MARKING its 20^th anniversary since it opened in 1995, Singapore Marriott Hotel this month took on a new name in a nod to its history.

The newly christened Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel comes with a new logo as well.

The luxury hotel is situated at the junction of Scotts Road and Orchard Road and within the same development as the iconic Tangs department store, and is owned by Tang Holdings.

Special discounts and dining offers have been rolled out to commemorate the hotel’s anniversary, including an Ultimate 3-Day, 2-Night Luxury Escapade package deal available from May 4 to July 31.

Call (65) 6831-4555 for more information and bookings.

SPA and F&B day resort Gourmet Farms in Tagaytay has unveiled its new line-up of products targeting leisure travellers, events and agritourism.

Gourmet Farms’ organises pre-scheduled day tours of its organic farm facilities, where it grows lettuce, herbs, indigenous herbal teas, raises organic pork and poultry, and roasts high-value, locally sourced coffee beans including civet coffee.

While Gourmet Farms does not market itself as a B&B, it hosts specialised spiritual and wellness detox retreats for religious-oriented groups of up to 30 pax, who can pre-book a whole day or 3D2N weekend stay at the resort’s 20 casitas with ready access to its chapel and function area with audiovisual equipment and Wi-Fi.

The farm’s product is served on the a la carte and banquet menus of its restaurant, The Dining Room. Capable of accommodating up to 150 pax, the restaurant has two private dining areas, one for six guests and the other for 15.

For banquets, the al fresco garden can hold up to 300 pax.

Gourmet Farms is promoting its farm and restaurant as part of the ongoing Flavours of the Philippines festival in the run-up to the Madrid Fusion Manila gastronomy congress and exhibition.

SUCCUMBING to the competitive market of online hotel bookings, Singapore-based AsiaRooms.com has folded after seven years of losses, said a local report.

According to Singapore daily Today, AsiaRooms.com’s staff were notified of the closure in late February and by April 2, web visitors were redirected to sister site LateRooms.com.

Both brands are owned by TLRG, which is in turn owned by travel giant TUI Group.

Andrea Tarpey, TLRG’s head of communications, told Today that AsiaRooms.com’s closure was due to a “highly competitive market” and that the site has not performed up to expectations.

However, AsiaRooms.com will honour existing reservations with the same team in place to support customers, said Tarpey in the article.

THE Malaysian government’s proposal to do away with the 10 per cent service charge imposed by hotels and restaurants has met with resistance from major stakeholders, who say that the move will hurt worker wages.

Since the introduction of a GST this month, the government has mooted the idea of only allowing restaurants and hotels that have a collective agreement with their staff to continue charging for service.

A collective agreement is a commercial agreement negotiated collectively between a company and the relevant trade union.

Authorities later suggested the removal of the service charge altogether, which the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) have criticised.

Both organisations say the service charge should remain as is for the benefit of rank-and-file workers.

MAH is urging the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to intervene and hold an inter-governmental meeting to find an amicable solution, while MTUC has threatened nationwide picketing if the service charge is abolished.

Samuel Cheah, president of MAH, told TTG Asia e-Daily today that the fee collected goes back to the staff and, while only seven per cent of the hotel industry is unionised, the Letter of Appointment contract between the employer and employee should also count as a collective agreement.

To find a resolution, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism wants to hold a meeting with government agencies, consumer associations, unions and associations from hotels and the F&B industry.

Hospitality consultant, Reginald Pereira, CEO of MIHR Consulting, opined that the service charge should be incorporated into the pricing and workers be paid a fixed salary.

“Workers benefit because they get a higher contribution to the Employees Provident Fund and with a higher fixed salary, it becomes easier for them to apply for loans. Employers benefit because their payroll remains constant despite fluctuations in hotel revenue,” he said.

“When Singapore can implement fixed salaries successfully in the hospitality industry and there are no issues about it, why can’t we do the same here?”

PRISTINE Islands Investment has appointed Accor to manage its first two Maldives resorts in Gaafu Alifu Atoll, which will be branded Pullman and Mercure.

Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resort, Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort and a new domestic airport will all come under Accor’s management, with development costs chalking up to an estimated cost of US$120 million.

The 68-villa Mercure Kooddoo, scheduled to open in 2016, will be the only Maldivian resort directly accessible by domestic plane without the need for an additional speedboat journey thanks to the upcoming Kooddoo Airport.

Facilities will comprise an all-day restaurant, a sunset bar, spa as well as a range of watersports including a dive centre.

Pullman Maamutaa will be located 10 minutes by speedboat from the new airport on the 195,000m² Maamutaa Island. When it opens in 2018, it will offer guests 80 over-water villas and 40 beach bungalows, an all-day restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a sunset bar perched in the middle of a lagoon, a spa and fitness centre as well as a dive centre and watersports centre.

Additionally, the planned Kooddoo Airport will reduce travel time to the south of the Maldives.

Pristine is a joint venture company set up by Keong Hong Holdings, Sansui Holding, BRC Asia, L3 Development, and Hotels & Resort Construction last year to own and develop the projects.

At yesterday’s official signing ceremony between Pristine and Accor, Ronald Leo, CEO and executive chairman, Keong Hong Holdings and CEO, Pristine Islands Investment, spoke of the Maldives’ continued potential for tourism.

“In February 2015, there was a record 120,468 tourist arrivals, an increase of 8.8 per cent compared with February 2014, with Asia-Pacific accounting for 44 per cent of visitor arrivals and Europe, 49 per cent,” he said.

SHERATON Bali Kuta Resort is banking on its creativity to ride through a challenging 2015, said its general manager, Dario Orsini, who was in Singapore this week to connect with clients and the media.

The 203-key property, opened in December 2012, closed at 80 per cent occupancy in 2014 and is “doing well with 80 per cent this month”, said Orsini.

“This year will be challenging due to political changes and the government’s decision to clamp down on travel and meeting spend, and also because the Australian dollar has weakened,” he explained. Australia is the hotel’s third biggest market, just behind the domestic market and Greater China.

To counter this and stand out against the competition, the hotel is leveraging its creative side. “We are now clear about the many things we can do for different clients, and we know we can use our creativity to push boundaries and create something fun, unique and attractive,” remarked Orsini.

One creative experience at the resort is the Feast Market Brunch on Sunday which is themed around a marketplace with handicraft and produce sold by local farmers, artisans and vendors. Diners get a 1kg bag of groceries at the end of their meal. There are also special events like the White Magic Sunset Nu-disco sundowner poolside parties and Junior Cooking Classes for children.

“Our young and creative events team has enabled us to pull off some unique meetings. Last June we had a beach-themed function for a client, using tattooed boys in beach shorts and girls in bikinis to hand out cocktails and canapés. We’ve done internal dine-around events, starting with drinks on the terrace and then guests get to make their own dessert before sitting down for dinner in the kitchen,” he shared.

Besides the hotel’s 1,600m² of function rooms, meeting clients can also hold events in the Presidential Suite and The Lounge.