TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Friday, 16th January 2026
Page 2356

Suntec Singapore reels in back-to-back bookings

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SUNTEC Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre has turned in impressive results since reopening in June following yearlong major renovations.

In the space of merely three months, the convention centre has hosted a total of 96 events and welcomed 650,000 visitors through its new doors. It also boasts a back-to-back calendar lined up for the rest of 2013 and beyond, with returning customers like Spikes Asia and new customers like IFLA.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the soft opening of Suntec City Phase 1 yesterday, Suntec Singapore CEO, Arun Madhok, revealed that about 60 to 70 per cent of the bookings in the last three months were made by returning customers, and that occupancy for October has reached about 80 per cent.

He added that while the convention centre is seeking a healthy mix of local and international events across different industries, it is targeting to attract more medical and IT events.

“Medical events are a growing market, and they typically comprise the hybrid of a conference and an exhibition, which Suntec Singapore can cater to very well with its new offering of space convertibility.”

Since June, the convention centre has hosted five to six medical events, apart from a number of consumer fairs and other trade events. In November, it will host the major IT trade event, CloudAsia, among others.

Last week, the convention centre invited a team from Marina Bay Sands to visit its new premises. Madhok believes in contributing to the high standards of the meetings business in Singapore and is unafraid to share on Suntec Singapore’s new product offerings with its competitors.

“The key in this business is to be the leader of change, rather than its follower. Competitors may wish to emulate us but it would take them a number of years to do what we have done. By then, we would have moved on to something new,” he explained.

When asked how long Suntec Singapore expects to take to recover the huge investment sum that went into its “modernisation” programme, Madhok declined to provide the specifics, but revealed instead that the convention centre is “way ahead of its business plan for 2014 and beyond”.

Marco Polo to open third property in the Philippines

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THE Philippines will welcome a third Marco Polo property, the 316-room Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, in the first quarter of 2014.

The property located at the city’s eponymous commercial business hub, minutes away from Makati, will be positioned as a five-star business hotel catering to discerning business and leisure guests, according to Juanita Lo, spokesperson of Marco Polo Hotels’ head office in Hong Kong.

Apart from the flagship Hong Kong hotel, Marco Polo Hotels also operates several hotels in China and a hotel each in Cebu and Davao in the Philippines.

When asked about the group’s expansion plans in the Philippines, Lo said it is employing “a broad strategy comprising of developing new properties, acquisition through management contracts, joint ventures with local partners”.

She added that as the Philippines’ hospitality industry grows, the key challenge is the high turnover in human resources. Marco Polo addresses this by offering training and certificate programmes for the growth and development of its employees.

“Proper training and growth opportunities must be implemented to retain experienced and skilled employees,” she said.

Marco Polo Ortigas Manila will have Continental Club floors, extensive meeting facilities, all-day restaurants, lobby lounge Sky Bar, indoor swimming pool, health club and spa facilities.

Lanson Place Bukit Ceylon Serviced Residences now open

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LANSON Place Hospitality Management, a Hong Kong-based hospitality investment and management brand in Asia, launched its flagship Lanson Place Bukit Ceylon Serviced Residences in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The property is the first Small Luxury Hotels of the World member located in the Kuala Lumpur central business district.

Offering 150 units in one- to three-bedroom configurations, apartments range from 85m2 to 191m2 in size. Units feature work areas with wireless Internet, an iPod docking station, 30 TV channels, and a fully equipped kitchen.

Other facilities include a gym, a library, an outdoor barbecue area, an Internet centre, a billiard area, a sky lounge called 163 Lounge with views of the KL Tower and Petronas Twin Towers, and the 163 Garden on the 50th floor.

The group intends to continue growing Lanson Place as a pan-Asian brand by exploring opportunities in main gateway cities throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It will open Lu Xiang Yuan Serviced Suites in Shanghai in July 2014.

Oriental Residence Bangkok rolls out meeting offers

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DAY meeting packages are now on offer at the Oriental Residence Bangkok, a 145-key luxurious property with four function rooms.

Priced from 1,300 baht (US$41), excluding surcharge and taxes, the meeting package includes breakfast for one, two coffee breaks, lunch, use of an LCD projector, Wi-Fi Internet access and shuttle service to BTS Chidlom station.

Event planners who confirm their events can also enjoy one of the following perks: a complimentary one-bedroom suite for two nights during the meeting, two complimentary upgrades to a one-bedroom suite, a one-way airport transfer in a Jaguar, free flow of soft drinks during lunch and welcome morning reception with assorted Danish pastries.

Special accommodation rates are available too. A Grand Deluxe Room goes for 4,100 baht per room per day, excluding surcharge and taxes.

The promotion is valid from now until March 31 next year.

Contact Nannaphat Jiemrugeekul, associate director of sales, at (66-0) 2125-9012 or Nannaphat.j@oriental-residence.com.

Meetings offer at Manhattan Studio

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JW MARRIOTT Hotel Bangkok is offering a stay-and-meet package that features its Manhattan Studio meeting room and suites.

Priced from 7,500 baht (US$235), the package includes single occupancy in a suite, meeting package for Manhattan Studio, international breakfast and happy hours at the Executive Lounge, and Internet connectivity.

Events must be booked and held by January 31, 2014 to qualify for this offer.

Conditions apply.

Contact on-anong.k@marriott.com for more details.

Singapore’s Ritz-Carlton kicks guest engagement up a notch at new club lounge

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CLUB floor guests can now look forward to a different experiential activity daily at the newly renovated The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

A new introduction to the Club Lounge, which is accessible only to club floor guests, the experiential activities include wine tastings with a sommelier, bespoke cocktail mixing, chocolate afternoon tea, live music, caricature paintings by a resident caricaturist, handcrafted a la minute authentic Singaporean cuisine presentations and Sunday champagne brunches.

Furthermore, guests who want to bring home a physical reminder of the splendid view of the Marina Bay and Kallang River offered at the Club Lounge, may retreat to The Drawing Room and sketch away using complimentary easel stands, paper and pencils provided.

These unique experiences are complemented by the refreshed interior of The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge. Designed by Burega Farnell, the venue features luxurious details including custom-tailored furniture, wood feature panels, hand-woven carpets and a floor of Indonesian teak wood and Italian marble.

Peter Mainguy, general manager of the hotel, described the new Club Lounge as a “quintessentially luxurious vantage point for travellers” and explained that it was “tailored to be inspirational and experiential”.

The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge is open from 07.00 to 23.00 daily and seats up to 75 guests. It is also equipped with a boardroom that can seat up to 10 guests.

Yates Fei rises through the ranks at HRG

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HRG has promoted Yates Fei to the position of general manager of HRG China, effective October 1.

Fei, currently director of sales and account management, will succeed Harald Weber-Liel who will return to HRG Germany to take up a key position within the senior management team.

He will report to Greg Treasure, managing director of HRG Asia-Pacific and president of HRG North America.

Fei has been with HRG for the past eight years.

Commenting on Fei’s new appointment, Treasure said: “Yates has demonstrated a solid track record of significant achievements including playing a key role in winning a number of lucrative accounts for HRG China. He has also successfully migrated over 60 per cent of HRG China’s clients onto a card platform as well as implementing our online strategy for a number of large accounts.”

SES reaches into Myanmar with two new trade shows

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SINGAPORE Exhibition Services will debut two trade exhibitions in Yangon, Myanmar next year.

To be held at the Myanmar Convention Centre from October 15 to 17, the biennial Oil & Gas Myanmar 2014 (OGM 2014) will be a comprehensive showcase for petroleum geosciences, exploration and production and refining products and services. The event will bring together industry professionals and experts from independent, international and national oil and gas companies to share with visitors the issues and challenges facing the industry, the latest technologies and solutions available, as well as present opportunities to enhance business networks and collaboration.

Singapore Exhibition Services will also launch the first Manufacturing Myanmar 2014 next year, a trade event dedicated to manufacturing machinery, equipment, materials and services. It will run from October 2 to 4 at the same venue.

UBM Sinoexpo, Guzhen Town to co-manage leading lighting show

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SHANGHAI UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co (UBM Sinoexpo) has entered into an agreement yesterday with the Guzhen Town Government of Zhongshan City, Guangdong to establish a joint venture company that will manage the operations of the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair.

Launched in 1999 and organised by the Government of Zhongshan City, China Association of Lighting Industry and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the exhibition is regarded as one of the driving forces behind the rapid development of the lighting industry in Guzhen, which has come to be known as China’s lighting capital.

To be held from October 18 to 21 at the new Lighting Capital (Guzhen) Conference & Exhibition Center, the event this year is expected to see 1,000 exhibitors.

Last year’s show featured more than 600 exhibiting companies and drew 64,000 professional visitors from 103 countries.

Wei Hongrui, the town’s mayor, said the joint venture would see the creation of “a professional management committee to coordinate the functions of the various government departments, lighting markets and representatives of mainstream companies…to build the fair into a one-million square metre event”.

“Guzhen is the world’s largest lighting market and we hope that by working with UBM Sinoexpo, the fair will become the world’s largest and most influential trade exhibition and Guzhen will become a global lighting industry hub,” added Wei.

Wang Mingliang, founder and director of UBM Sinoexpo, said: “We have successful experience in working with industry associations to take their events to the next level. Take Furniture China as an example. We have been working closely with the China National Furniture Association for over 20 years on Furniture China, and it has grown from a 3,000m² show into a mega exhibition of 350,000m². This model will also work successfully for Guzhen’s lighting fair.”

Closure of 175 Globalia agencies to dent Spanish outbound

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OUTBOUND travel to Asia from Spain is likely to take a beating after the European nation’s largest vertically integrated travel group, Globalia, revealed plans to axe up to 175 of its travel agencies.

Globalia’s travel agencies have been a major source of clients for its longhaul tour operator, Latitudes.

Group president Juan José Hidalgo’s announcement came after reports of a further 10 per cent drop in overall turnover for the crucial summer holiday period.

The cutbacks announced at the group’s agencies, Halcon Viajes and Ecuador Viajes, represent around 13 per cent of its total network in Spain, although they fall below original estimates of up to 400 closures.

Spain’s Unión General de Trabajadores, or General Union of Workers (UGT), said it expects the first round of shutter-downs to begin by late October.

A UGT tourism sector official said that so far Globalia has only talked of cutting back on travel agencies, but added: “They have told us they are in a process of analysing after the summer campaign and have yet to totally define their restructuring.”

Much of Globalia’s packages to Asia were initially built on the back of flights operated by its carrier Air Europa, Spain’s third-biggest airline and now a member of Star Alliance.

But pre-crisis services to Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai have since been dropped, leaving the group’s longhaul tour operations – rebranded under Latitudes – to rely on other carriers to serve its Asia holiday destinations.

Spain’s economic woes had already vanquished another leading travel group, Orizonia, early this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 5, 2013).