A misunderstood generation

November 11, 2015

Millennials are a much-maligned and misunderstood generation. I’m saying this not because I myself and many of my colleagues and friends are millennials. For the most part, I feel that we are a normal lot, or as quirky and diverse as any generation preceding us.

In the last couple of years, countless think pieces and surveys have focused on millennials, as well as much hand-wringing writing and commentary levelled at the generational faults of the under-30 set.

What often irks me is that these studies approach millennials as a monolithic group, instead of a large and diverse collection of people with different upbringings, beliefs, cultural experiences and life goals.

Take me as an example – being born in the early 1980s put me on the older end of the millennial age spectrum, and being married and a new mother also led to my different attitudes towards career development, stability and money than younger members of the group.

I think it’s misleading to make sweeping generationalisations about a whole generation. Surely the common notions that millennials are lazy, entitled and narcisstic do not apply to all millennials or even the majority of them.

Even in the business travel world, millennials continue to be cast in a different light from their predecessors. Hyper connected, social media addicts, wanting to mix work and pleasure, and a desire to bypass traditional corporate travel policies seem to be the common stereotypes associated with the youngest members of the workforce.

Interestingly, a recent exhaustive study conducted by the INSEAD’s Emerging Markets Institute, Universum and the HEAD Foundation of more than 16,000 people between 18 and 30 years old across 43 countries revealed that almost all views of millennials – whether it’s their desire to become leaders, the importance of work-life balance, the kind of managers preferred or priorities in life – vary considerably by region and culture.

A lot of the hype surrounding millennials probably stem from nervousness at having to recruit and retain these young employees, who are projected to make up 50 per cent of the global workforce by 2020.

Millennials, just like the gen X and baby boomers before them, generally value learning opportunities, professional development and personal fulfilment as much as monetary gains in the workplace, therefore such initiatives like the Industry Mentorship Programme – in which a group of hospitality veterans in Singapore band together to mentor youngsters just starting out in the industry – will encourage the millennials to step out, rise up the career ladder and pay it forward when their turn comes to guide the generation that comes after them.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 13, 2015 issue, on page 2. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe

Someone to watch over me

By Raini Hamdi

November 11, 2015

Singapore’s industry leaders come forward to mentor young talent in a bid to retain them as staff shortage looms ahead. By Raini Hamdi

Saddled by the grave issue of attracting and retaining talent, Singapore hoteliers are taking the bull by the horn and going out in force to mentor students in a plan that is believed to be unprecedented in the global hotel industry.

The initiative sees the Singapore Hotel and Tourism & Education Centre (SHATEC) – which is owned by members of the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), comprising virtually most hotels in the city – launching an Industry Mentorship Programme that matches an industry leader to a SHATEC student who is keen to rise in any of the five key areas of hotel operations, tourism, F&B, pastry & culinary, and sales, distribution & marketing.

This early, no fewer than 41 industry members have signed up to be a mentor and fulfil the obligations outlined in the structured programme. Leading by example, most are right from the top – general managers, departmental vice presidents, executive chefs, celebrity chefs and business owners. While most are from hotels, the programme has also been able to reach an industry-wide audience, including such companies as Google Asia-Pacific, Trafalgar Asia, Silversea Cruises, Suntec Singapore and Lo & Behold Group, which owns and runs upmarket restaurants in the city.

The programme is championed by two prominent veterans, Tan-Wee Wei Ling, executive director-asset management, Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), and Diana Ee-Tan, director of Far East Orchard and chairman of Mt Faber Leisure Group. They chair and co-chair respectively an eight-member SHATEC Mentorship Advisory Council that includes representatives from the four large chains, Accor Hotels, Hilton International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

At the heart of the initiative is the industry’s anxiety to develop the next generation of leaders. Tourism workforce has grown 5.5 per cent year-on-year since 2001, ahead of Singapore’s workforce growth of 3.3 per cent per year in the past three decades, which is expected to slow to one to two per cent per year till 2020. Based on new rooms opening, a shortfall of 3,000 workers or 10 per cent of the sector’s current workforce is looming.

In the region, it has been well-documented that Singapore particularly has a chronic issue of attracting talent to hotels, a problem that evades countries such as the Philippines or Thailand. Perceptions linger of long hours, and even longer ones to advance in what has been an industry charted and led by Westerners.

But Asian owners are viewing local talent with fresh eyes, said Tan-Wee. “There has been a sea change of heart. Asia is booming. Before we served Western high tea, now we serve Chinese high tea. Owners also see that many Asians have been appointed to senior roles overseas, so why not appoint them here?” she said.

PPHG in February this year appointed two locals, Gino Tan and Tina Sim, to head its flagship Pan Pacific and Parkroyal hotels in Singapore respectively. Other homegrowns including the Park Hotel Group and Far East Orchard also have predominantly locals helming their hotels.

But what has mentorship to do with it? Both Tan-Wee and Ee-Tan said the value of guiding, coaching and inspiring a young person to achieve his/her true passion was key to retaining and developing local talent. Ee-Tan gave a recent example arising from the programme: a student has dreams to open a restaurant after graduating. Her mentor is a hotel F&B leader who gave her solid advice as what the financials could look like and coached her on the areas she needed to focus on in her studies at SHATEC.

Said Ee-Tan: “Besides giving technical knowledge guidance, support to mentees during their workplace internships, or when they begin their first jobs, mentors with their years of experience can provide priceless guidance to mentees on career planning and development and when the mentor-mentee relationship is well matched, it can extend beyond student days, as a mentee progresses along his or her career path.”

For the inaugural launch, 23 students were matched with a mentor for a duration of one year. “As this is the first time we are rolling out the programme, we have deliberately kept the number small,” said Margaret Heng, CEO of SHA and SHATEC.

The programme is open to all students who have completed at least one term of studies in their respective courses. To ensure commitment, students must apply and the application requires a recommendation from course tutors, who look at attitude, conduct and passion in developing a career in the industry.

Unsurprisingly though, those who applied in the first batch were students who had better grades. “We are encouraging the SHATEC management to reach out widely, with the message that all students regardless of their grades will be welcomed wholeheartedly into the programme and the ones with lesser grades should not exclude themselves,” said Ee-Tan.

Ideally, there should be a mentor for every student, but the champions of the programme would be just happy if, by the end of the first year, 25 per cent of a graduating cohort had a mentor.

That means developing a larger pool of mentors. Being the training arm of SHA, Heng is confident more will come forward. She said: “The mentors approached (thus far) were very gracious and accepted the invitation wholeheartedly. For example, upon attending the first Advisory Council meeting, of which she is a member, Tash Tobias (general manager of InterContinental Hotel Singapore), immediately recommended an additional five mentors from IHG, many of them at general manager and director level.

“As the programme matures and stabilises, we hope to broaden the network of mentors.”

Mentors like Michael Tan, director F&B-west zone hotels and MICE of Resorts World Sentosa, just “want to give back to the industry and help to provide more opportunities for people who are passionate and deserving”. Twenty-three years ago, he was given the opportunity to study at SHATEC by no other than PPHG’s Tan-Wee herself.

“I believe we all have a part to play in building the next generation. As the saying goes, ‘we rise by lifting others’; society as a whole will not progress unless we extend a helping hand.

“A structured mentorship programme is needed as it gives both the mentor and mentee a guideline to go by, and ensures that proper accordance and channels are in place to achieve the best outcome. This also helps to accredit the mentee, allowing him/her access to a wider range of platforms and programmes that they can pursue to further their career journey in their respective industries,” said Tan.

Asked how they would measure the success of the programme, Tan-Wee and Ee-Tan gave three yardsticks: has the student’s knowledge of their course and studies expanded with the coaching by their mentors?; has it helped de-mystify the hotel management hierarchies and create greater confidence in students to engage senior leaders?; and have opportunities to speak with and network with senior industry players and leaders helped them with internship at the workplace and with transition to the business or working environment?

This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 13, 2015 issue, on page 4. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Not a clash of titans

By Raini Hamdi

November 11, 2015

Why take brand Nobu from restaurants to hotels?
Nobu started over 20 years ago and we now have 35 restaurants in five continents. Nobu revolutionised Japanese cuisine and a lot of hoteliers were coming to us (to have the restaurant in their hotels) as a means to draw customers.

We could expand Nobu into secondary cities but we wanted to take the brand to a whole new level, so we decided to move from restaurants to hospitality, which is now the core business. We have a clientele base of three million around the world – (akin to) a clientele base of a hotel company with 25 hotels. We can now provide them with a 24/7 Nobu experience when they stay with us, rather than just a few hours when they dine with us. The 24/7 includes the restaurant experience, the Nobu room service and other aspects of what the shareholders felt represent a Nobu hotel.

Yes, but the cast of shareholders includes celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert de Niro and movie producer Meir Teper. No clash of egos?
If you break down a Nobu hotel, the creativity of the F&B is really Nobu, who is the founder of the concept. But, like a fashion house, say Christian Dior, there are creative directors who work under the founder. So Nobu too has creative chefs who work alongside him.

When it comes to the hotel, naturally Robert de Niro, who has done his own hotel (the Greenwich New York), brings his experiences to the table, while Meir Teper, who is very much into the art world, brings a lot of style.

Don’t forget they have been partners for 22 years (since Nobu Restaurants started in 1993) – you have to get along with each other if you’ve been together that long.

Why Nobu Hotels, not ‘de Niro Hotels’?
A Nobu hotel is largely a boutique luxury experience. At the same time, we wrap the F&B around the hotel. Other hotels, on the other hand, have a huge issue with F&B – they lose money on F&B, owners give them a hard time because the F&B is bland, etc. But with a Nobu restaurant, we have a high margin business. In some locations, we make as much money on a seat than on a room.

Consider too that a lot of hoteliers today are leasing their restaurants to a third party. The challenge with that is they can’t control the creativity of the F&B, or the service quality, whereas Nobu has proven itself a consistent global brand, operating restaurants in five continents for over 22 years and building a loyal base of three million clientele in the process.

With Nobu, we also attract the locals to come into the hotel. We bring in all age groups. And customers want to be in a hotel where the action is.

Are you still growing Nobu Restaurants then?
Selectively. We will go into markets where we can’t do a hotel potentially with a restaurant – if it makes sense (to open the restaurant). Why spend time and effort in a location doing a restaurant when we can do a hotel and a restaurant? We don’t want to commoditise the brand. A lot of hotel companies are stock market-driven; so many of them go to secondary locations to fulfil the numbers they promised shareholders.

But your first hotel in Asia in Manila (opened 3Q2014 in City of Dreams; see page 28) is not exactly an ‘it’ gateway.

When we started in Asia, we were opportunistic. We went into Manila because, one, it has a great service culture, two, because we knew the partners Lawrence Hill and James Packer (co-chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment, which runs the City of Dreams in Macau and is one of the companies behind the Manila offshoot). James is our partner in Australia with (two) Nobu restaurants in Crown Hotels and Casino. (Editor’s Note: As TTG Asia went to press, Packer had bought a 20 per cent stake in Nobu Hospitality – see TTG Asia e-Daily, October 30, 2015.)

Plus, we are going into what we believe is going to be the number one destination in Manila, the City of Dreams.

Our approach when we started was to establish a flagship in America, followed by Europe and the Middle East, which we have done. We now have 12 hotels opened or opening over the next two years. So now we are looking at Asia and we’ll be selective.

Where are you looking at and what are your thoughts on the market?
Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taipei, Bangkok, Jakarta, Macau, but the fundamentals have to be there in terms of both restaurant and hotel.

A lot of hotels in Asia are still traditional, but Asia is becoming niche-driven. In future, a lot more niche concepts like ours will be coming to Asia.

We’ve seen names like Missoni, Bvlgari, Armani, transposed to hospitality, but with varying degrees of success. Why?
They sell design and once that design is dated, what’s left? We are F&B-led, it’s not just about design.

Few celebrity chefs, if any, go from fork to pillow, on a global chain scale. Why?
Just ask: How many of our competitor brands in restaurants have been around for 20-years plus? Not one. How many of them have achieved consistent growth in 20 years? Not one. How many of our competitor chefs have had their restaurants opened for more than five years? Although they are still celebrity chefs, some of their restaurants have closed.

Nobu, on the other hand, has delivered consistently, whether the restaurant is in New York, London, Dubai or Manila. And this is our approach in growing Nobu Hospitality. It is not just about consistency in operation but consistency in growing the hotels side.

If there is a Nobu restaurant in a city – as at the InterContinental Hong Kong (in Kowloon) – won’t you be competing with it if you open a Nobu Hotel in Hong Kong?
We would do a hotel on the Hong Kong side, not Kowloon. It is important that we are loyal to our partners. And they (InterContinental) have been great partners.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 13, 2015 issue, on page 8. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Sekercioglu trades Kuok for Kwek

By TTG Asia

November 11, 2015

AFTER 21 years with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, during which he rose from F&B director to executive vice president, Cetin Sekercioglu has moved on to join Millennium & Copthorne International Ltd (MCIL) as president-Asia, a position which MCIL has been trying to fill since last year.

Headquartered in Singapore, MCIL is the Asian arm of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C).

Reporting to Aloysius Lee, M&C’s CEO based in London, Sekercioglu will provide leadership and strategic direction for the entire Asia team, with the objective of delivering maximum business growth and profitability for the group.

The role was previously filled by Franz Zeller, but in the capacity of senior vice president and was short-lived. Sekercioglu’s president-Asia position “reflects his wider experience and the expertise he brings to the group”, a spokesman said.

With more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Sekercioglu has lived and worked in many parts of the world including Singapore, Turkey, America, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand. His last position at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts was as executive vice president South-east Asia and Oceania.

New prices for Hong Kong Disneyland admission tickets

By TTG Asia

November 11, 2015

Hong Kong street 2014 — DISNEYLAND , HONG KONG - JULY 8 : Tourists unite the family a walking tour and the playing fun park. Some popular souvenirs to take home. at Disneyland on July 8,2014 in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG Disneyland Resort has adjusted its general admission ticket prices and will dish out special trade offers until January 10, 2016.

A one-day ticket for general admission and child admission now costs HK$539 (US$69) and HK$385 respectively, while a two-day option is priced at HK$739 and HK$525 respectively.

However, the resort is offering a two-month grace period to the travel trade to enjoy the former ticket prices, valid until January 10, 2016.

“The resort evaluates and adjusts pricing based on a variety of factors including the value of the resort’s attractions and entertainment offerings as well as future development needs,” said a Hong Kong Disneyland spokesperson.

“Hong Kong Disneyland has been delivering countless magical and memorable experiences to our guests in the past decade with the strong support from travel trade industry. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with our travel trade partners to explore business opportunities together and sustain our win-win partnership for more years to come.”

Queenie Borromeo passes away from heart attack

By Rosa Ocampo

November 11, 2015

THE travel trade is mourning the passing of Grand Holidays Travel and Tours’ general manager, Adrienne Macrina “Queenie” Borromeo. She succumbed to heart attack yesterday morning. She was 63.

Well-loved for her “super bubbly” personality and “the way she treated her people well”, Borromeo has been in the industry for four decades, starting first as a sales representative for Northwest Airlines around the same time that Maucie Cuna, one of her closest friends, was also the sales rep for Japan Airlines.

“She’s a good manager, a good friend for 40 years,” said Cuna, who is currently Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) secretary general and Pan Malayan Express’ general manager.

“Queenie never missed a PTAA meeting regardless of wherever she was. She’s a very strong supporter, she’s always active although she was never an officer,” added Cuna.

Bookings for Marriott International hotel rooms made easy for Alitrip users

By TTG Asia

November 11, 2015

iPad activation_JPG — Landmark Agreement Between Alitrip and Marriott International Brings New Travel Options to Chinese Consumers (PRNewsFoto/Marriott International, Inc.)

MARRIOTT Hotel International has become the first major global hotel chain to sign an agreement with Alitrip, an independent online travel booking platform previously known as Taobao Travel, to allow users to book rooms through a directly operated online flagship store.

“With 19 Marriott International brands, including JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Hotels, and over 4,000 hotels available through Alitrip, Chinese travellers will see a major increase in the number of rooms they can book through Alitrip,” said Craig S Smith, president and managing director of Marriott International, Asia Pacific.

Both parties are also looking to enhance user experience with the “Post Post Pay” service by Alitrip, which allows qualified customers to reserve rooms without paying a deposit and enjoy express checkout service.

This partnership was announced just two months following an agreement between Marriott International and Ant Financial Services Group to roll out Alipay to Marriott International’s hotels and resorts.

Best Western charts steady growth for two new brands

By Raini Hamdi

November 11, 2015

SINCE launching its two new brands Vib and Glo in Asia recently, Best Western Hotels & Resorts has signed up three Vib hotels in urban locations in Yangon, Vientiane and Seoul, and is confident of prospects for Glo in many suburban spots throughout the region.

Both managing director, international operations-Asia, Olivier Berrivin, and regional director, revenue & marketing Paul Suvodip, said while growth was important, it was critical at this stage to ensure that properties signed up would accurately reflect the values of the new brands.

“For instance, we’re looking only at new-builds for Vib. The specs for Vib strongly focus on (enabling guest) networking in public areas, for one, and it is a challenge in Asia to find old properties that suit the specs. Their rooms are either too small or too big, whereas Vib’s room size ideally is 20-22m2,” said Berrivin.

The first Vib to operate in Asia will be in Gangnam, Seoul, which is expected to open in 2017, followed by the Yangon and Vientiane properties. Other locations which are being explored in South-east Asia are Bangkok and Singapore. “We’re confident there will be at least one Vib in most of the major cities in Asia,” said Berrivin.

Suvodip added there was no confusion among owners over the two brands since their launch. While Vib (“for vibrance”) is the chain’s answer to the so-called ‘lifestyle’ brand of global hotel chains targeting millennials with chic design, social lobby area, grab-and-go snack station, a zen zone for relaxation, technology and location in downtown, Glo is “the new-generation Best Western hotel ”, offering its original tenet of great value and comfort but in a reinvented hip, boutique environment. Unlike Vib, its path to growth mirrors that of a Best Western hotel, i.e., in secondary locations, suburban areas and near highways.

“This is why it is called Glo. LED lighting (on the side of the building) symbolises a beacon for travellers,” said Suvodip.

Unlike Vib, Glo has additional facilities like a hot kitchen. It also has a cost-effective innovation: the floor plan is designed such that the adjacent guest room baths are centre-loaded, saving about 3.7-4.6m2 in construction costs. “In the US, the cost of construction is only US$65,000 per room,” said Berrivin. “North America has showna lot of interest; it has had a long history with us with roadside motels and takes to the Glo concept easily.”

Asked if Glo would then cannibalise Best Western itself, Suvodip said there was room to grow both, particularly as Glo tends to be smaller. “Accor has 20 brands, Wyndham 18, we only have seven. There’s a huge space for development,” said Suvodip.

Melbourne wins 2018 stem cell meeting bid

By TTG Asia

November 11, 2015

COME June 2018, Melbourne will be the place to be for the world’s leading stem cell researchers, physicians and government and health officials.

“Securing this meeting is a major coup for Melbourne and for Victoria and recognition of our expert community of stem cell researchers,” said Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), CEO, Karen Bolinger.

The 16th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) will be held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Victoria. It will last four days in June, contribute about A$13 million (US$9.2 million) to the state’s economy and attract some 3,000 delegates.

According to associate professor Caroline Gargett, immediate past president for the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research, the annual meeting is the “largest forum for stem cell and regenerative medicine professionals from around the world” and is a place where delegates can “discuss innovations, trends and new perspectives and benefit from collaboration across disciplines”.

The CEO of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Nancy Witty, said that both she and her colleagues were looking forward to meeting in Melbourne.

Melbourne’s winning bid was a testament to the successful collaboration between MCB, the government and industry partners.

Bolinger said: “We take a ‘Team Melbourne’ approach to both bids and the business events themselves, with such success that Melbourne is renowned globally as a destination that goes above and beyond to deliver.”

Hyatt crosses 10th hotel mark in Japan with Park Hyatt Niseko

By Raini Hamdi

November 11, 2015

AS speculated in our Overheard dispatch on Hyatt Hotels Corporation adding two hotels in Japan (TTG Asia eDaily, November 1, 2015), the chain has officially confirmed one of them – a management contract with Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) for a Park Hyatt in the ski resort destination of Niseko.

This brings the number of hotels Hyatt operates in Japan to 11, and the second Park Hyatt after the one in Tokyo.

Expected to open in 2019, the 100-room Park Hyatt Niseko, Hanazono will also offer 100 branded residences, the first Park Hyatt residences in Japan, which participating owners can rent out as guest accommodation.

Robert Lee, PCPD’s deputy chairman and CEO, alludes to developing the area “into a world-class resort destination”, saying there is strong interest among tourists and investors in Japan.

PCPD is majority-owned by PCCW Hong Kong.

Park Hyatt Niseko, Hanazono and its residences will be a pivotal part of PCPD’s resort and residential development in Niseko, added David Udell, group president, Asia-Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The entire development, which will be undertaken in phases, has a site area of area 789,000m2 and a developable gross floor area of approximately 620,000m2.

Situated in Hanazono, one of the four ski areas of Niseko, guests will be within walking distance to ski trails in nearby Mount Annupuri with convenient ski-in and ski-out access.