New hotels: Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery Ambassador, Novotel Devonport and more

October 27, 2022

Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery Ambassador, South Korea
South Korea’s first hotel in the MGallery Hotel Collection, Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery Ambassador, is in close proximity to Incheon International Airport and the central business district.

Named after the original name of the area, Maponaru, the 196-key hotel is also a Green Building-certified hotel engineered to leave a minimal carbon footprint. It offer a variety of F&B options, infinity pool, indoor pool, fitness centre, sauna, and flexible event spaces.

Nearby, guests can walk to the Mapo Food Culture Streets and Subway Station, or even go for a run or cycle along the Han river on the Mapo Hangang-Gil trail road.

Novotel Devonport, Australia
Just a stone’s throw from the Spirit of Tasmania terminal is Novotel Devonport boasting a waterfront location overlooking the Mersey River.

With 187 guestrooms and a selection of executive suites, the hotel offers 24-hour room service, fitness centre, meeting room, and direct access to the paranaple convention centre.

Guests can indulge in South-east Asian street-food with a twist at Mr. Good Guy restaurant and bar, which is set to become Devonport’s newest gourmet destination.

Dusit Thani Tianmu Mountain, Hangzhou, China
Dusit Thani Tianmu Mountain, Hangzhou is surrounded by natural beauty in Hangzhou city’s Lin’an District, just 60 minutes by car from the city centre of Hangzhou and a 90-minute drive from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport.

The resort comprises 160 villas and guestrooms on the outskirts of the Tianmu Mountain National Nature Reserve – a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Featuring a Chinese restaurant and an all-day dining restaurant, hotel facilities include a wellness centre, pool, gym, spa and event venues.

Mercure Sydney Martin Place, Australia
Mercure Sydney Martin Place is ideally located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD and offers comfort and convenience close to all that the city has to offer.

The 86-room hotel features rooms with kitchenettes, unlimited Wi-Fi, parking and laundry facilities, as well as a 24-hour reception.

Nearby the property are some of Sydney’s major attractions like Martin Place, Pitt Street Mall, Hyde Park and Circular Quay.

Amari’s latest opening in Malaysia showcases Vivarium of the East

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2022

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Pool 03 v2_640 — Guests get to take in the revitalising lush greenery, right in the centre of the concrete jungle, at Amari Kuala Lumpur

Guests get to take in the revitalising lush greenery, right in the centre of the concrete jungle, at Amari Kuala Lumpur

Brought to you by Amari Kuala Lumpur

Welcome to the Vivarium of the East at the brand-new Amari Kuala Lumpur.

Opened in September 2022, the hotel presents a revitalising atmosphere of vivid greenery, right in the centre of the concrete jungle that is the Malaysian capital.

Designed by the award-winning Blu Water Studio, the interiors of the city-centre hotel drew inspiration from ecology and evolution, or “Ecolution” – to provide visitors a sanctuary to rejuvenate and reawaken their senses.

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur central business district on Jalan Bangsar, the hotel offers unparalleled city experiences and conveniences for today’s pragmatic travellers.

It is directly connected to Abdullah Hukum LRT/KTM Station, with easy access to Kuala Lumpur City Centre as well as the many shopping and entertainment hubs within the city. Setia KL Eco City Mall is a five-minute walk away, as are The Gardens Mall and Mid Valley Megamall via a connected bridge walkway.

A partnership between ONYX Hospitality Group, one of the region’s leading hotel management companies and the award-winning property developer S P Setia, the new Amari Kuala Lumpur will also be linked to the soon-to-open Aspire Tower.

Hotel highlights

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The 252-key hotel houses four splendid dining experiences and impressive facilities, such as an infinity pool overlooking the city skyline and a 24-hour FIT centre featuring state-of-the-art equipment for the ideal workout session.

While chilling at the 20m saltwater pool, guests can also order drinks and the best local and international favourites delivered hot and delicious from the hotel’s Amaya Food Gallery.

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Accommodation ranges from superior room, deluxe room, Club deluxe to Club one-bedroom suite.

The Club deluxe rooms (which are on higher floors) and Club one-bedroom suites both come with exclusive privileges such as complimentary breakfast, laundry and use of meeting rooms, as well as all-day tea and coffee and evening cocktails at Cascade.

All the one-bedroom suites are equipped with a coffee maker machine, separate living and bedroom area and a generously spacious bathroom with a walk-in closet and bathtub.

The hotel’s restaurant and bar concepts include the signature all-day dining Amaya Food Gallery, which is inspired by Asia’s hawker stalls and interactive street foods. It features live cooking stations that serve a variety of cuisines infused with local and Thai flavours.

Refreshing cocktails and drinks can be savoured at Amaya Bar, where al fresco seating is available.

Boasting elegant yet whimsical interiors, Cascade offers a curated range of selected teas and barista coffee, as well as fine pastries to satisfy any hunger pangs.

The Cellar is an exclusive private space for wine lovers, where shelves brim with a wide offering of wines, whisky, brandy, spirits and more.

Amari Kuala Lumpur also provides seven meeting and event spaces on the second floor.

Event organisers can bring light to a corporate event at one of the meeting rooms or keep it personal at the Hoya Business Lounge. Each meeting room is modern and functional in design and stocked with the best multimedia apparatus. Along with the hotel’s copious parking spaces available for guests, organisers will find planning a breeze.

The 220m² ballroom can accommodate up to 200 people and can be adapted to suit any occasion.

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows, Amari Kuala Lumpur presents the ideal venue with flexible spaces and seating arrangements, as well as a stage tailored for personalised events.

Ready to experience the Amari culture which is a celebration of contemporary Thai and local cuisine, arts, design, architecture, festivities and fun?

Take advantage of the attractive special hotel opening offer here.

To learn more about Amari Kuala Lumpur, visit here.

Singapore unveils roadmap to transform hotel industry by 2025

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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The Hotel Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 was launched by minister of state for trade and industry and culture, community and youth, Alvin Tan, on October 25 with the aim to create a compelling, innovative, and sustainable hotel industry, supported by a strong local workforce in Singapore.

The roadmap lays out strategies to achieve real value-added growth of 5.9 per cent from 2020 to 2025, and will help future-proof the industry by creating good jobs in emerging areas such as wellness, sustainability, and technology.

The Hotel Industry Transformation Map 2025 lays out strategies to achieve real value-added growth by 2025

Developed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in partnership with the Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union, Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), industry players and other government agencies, the Hotel ITM 2025 was endorsed by the Future Economy Council (FEC) earlier this year.

Since the launch of the first Hotel ITM in 2016, the hotel industry has posted strong growth with average occupancy of 87 per cent and a total workforce of close to 35,000 in 2019. Over 1,400 workers across about 60 hotels benefited from Workforce Singapore (WSG)’s Career Conversion Programme for Hotel Professionals from March 2020 to August 2022.

Tapping on new consumer preferences for sustainable hospitality, digital-enabled experiences, and wellness travel, the hotel industry is well positioned to recover strongly.

Building on the success of the first ITM, strategies to support the next phase of growth and transformation include capturing demand with fresh hotel concepts, driving sustainability as a core strategy, gearing up for the next phase of innovation, and future-proofing the workforce.

“A strong and growing tourism sector needs a vibrant hotel industry. Singapore’s hotels are among the best in the world but they can continue to transform and grow so that Singapore’s tourism sector can capture the next phase of growth. The Hotel ITM 2025 charts a clear vision, and we look forward to working closely with our industry partners on this journey,” said Keith Tan, chief executive, STB.

Kwee Wei-Lin, president, SHA, shared: “Despite the pandemic’s impact on the tourism sector, our hotels have demonstrated remarkable resilience and creativity. Taking full advantage of the downtime, they have successfully piloted innovative experiences, pivoted to new business models, enhanced capabilities, and refurbished their infrastructure. We will continue to work with the government to catalyse new ideas and solutions to achieve the goals of the refreshed ITM.”

Commenting that the Hotel ITM 2025 will better position businesses to seize the emerging opportunities from global tourism trends and sustainability, Low Yen Ling, minister of state for trade and industry and culture, community and youth and FEC lifestyle cluster co-chair added: “This holistic approach will help enhance Singapore’s attraction as a compelling destination for travel, business and leisure.”

Government cuts funding for Tourism Australia

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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Tourism Australia’s funding has been slashed by A$36 million (US$23.3 million) in the Albanese Budget.

The reason for the cut was “due to the temporary nature of the government’s additional tourism marketing campaigns as international travel resumes”, the Treasury stated.

Australia needs to fill the skills shortfall and workforce gap created during Covid in order for the travel and tourism sector to return to normal; Perth pictured

Tourism Australia’s funding has been cut from A$214 million to A$178 million in 2023, with a further A$2 million cut to A$176 million by 2025 – its budget was increased in 2021 to help it mount a comeback with new campaign Ruby the Roo.

Tourism minister Don Farrell focused instead on the A$48 million commitment from the government to upgrade caravan parks and alleviate the staffing shortage to grow and rebuild the sector to “return to the economic powerhouse we know it to be”.

Australian Chamber’s tourism executive chair John Hart offered tentative support for the budget but called for “more to be done to assist with post-pandemic recovery”.

Hart said: “A greater investment in targeting marketing initiatives to accelerate international tourist and backpacker arrivals will increase Australia’s capacity to attract visitors in a highly competitive international market.”

Accommodation Association president Leanne Harwood welcomed the extra funding for the Hub platform to help with the skills gap and staffing shortages in the sector.

“No matter where you go across Australia, the biggest challenge we are all facing as Australia’s travel and tourism sector gets back to normal, is filling the skills shortfall and workforce gap created during Covid.”

She added that the A$10 million in training and skills development will help attract, educate and re-train the 100,000 staff needed, and support First Nations Australians, people living with a disability, and older Australians.

The Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) said the budget’s further investment in the Quality Tourism Framework will help small businesses, as well as the visitor economy to remain competitive and support a sustainable tourism sector.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) said the industry faces a tough restart with inbound visitation still lagging well behind numbers seen leading up to the 2020 border closures.

“A commitment from governments, both state and federal, to support the rebuild of our industry will be a crucial factor in helping to recover our $45 billion export tourism industry and get visitors back to our destination,” said ATEC’s managing director Peter Shelley.

Creating a mark in the travel domain

By Rohit Kaul

October 26, 2022

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EbixCash entered the tourism space in 2017 and acquired a number of Indian travel companies like via.com and Mercury Travels to expand its presence in the travel domain. How has the company grown since then?
Like you mentioned, 2017 was an acquisition period for us. We have since then created a spectrum of travel brands for us and strengthened our position in various markets where we operate, be it India, the Middle East, or the South-east Asia region.

If you consider countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, we are one of the leading players in the market in every segment of business be it online or offline, corporate or luxury, inbound or outbound. We are probably the only company in the South-east Asia region to be present in every spectrum of travel vertical. There is nothing that we don’t do in the travel domain, except run a visa facilitation centre.

The emergence of the pandemic was a major blow to the growth of the tourism sector. How did the pandemic impact your plans as a relatively new entrant in the travel sector during that time?
The pandemic was harsh on the tourism business. It did impact our growth plans as well, but I think things are now back on track. What we did during the pandemic was to grow organically. We focused on our technology offerings as many micro, small and medium enterprises used the period to have an online presence. Now we are growing in every vertical where we operate as we were in the pre-pandemic period.

In the past, you have signed strategic sales agreements with wholesalers in markets like Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to distribute via.com’s travel products. Which other markets are you looking at for similar partnerships for expanding your B2B presence?
We have plans to further expand rapidly now in the B2B space. Following strategic sales agreements with wholesalers in markets including Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, we are now considering similar arrangements in markets including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Corporate travel was one of your focus verticals when you signed an agreement with Cox & Kings in 2019 to take over its business travel clients, with expectations to double your corporate travel revenue. Going forward, considering scenarios like global economic challenges and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, how do you see the demand for corporate travel shaping up?
Our corporate travel vertical has grown 45 per cent over pre-Covid levels. We are highly focused on corporate conversions within the Ebix group. We offer a wide range of solutions to corporate clients be it foreign exchange, expense management tools, inward remittance, or travel technology products.

When we reach a corporate, we offer a 360-degree travel solution to the entity. For us, corporate business is very large and we want to further grow this vertical. Right now, we have seen no deterrent in the growth of corporate business be it due to economic scenarios or other global developments like the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Ebix Cash has created a mark in the B2B travel domain through acquisitions and partnerships, do you also plan to replicate the same success in the B2C space?
We are present in the B2C space with via.com. Already we are witnessing 30,000-40,000 per day visitors organically on the portal. However, we don’t go berserk in marketing or offering discounts. If we consider the B2C market in India, our competitors want to capture the market by offering ‘cheap’ deals. However, we have no intention to dilute our profitability or go for a price war.

We will definitely make a stronger presence in the B2C space but it is going to be sustainable and organic growth where we will choose customers who are willing to travel with us because of the high service standards we offer. If you see other B2C portals, there is barely any service available to the client.

Going forward, are you looking at more acquisitions to further consolidate your position in the market?
We are always open to any acquisitions as long as it offers an edge to our business or an edge to our customer offerings.

In the various travel segments that you operate like luxury, MICE, corporate, outbound etc, which vertical do you think will drive the growth for you in India in 2023?
India is a volume market so there will be enough demand from every segment. I think the growth for travel in 2023 is going to be phenomenal. This year, we have just touched the tip of the iceberg.

The demand is unbelievably high for outbound tourism and in fact, we are finding it difficult to meet the demand. The demand is for both short-haul and longhaul markets and every type of holiday. The question is how well the international markets are geared to handle the outbound demand from India. This is something we all have to wait and see.

A lot of small and mid-size travel agents in India have been finding it difficult to adapt to technology. Do you see potential in offering technology solutions to such players?
We have tools in via.com that helps micro, small and medium-sized companies to sell a wide range of travel products online. For travel management companies (TMC), we offer travel technology under Zillius brand.

Zillius’s product range offers a complete end-to-end technology suite encompassing an advanced internet booking engine designed to address the travel booking needs of all TMCs. We have been conducting roadshows across the country including smaller Indian cities to educate travel agents about our various technology products and the response has been phenomenal. Our focus is to reach every nook and corner of India.

Worldwide Hotels taps industry veterans to build up its brand

By Rachel AJ Lee

October 26, 2022

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Worldwide Hotels, a hospitality company headquartered in Singapore, is ramping up its expansion plans both in Singapore and overseas by tapping on the expertise of several local industry veterans.

Chu Poh Yong, COO, Worldwide Hotels, told TTG Asia: “These industry veterans have come onboard (to show us) how to manage our brand better, establish a better brand and build on it, and have brought along their relevant experience, skills and knowledge. This will help us grow the business. We are also looking for more veterans to join us, anyone who can contribute to the group.”

From left: Worldwide Hotels’ Gabriel Ng, Chu Poh Yong, and Sunshine Wong

In Singapore, Worldwide Hotels currently owns and manages 38 hotels and over 6,500 rooms. Two more properties amounting to 1,500 keys will come online next year. Although the company has a history of over 20 years, the Worldwide Hotels branding – a consolidation of two hotel management companies – has only been around for three.

Currently, the group also owns eight properties – managed by a range of brands from Travelodge to Holiday Inn – in five countries: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. These overseas properties are fully owned by Worldwide Hotels and are freehold, with the latest buy being in Thailand.

When asked why these are not managed by Worldwide, Chu shared: “When expanding overseas, you must have economies of scale. In these cities, we only have one hotel. But in the mid- to long-term, we may manage it ourselves. We need to build a base, a certain number (of hotels) first.”

When asked what the magic number was, Chu declined to give a figure.

That aside, Chu’s immediate focus is to establish the brand, as he feels it is “not sufficiently” known in the market yet. To do so, it is “necessary” to participate in more tradeshows to gain more exposure and meet with potential partners.

“This is the challenge when developing your own brand, as opposed to letting your properties be managed by others.”

Dusit first to offer organic rice at its Thailand properties

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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Dusit Hotels and Resorts is the first hotel chain in Thailand to offer 100 per cent organic rice across its entire portfolio of properties nationwide, aligning with the company’s ‘Farm-to-Table’ concept.

While benefiting guests, customers, and employees, this also provides sustainable income gains and life-changing developments to agricultural communities in the kingdom’s Thung Kula Rong Hai area, specifically Surin and Sisaket provinces.

Dusit works closely with the farms to help enhance their output and drive sustainable development long-term

The initiative sees Dusit work directly with farm collectives and provide all the support they need – from quality control, training, packaging to distribution – to deliver well-packaged, high-quality organic Jasmine rice to its hotel, restaurant, and catering businesses.

Four farming communities were carefully selected to work with Dusit based on their passion for high-quality produce and eagerness to co-develop and enhance their agricultural offerings – these include farming collectives in Surin Province’s Cor Ko and Nhong Pai subdistricts, and Sisaket Province’s Huai Thap Than and Nong Khae subdistricts.

Siradej Donavanik, vice president – hotel business development, Dusit International, and chairman of Dusit’s sustainability committee, said that the organic rice initiative is part of the company’s strategy to optimise its culinary offerings: “Jasmine rice from Thung Kula Rong Hai is known around the world for its strong aroma, soft texture, and slender grain – the long-grain white rice we source is among the finest of its kind.

“As a business, our organic rice model helps to optimise quality and overall costs within the group, so it’s truly a win-win.”

Dusit is also working closely with the farms to help enhance their output so they can reach more customers and grow their business, ultimately driving sustainable development with long-term benefits for all farmers involved. Some examples are purchasing new rice mills to help speed up production and enhance their capacity to generate more sales, selling the rice on online channels, and using the rice in the culinary offerings of other business units.

Other subsidiaries under Dusit International that are using the organic Jasmine rice in Thailand include Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, and Epicure Catering, the leading provider of quality food services to the educational sector in Thailand, which Dusit acquired in 2019. More business units are expected to follow next year.

Costa Cruises to pull Asia trips due to China’s zero-Covid policy

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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Costa Cruises is cancelling all future Asia departures amid waning expectations that China will ease its zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy and border restrictions any time soon. The cruise line is a unit of Carnival Corp that targets the nascent Chinese market.

Port stops in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and South Korea will be cancelled as international cruises in those locations still have not resumed. All employees and local stakeholders in Asia affected by the reorganisation and cancellation of Asian cruises are in the process of being informed.

Costa Cruises is cancelling all future Asia departures in light of China’s zero-Covid policy

Costa Cruises said the decision was made due to the continuous delay in the resumption of international tourism across the whole region. The company had big plans to tap consumers in China, and was the first cruise brand to enter the country in 2006.

The cruise line will now look into reorganising its business in the region.

Consumer spending in Asia-Pacific remains strong, despite rising costs: Mastercard Economics Institute

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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The Mastercard Economics Institute’s Shifting Wallets: New consumer spending habits report looks at how consumers across the world are holding tight to habits that offer convenience, experience or both.

Asia-Pacific has seen a sharp recovery in outbound travel following the re-opening of borders, despite the growing cost of air travel. This is notable in markets like Singapore and Australia, with strong demand persisting even beyond the initial loosening of restrictions. Equally, spending on experiences is continuing to exceed spending on things, reflected in the spending patterns for experiences including dining out or entertainment. Asia-Pacific consumers are ordering from restaurants – both in-person or online – over making their own meals at home, with spending on restaurants up 16% in August 2022 from January 2022 levels, while grocery spending is down 5%.

Spending on travel and experiences remains strong for consumers in South-east Asia despite rising costs

“Consumers in Asia-Pacific are looking to make up for lost time after a challenging few years,” said David Mann, chief economist of Mastercard AP & MEA. “The pent-up demand to see new places and experience new things is influencing consumer spend in a big way. With the ongoing prioritisation of getaways, dining, entertainment, and experiences, we are expecting to see even more rebound in the travel and entertainment sectors.”

There are also new opportunities for online businesses, as both goods and experiences spending shifts away from the weekends. As digital shopping and remote work continue to influence everyone’s daily habits, consumers will adjust and re-adjust their spending preferences accordingly.

Consumers prioritise travel spending
Despite personnel shortages and a surge in crude oil prices pushing up the cost of air travel, spending on travel and experiences remains strong for consumers in South-east Asia.

Singapore shows the greatest demand in South-east Asia for international travel, with consumer flight bookings at more than 10% above 2019 levels as of June 2022, despite heightened logistical challenges and price pressures.

In Australia, longhaul flight bookings are up 92% in August 2022 compared to August 2019, and short-haul flight bookings are up 155%.

Consumer spending in South-east Asia is experiencing a recovery in the key categories of retail, travel and entertainment, with retail spend at 1.5x pre-pandemic levels as of June this year.

Small businesses show gains in online services
Globally, large businesses dramatically outperform smaller ones in the shift to digital – but small online service providers in South-east Asia are still finding ways to thrive.

In Singapore, small online business services (tutoring, healthcare, and personal care services) rose over 3.5x compared to 2019.

However, the gap between large and small online businesses is particularly evident in the retail sector in more developed economies – e-commerce sales for Singapore’s large businesses grew 200% versus 59% for small online retailers in August 2022 compared to 2019. Similarly, for Australia, large businesses grew 93% versus 24% for small online businesses.

Gone are designated days for spending
Working from home and the shift to digital have blurred the lines: date night is any night, and leisurely shopping trips are no longer limited to Saturday and Sunday. This has significant staffing and supply chain implications for retailers, restaurants, and other businesses.

Consumers in Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand have drifted away from weekend entertainment in 2022 as compared to 2019, beating the weekend crowd by going for weekday tickets and emptier theatres on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This blurring of lines from conventional weekend spend is also apparent in department stores. In Hong Kong, the share of spending on Saturdays and Sundays at department stores fell, by 1.22% and 1.42%, respectively, relative to 2019, while spending on Tuesdays rose 2.84%.

A similar effect was seen in retail-loving Singapore, where department store spending fell 2.8% and 2.46% on Fridays and Saturdays respectively, but increased 1.87% on Thursdays.

Conversely, eating places have seen a boom in weekend spend, with strong share shifts on Saturdays for Hong Kong, up 2.75%; Malaysia, up 2.1%; and Singapore, up 1.8%.

View the full report here.

Mandarin Oriental to manage Tianfu property in 2028

By TTG Asia

October 26, 2022

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Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will be managing a new hotel in Tianfu, a modern business district south of Chengdu, come 2028.

The hotel will comprise 267 guestrooms and suites, as well as a club lounge. Four restaurants and bars will provide a variety of cuisines, while ample meeting and event space will ensure the hotel is well-positioned for business and social gatherings. A Mandarin Oriental spa will provide a range of beauty and massage treatments, and a fitness centre with an indoor swimming pool will expand the wellness offering.

The new Mandarin hotel in Tianfu is slated to open in 2028

The Central Business District of Tianfu sits approximately 25km south of the old city of Chengdu and is accessible from Chengdu’s two international airports.

The hotel will sit in the primary development zone, comprising regional offices and headquarters of multinational corporations, as well as international convention and exhibition venues.

The overall district is being designed as a Park City featuring over 3,000 hectares of green space which will be within walking distance of the hotel. Adjacent to the hotel is a mixed-use development housed in the tallest skyscraper in Western China, featuring a top-floor observation deck with F&B outlets.

New hotels: Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery Ambassador, Novotel Devonport and more

Amari’s latest opening in Malaysia showcases Vivarium of the East

Singapore unveils roadmap to transform hotel industry by 2025

Government cuts funding for Tourism Australia

Creating a mark in the travel domain

Worldwide Hotels taps industry veterans to build up its brand

Dusit first to offer organic rice at its Thailand properties

Costa Cruises to pull Asia trips due to China’s zero-Covid policy

Consumer spending in Asia-Pacific remains strong, despite rising costs: Mastercard Economics Institute

Mandarin Oriental to manage Tianfu property in 2028

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