1.

The 50-year-old Smura brings a vast amount of management experience and expertise from top international hotel companies on five continents, and was most recently executive chairman of the board of the Dorint Hotel Group.

Smura also spent 15 years with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in various capacities such as director operations in East and Western Europe. He also held his first general management post while with IHG, and was the group’s youngest regional GM at 30.

Billionaire owner’s daughter takes charge at Philippines Airlines as Bautista retires

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President Bautista stepped down to spend more time with family

Following the retirement of Philippine Airlines’ president and COO Jaime Bautista, Vivienne Tan, the daughter of the airline’s owner, will step up to the role of officer-in-charge.

PAL owner, chairman and CEO Lucio Tan and members of the board have accepted Bautista’s retirement to spend more time with his family.

President Bautista stepped down to spend more time with family

The younger Tan will serve concurrently as executive vice president, treasurer and chief administrative officer. She has worked for the airline in various capacities since 2011, before moving to other positions in the LT Group (the elder Tan’s holding company), mainly in the real estate, banking and education sectors.

Aside from PAL, she also sits on the board of Tan holding firm LT Group, Philippine National Bank, Eton Properties, Dynamic Holdings, University of the East and UERMMMC.

Overall, Tan has had more than 25 years of professional experience in technology, education, entrepreneurship and social advocacy in industries such as education, airline and property development.

All official communication and concerns requiring the attention and/or approval of the PAL president shall henceforth be addressed to the younger Tan, the airline said in a statement.

JTB’s new chief leads digital reform

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On Ikuta's wishlist: digital transformation, mor

Upgrading JTB’s digital strategy is a priority of the DMC’s new president & CEO, Toru Ikuta, who takes over from predecessor Billy Kurosawa.

Before moving to Singapore for this role in January, Ikuta was based in Japan as managing executive for outbound group travel under JTB. Now, he oversees JTB’s operations and development in Asia-Pacific.

On Ikuta’s wishlist: digital transformation, more NTO collaborations in Asia, and improved inbound tourism management in Japan

“A lot of our customer and tour group applications have been done manually using paper-based systems. I hope to move everything online to platforms like apps,” he explained.

This boost will help the DMC expand their presence in Asia and promote development and exchange in Singapore and across the region. Out of Singapore’s 18.5 million international visitor arrivals, JTB sees about 437,000 Japanese travellers.

“We want to work to continue expanding these numbers,” Ikuta expressed.

Along with internal enhancements, he hopes to build on the trend of strong partnerships, such as the 2017 deal with Singapore Tourism Board, in which he was also involved.

Under this MoU, new tourism campaigns and content developed for Singapore are bearing fruit. There was a 175 per cent increase in Japanese tourists to the country, and JTB will continue to grow interest in the destination, said Ikuta.

“Our goal is to also work with more government organisations in the region, including Singapore,” he shared.

JTB is also working to address Japan’s overflowing inbound tourism numbers, which includes a large segment of repeat visitors. As of 2018, international visitor arrivals hit 21.8 million; with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Japan aims to bring this number up to 40 million.

To draw the crowds away from hotspots like Kyoto, the key is in unique regional trips, said Ikuta. “A key trend we’re seeing is many more repeat travellers. They look out for three things: personalised trips, more experiential travel and specific locations outside of the big cities.”

Popular activities include sushi making, festivals, rice planting, religious village experiences and cosplay events, in regions such as Tohoku, Hokuriku and Kyushu.

Providing such expert arrangements and recommendations is especially crucial to drawing the repeat segment, which tends to avoid tour packages in favour of booking their own flights, hotels and transport.

Leading hospitality school to set up campus in Singapore

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The Swiss hospitality management school will set up an international campus in Singapore

Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) will open an international campus in Singapore, expecting to welcome its first cohort of students in the fall of 2021.

The announcement came after the Singaporean authorities regulating private education institutions gave EHL the green light to deliver its bachelor course in Singapore, having received the EduTrust certification.

The Swiss hospitality management school is expecting to have its first cohort in Singapore in 2021

EHL Campus (Singapore) wants to deliver the same internationally recognised Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management degree as EHL Campus Lausanne, adding first-hand local market knowledge and experience to the curriculum.

Candidates can submit an anticipated application to start their preparatory year at the EHL Campus Lausanne in September 2020 and begin their bachelor course as the first cohort at EHL Campus (Singapore) in the fall of 2021.

André Witschi, chairman of the EHL Group board of governors, sad: “We are very much looking forward to establishing a strong international foothold in one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive countries. Receiving the EduTrust certification is a great milestone which allows us to move forward with the next steps of the project, and namely confirm the location of the premises of our campus in Singapore”.

Opening a campus in Singapore represents an important step forward in the institution’s international growth strategy, said Michel Rochat, EHL Group CEO.

“We go where the market needs us to be, and our goal to open a campus in Singapore will allow us to remain one step ahead, understanding, shaping and stimulating the global hospitality industry, as we have been doing for over a century”, said Rochat.

GuestReady amps up Asia expansion with new US$6m Series A funding

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The GuestReady Team

Global short-term rental management company GuestReady Group has raised an additional US$6 million in funding, bringing the total funds raised to almost US$10 million.

The latest round was co-led by Dubai-based VentureSouq and Abramovich-backed Impulse VC, which already led GuestReady’s Seed round in 2017. Many of the existing investors such as Hong Kong’s Aria Group or Australia’s 808 Tech Ventures increased their positions in GuestReady as part of this Series A funding round.

The GuestReady Team

The additional funding will be used to further invest in product development and fuel growth initiatives across Asia-Pacific and Europe, including capitalising on available M&A opportunities.

Christian Mischler, co-founder at GuestReady, told TTG Asia: “We will continue to focus on Asia, the Middle East and Europe. In all three larger regions we see great growth potential. While the market in Europe is ahead of Asia in terms of number of listings but also the service infrastructure available to the ecosystem (such as key lockboxes, linen companies, etc), there is greater growth potential in Asia and the Middle East, which is why we will keep a balanced approach for all three regions.”

Looking forward, GuestReady will invest in building up the operations team in Kuala Lumpur and is in advanced conversations with a number of regional property developers to bring its tech-enabled services to more markets in South-east Asia.

Mischler added: “We now have a white-labelled version of our tech system which we can make available to either smaller property managers so that they can professionalise their vacation rental management, or to property developers so that they can offer a broader set of services to their clientele.

“(GuestReady’s) B2B offering goes beyond services to property developers, and we can support smaller vacation rental management companies to become more tech-enabled and save costs by having streamlined operations,” he added.

GuestReady Group, which currently manages more than 2,000 properties, operates in 14 cities around the world including Hong Kong and Malaysia. It is launched in 2016 by Mischler and CEO Alexander Limpert – the latter was formerly managing director of Foodpanda in the Philippines and Taiwan.

Following its first acquisition in 2017, the fast-growing company has embarked on an aggressive acquisition path in recent months, buying out French competitor BnbLord earlier this year, and Portugal-based Oporto City Flats and France’s We Stay In Paris last year.

Besides marketing vacant residential property listings on short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, the company says it also helps property owners to stay compliant with local housing regulations and to deliver services including housekeeping and guest check-in.

Hyatt to introduce Alila brand to Europe

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The first Alila in Europe will have a view of the Lake of Gruyère

Europe will get its first Alila branded resort in La Gruyère, Switzerland, come 2023.

Hyatt, which recently added the brand to its luxury portfolio after acquiring Two Roads Hospitality, announced that an affiliate company has signed a management agreement with Resort 4 SA, owned by Ben Golf Investissements SA, to bring the brand to Europe.

The first Alila in Europe will have a view of the Lake of Gruyère

Overlooking a lake, Alila La Gruyère will offer 85 rooms, 27 residences, a golf course and a wellness retreat.

“The region of La Gruyère with its medieval Gruyères town is a great location for a brand that embodies an expression of centuries-old traditions,” said Guido Fredrich, Hyatt’s regional vice president of development for Europe.

“Moreover, the Alila brand offers tremendous potential for growth in Europe by responding to the increasing trend of ecotourism and wellness travel. We also know that well-travelled guests are looking to make impactful connections, and the Alila brand caters to this demand.”

Alila La Gruyère will be located in Pont-la-Ville in the district of La Gruyère, which belongs to the Canton of Fribourg in western Switzerland.

La Gruyère is known for its picturesque landscape, charming medieval town, and cheese and chocolate factories.

“We are delighted to work with Hyatt to bring this innovative luxury resort to La Gruyère under the Alila brand,” said Urs Müller, general manager, Resort 4 SA.

“The area is already popular for weekend getaways and golf and wellness retreats due to its outstanding natural beauty. With the Alila brand, we look forward to introducing a new concept to the region and creating a world-class destination that will take the travel experience to the next level.”