TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Saturday, 13th December 2025
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Automated check-in counters arriving soon at Swissôtel The Stamford

By TTG Asia
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As part of a multi-million-dollar hotel transformation programme, Swissôtel The Stamford is introducing automated check-in and check-out counters at its lobby, along with an industry-first biometric facial recognition security feature, by the end of August.

The new technology enhancement is said to help complete check-in in under a minute per guest. On arrival, guests input their reservation details, allowing the system to authenticate the booking confirmation before requesting for a valid identification document scan and information collection.

A rendering of how the lobby will look like

As a security measure, the in-built biometric facial scanner verifies each guest’s identity before the system completes the payment and check-in process.

The technology is a biometric system capable of uniquely identifying or verifying a person using a comparison and analysis of facial contour patterns and mapping these back to the image provided through the scanning of the guest’s identification documents.

Additionally, the automated check-in platform offers options for guests to purchase room upgrades as well as other select hotel promotions and services to enhance their stay.

The automated check-in and check-out counters will help ease check-in queues

Payment and room key creation are also done via this system which displays step-by-step visual instructions to guide guests on usage.

There will still be hotel staff at the lobby to anticipate guests’ needs and offer assistance.

For members of AccorHotels’ loyalty programme, Le Club AccorHotels, the check-in process has been further simplified. Members are only required to scan their membership number for express check-in and identity verification.

The transformation of Swissôtel The Stamford began in April last year and covers a complete rejuvenation of all 1,252 guestrooms and suites. In addition to adding new room categories, the transformation also includes a complete refitting and modernising of the executive lounge spanning an entire floor on level 65. The project is targeted for completion by the end of 2018.

Gaw Capital acquires Melbourne complex for A$157 million

By TTG Asia
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Mantra Bell City hotel in the mixed-use development

Announcing its second hospitality acquisition in two months, Gaw Capital Partners is purchasing the Bell City mixed-use development in Melbourne for A$157 million (US$114 million) through funds under management and its hospitality arm, GCP Hospitality.

In July, the Hong Kong real estate and private equity firm acquired a 50 per cent stake in Spain’s Hospes Hotel Group, forming a joint venture with a Spanish investment company, Omega Capital.

Mantra Bell City, one of two hotels within the mixed-use development

The Bell City complex, located 20 minutes from Melbourne Airport and the CBD, consists of two hotels totalling 844 guestrooms under the Mantra and BreakFree brands, a conference complex, commercial tenancies, a 600-space car park and serviced offices.

GCP Hospitality will work to incorporate a ‘co-living’ concept with social areas, a co-working hub, a fitness centre, restaurants and bars, and an outdoor pool.

The group will also roll out its modern student shared accommodation brand, Campus, which has been launched in Hong Kong with another opening slated in Perth come January 19, said Christophe Vielle, CEO & co-founder of GCP Hospitality.

Kenneth Gaw, president and managing principal of Gaw Capital Partners, said: “In addition to giving us a foothold in the Melbourne market, this major hospitality asset will allow us to effectively roll out multiple concepts within the same project. After this acquisition, we look forward to further expansion opportunities in the Australia market.”

GCP Hospitality’s brands include Hotels G, The Strand Hotel & Cruise, Campus Co-Living Hubs, Hospes Hotels (JV in Spain) and Journal Hotels (JV in USA). It currently runs over 39 properties with 7,450 keys worldwide, and has regional offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Perth, San Francisco, Singapore and Yangon.

WIT Singapore: travel industry through the looking glass

By TTG Asia
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The conference will look beyond the travel industry and address the question of how travel businesses should brace themselves for the future

At this year’s WIT Singapore 2018 Conference, taking place at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from October 15 to 17, attendees will be encouraged to imbibe the values of curiosity, courage, experimentation, acceptance and character.

Themed Through the Looking Glass, WIT Singapore 2018 will look beyond the travel industry to explore and discover other verticals including tech, media, retail and banking.

The conference will look beyond the travel industry and touch on new technologies and new forms of disruptions

“Lines are blurring and traditionally separate industries are melding together in new and unforeseen ways. The travel industry can no longer afford to work within the neat lines of its fortified silos. As the world continues to become more connected and daily life becomes increasingly inseparable from technology, we must look beyond ourselves,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and managing director of Web In Travel (WIT).

Issues WIT hopes to tackle include new technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and voice, the evolution of personalisation, new forms of disruption coming from all fronts from messaging to marketplaces and ride-sharing, payments, the evolution of content and storytelling, trends in digital marketing, and the increasingly sensitive issue of privacy in the world of big data.

WIT Singapore 2018 will be seeking answers to how travel businesses should brace themselves for the future and, more importantly, come out ahead of the pack.

The conference will be complemented by its other flagship event, the WIT Bootcamp (October 15), featuring the semi-finals of WIT’s famed Startup Pitch – an annual competition that celebrates young businesses (aged 0-5) for their unique approaches to solving travel issues and pain points familiar to the industry.

WIT Singapore 2018 will also see the second annual WIT Hall of Fame, an event that recognises and celebrates the industry’s pioneers that have had the most significant impact and influence on the advancement of digital travel in their respective sectors.

Last year’s inductees include Ctrip’s Jane Jie Sun, Agoda’s Robert Rosenstein, Tujia’s Melissa Yang, AccorHotels Asia-Pacific’s Michael Issenberg, Queen’s Road Capital’s Fritz Demopoulos, MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra, AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes and Peach Aviation’s Shinichi Inoue.

Over 500 delegates are expected to attend the conference this year. The programme features more than 100 speakers and is supported by over 30 sponsors and partners.

Indonesia hotel takes walk down memory for Asian Games

By TTG Asia
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Foto 1; Legendary athletes (left to right) Tan Joe Hok - badminton, Lany Kaligis - tennis, Yustedjo Tarik - tennis, Lanny Gumulja - platform diving pictured together with General Manager Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta, Sjefke Jansen (middle)

With the Asian Games returning to Indonesia after five decades, the hotel that hosted the game delegates in 1962 is commemorating the event with the launch of an exhibition.

Hotel Indonesia opened in Jakarta in 1962 as the first international-standard hotel in South-east Asia, mere days before the Asian Games kicked off.

From left: Legendary athletes Tan Joe Hok – badminton, Lany Kaligis – tennis, Yustedjo Tarik – tennis, Lanny Gumulja – platform diving; pictured together with the general manager of Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta, Sjefke Jansen (middle)

Fifty-six years later, Hotel Indonesia, now a Kempinski, is staging a sports and heritage photo exhibition during the Asian Games, which takes place from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang (South Sumatra).

On display at the main lobby and Nirwana Lounge are medals and memorabilia of Indonesian legendary sports champions, traditional clothes of Palembang and historic photos, paintings, chinaware of the hotel.

The exhibition was launched yesterday, graced by several Indonesia’s sports living legends including Tan Joe Hok, a badminton athlete who won three medals at Asian Games 1962; Irma Hadisurya, the first Miss Indonesia (crowned in 1969); and Arifin Pasaribu, former public relations of Hotel Indonesia (1963-1988), who later became the director of the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Office in London.

Sjefke Jansen, general manager of Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta, commented: “The series of events is our way to welcome the Asian Games back to Indonesia, as we were a part of this international event (then).”​

New hotels: Grand Mercure Yangon Golden Empire, QT Perth and more

By TTG Asia
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Grand Mercure Yangon Golden Empire, Myanmar
The first Grand Mercure in Myanmar, which overlooks the Schwedagon Pagoda, boasts 175 guest rooms and suites designed by local artist Pyar Dade, and sizes from 30m2 for superior rooms up to the 340m2 two-bedroom suites.

Amenities on-site include a restaurant, deli, pool bar, two state-of-the-art ballrooms that can host up to 400 guests with a large pre-event function area, and seven meeting rooms. The wellness area comprises an outdoor swimming pool, children’s pool and a fitness centre. There is also a spa complete with open-air Jacuzzi, sauna and steam bath, while a nearby golf course completes the suite of leisure facilities.

QT Perth, Australia
QT Hotels & Resorts’ first property on Australia’s West Coast is located on the doorstep of the Murray Street Mall and less than a minute walk to Perth’s shopping hub. The 18-storey hotel boasts 184 guestrooms, and facilities include a bar & grill restaurant concept, cafe and another bar on the rooftop which doubles up as a function venue. There are seven conference rooms, which can accommodate up to 315 people.

Citadines Regency Saigon, Vietnam
The serviced residence in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 offers 229 keys from classic rooms to one-bedroom apartments, some of which are connected. Facilities include a swimming pool, fitness centre, children’s wading pool, sauna room, café, restaurant and launderette. Citadines Regency Saigon is also within walking distance to tourist attractions such as the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and War Remnants Museum.

Dorsett Hartamas Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Located in the township of Hartamas, the four-star Dorsett Hartamas Kuala Lumpur boasts 290 guestrooms and suites. Facilities include all-day dining space Table Talk, fitness studio, kids’ play pen, and rooftop sky pool on level 27 (opening at a later stage). There are also three multifunctional venues which can take 40 to 120 people in a theatre set-up.

7 Questions Before Getting Started on Function Space Revenue Management

By TTG
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Two persons working on their laptops

Brought to you by IDeaS Revenue Solutions

This article is taken from IDeaS eBook Revenue Perspectives: Quick Hits for Strategic Revenue Insights. Vol. 3 Enhancing Non-Room Revenue. Download a copy here.

Hotel revenue management today has a rather established set of tools, business processes, and expertise to support effective room revenue optimization. Revenue Managers are generally comfortable with the theory and technology in rooms revenue management for their strategic planning and day-to-day decisions. However, when it comes to managing meetings, events and other ancillary revenue streams which for most hotels makes up 40-60% of their revenue, the science of revenue management is still at its infancy.

With the advent of big data and new analytical technologies the current data-driven approach to optimizing revenue performance is no longer sufficient. Thus we hear many hotels beginning to talk about the emerging approach of the future, Total Revenue Performance (TRP). TRP builds upon rooms revenue management to add automated revenue management capabilities to other vital hotel revenue streams.

Total Revenue Performance Approach Introduces New Complexities

Total Revenue Performance has always been the aspirational vision for hotels worldwide and it is becoming increasingly within reach for hotels, beginning with meetings and events revenue management. Whilst there are several areas of overlap between guest rooms and meetings and events revenue management, there are many areas which are different. Examples include:

  • The mutual impact of the demand that exists for both guest rooms and function space on one another
  • There are many revenue streams with different levels of profitability
  • Function rooms accommodating different capacities in different set-up styles
  • Demand and Wash expectations are difficult to predict
  • Upgrades are not as desirable as they are in guest room bookings (nobody wants to have an intimate boardroom meeting in a ballroom)
  • Multiple internal teams are involved in the management of this inventory
  • Each of these items brings some key considerations for expanding your revenue management practice into function space revenue management.

Getting Started in Function Space Revenue Management

When getting started with function space revenue management, it is recommended that you take a holistic look at your team alignment, business processes, and technology requirements. Here is a quick list of questions to get your hotel thinking about function space revenue management:

Team Alignment:

  1. Are your cross-functional teams of sales, catering, and revenue management aligned and working effectively?
  2. What educational and training support is needed to ensure that your teams successfully manage your function space inventory in a scientific and methodological way? 

Business Processes:

  1. Do you prefer establishing sales and catering management processes into your revenue management team or expanding your revenue management practices into your salesn and catering team? How could you accomplish both of these?
  2. Do you have effective market segmentation for meetings and events and is it being used consistently?
  3. Are you regularly and reliably updating your systems as booking status changes?

Tools and Technology:

  1. What tools, technology, and systems will be required to support my teams?
  2. How will a new tool fit into the day-to-day operation and decision making?

Such questions are critical to answer for revenue managers, general managers, and sales and marketing teams to monitor all revenue information from a shared and centralized discipline. This perspective allows these teams to coalesce their efforts around a single, common goal: driving better revenue performance for the organization as a whole.

Interested in joining a free workshop on this topic? You can even bring your own data to work on during the workshop so that you can take home an action plan to start your meetings & events revenue journey!

Seats are limited! Register today!

Sri Lanka scraps controversial minimum room rates

By Feizal Samath
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The latest announcement brings relief to five-star hotels in Colombo and travel agents

The Sri Lankan government has announced the removal of a nine-year-old minimum room rates scheme for hotels in Colombo, a move that is expected to be boon for five-star hoteliers in the capital city.

The scheme was unpopular with five-star hotels, which believed their competitiveness was diminished as a result, but found favour among lower hotel categories.

The latest announcement has brought relief to five-star hotels in Colombo and travel agents

Minimum room rates of US$125++(or around US$185, inclusive of taxes) for five-star hotels were enforced in late 2009 at the end of Sri Lanka’s bloody internal conflict, in anticipation of increasing tourist arrivals and following complaints by small hotels of price cutting by five-star hotels.

For four-star hotels the minimum room rate was US$95++ and three-star US$85++.

The scheme was a fitting move at the time it was imposed as room rates then were as low as US$40, said Hiran Cooray, a veteran hotelier whose family owns the Jetwing Hotels chain.

“But it’s high time this is removed as market forces should now determine prices,” he noted.

On Monday, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Kavan Ratnayaka announced the removal of the minimum room rates to “allow market forces to decide the room rates rather than (have) the SLTDA dictate terms to them”.

Harith Perera, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), welcomed the move, saying “we have always said (minimum rates) won’t work and were opposed to it.”

According to a spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB), minimum rates also hindered progress in the meetings and business events sector as they were unable to get competitive rates from city hotels for delegates.

“Now with the freedom for the market to dictate rates, our MICE market can be more competitive,” she added.

Two years ago, tourism minister John Amaratunga announced that the scheme would be abolished in 2018. While this was not made official until now, some industry players told TTG Asia that the government has been lax about enforcing minimum rates in recent months.

The SLCB spokesperson shared that the gazette notification enforcing the minimum rates was allowed to lapse on March 31 this year and was not renewed.

In fact, she said the SLCB had sought and won government approval for special five-star rates of US$100++ for MICE travellers and US$90 ++ for four-star accommodation.

A Colombo hotel manager added that for the past few months, city hotels have been offering their own rates. “The authorities have not been strict on the minimum rates.”

Meanwhile, managers at two three-star hotels in Colombo, who declined to be named, expressed fears of an ensuing price war due to oversupply in the city.

Over past two years, more than 600 new rooms have been injected into Colombo’s supply while several hotels including the Sheraton and Grand Hyatt are due to open in the next two years.

Bookings open for world’s first undersea villa at Conrad Maldives

By Raini Hamdi
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The undersea area of the two-level villa is a full suite

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is now taking bookings for what is believed to be the world’s first undersea villa for stays starting in November.

The villa, named The Muraka (coral in Dhivehi), is a step ahead of other such accommodations – say Atlantis The Palm in Dubai, which is an aquarium-style underwater room, or The Manta Resort in Zanzibar, which features just a double-bed in the undersea level – in that its undersea area is a 105m2 suite featuring a king-size bedroom, living area, bathroom and spiral staircase that leads to the upper level.

The undersea area of the two-level villa is a full suite

The upper level, which is above-sea, features two additional bedrooms and bathrooms, powder room, gym, butler’s quarter, private security quarters, integrated living room, kitchen, bar and dining, and an infinity pool. The entire two-level residence is 650m2 in area and can accommodate nine guests. It costs US$15 million to develop.

Hilton’s APAC vice president for operations, luxury and lifestyle, Daniel Welk, would not give a rate although there were reports of a night costing as deep – we mean steep – as US$50,000.

“It’s about personalisation and hyper exclusivity, not about price but an experience that cannot be replicated. The rate really depends on the depth of the personalisation,” said Welk, in an interview at ILTM Asia Pacific in Singapore recently.

He added: “We’ve been humbled by the reaction to The Muraka. We’re seeing a lot of enquiries from the resort’s repeat guests and, outside of that, from people all around the world who love the Maldives and return year after year. For them, especially the millennials and instagramers, it’s something new, kind of bragging rights but I believe this isn’t a gimmick. The thought of sleeping under the sea is quite revolutionary. This isn’t an aquarium. You’re fully submersed in the ocean, with 180-degree panoramic views of the ocean.”

The villa is about 650m offshore and seven metres deep, where visibility “is typically good”, he said.

Architect and designer Ahmed Saleem, director of Crown Company, a local Maldivian firm that owns the hotel, envisioned The Muraka 13 years ago when he built Ithaa Undersea Restaurant at Conrad Rangali, according to Welk.

“We’re fortunate to have an owner who is as pioneering as Crown, whom we’ve worked with for 20 years. We were the first international brand to enter the Maldives, first as Hilton Rangali, which became Conrad Rangali, the first hotel to build overwater on stilts, and the first to launch the undersea restaurant 13 years ago,” he said.

“Ithaa did wonders for the Maldives as a destination and we’re continuing the spirit of revolutionising the travel experience with The Muraka.”

The first undersea residence, along with the first ice rink in the Maldives by Jumeirah Vittaveli and the first undersea art museum by Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi, are among a new wave of innovations introduced by luxury chains in the Maldives, although the fate of Fairmont’s undersea sculptures is still uncertain at press time.

Oceania sails into new chapter with largest upgrading initiative to-date

By TTG Asia
0
Rendering of the Penthouse Suite in the reimagined Regatta-class ships

Oceania Cruises has unveiled OceaniaNEXT, its most extensive product and service enhancement initiative to-date, which will kick off with a US$100 million upgrade of its four 684-guest ships, Regatta, Insignia, Sirena and Nautica.

The upgrades will result in 342 new suites and staterooms in each ship, as well as new décor in the restaurants, lounges and bars, inspired by the line’s 450 ports of call.

Rendering of the Penthouse Suite in the reimagined Regatta-class ships

Insignia will be the first to debut on December 7, followed by Sirena in May 2019, Regatta in September 2019 and Nautica in June 2020.

“OceaniaNEXT will be the most extensive and comprehensive suite of product and guest service enhancements that we have ever undertaken,” said Bob Binder, president and CEO of Oceania Cruises.

“The staterooms and suites are the most dramatic of the transformation,” said Yohandel Ruiz, founding partner of Studio DADO, a Miami-based design and concept studio helming the refurbishment work.

USB ports will also be incorporated in each of the staterooms, as well as a television system with movies on demand in multiple-languages, live stations and a programme guide, plus itinerary information and weather updates.

The Regatta-Class re-inspiration is the first in a line of announcements and enhancements to come in 2018, 2019 and beyond, according to Oceania Cruises.

How to survive the world’s longest commercial flight

By TTG Asia
0
"Wellness cuisine" developed with long flight duration and reduced body movement in mind

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has partnered US wellness brand Canyon Ranch to introduce a new level of comfort and relaxation to ultra-longhaul travel.

The programme will be rolled out on SIA’s Singapore-New York service, which will launch on October 11 as the world’s longest commercial flight with a duration of 18 hours 45 minutes.

“Wellness cuisine” developed with long flight duration and reduced body movement in mind

The partners say this will also be extended to nonstop services from Singapore to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Taking into consideration the longer flight duration and reduced body movement, SIA teamed up with Canyon Ranch experts and nutritionists, who will develop cuisine that focuses on nutrition and hydration. These will be offered in addition to SIA’s own meal selections.

The partners will also use sleep strategies designed to help customers in all cabin classes, improve the duration and quality of rest, as well as specific light settings to provide better cabin ambience for rest and relaxation.

Guided stretching exercises, led by Canyon Ranch exercise physiologists, will also be made accessible via personal seat-back entertainment systems to promote relaxation.

This will be the first time Canyon Ranch is taking its wellness methods to the air, after having serviced guests on land and at sea, according to CEO of Canyon Ranch, Susan Docherty.

The Canyon Ranch team of experts are from integrative medicine, exercise, nutrition and other disciplines – collectively known as Canyon Ranch Wellness Architects, and includes the 17th US surgeon general.

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Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | Salter Brothers Hospitality names Chris Curran as COO
TTG Asia | Building a new world
TTG Asia | Le Méridien Putrajaya welcomes new GM