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Hello, St Regis and Fairmont |
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By Raini Hamdi
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Fairmont Singapore.
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Two North American hotel brands have entered Singapore, both with MICE as a target segment.
Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts saw its first hotel opening in Asia through the rebranding of Raffles The Plaza, Singapore, into Fairmont Singapore, on December 12, while The St Regis, Singapore, a new-build, opened on December 22, the first St Regis to open in Asia in seven years and the first luxury hotel addition in Singapore in 11 years.
The 769-room Fairmont Singapore is connected to the Raffles City Convention Centre, a 6,503m2 meeting facility shared between and managed by the Fairmont and Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore. There are 27 meeting rooms that accommodate groups of up to 3,200 people, and an Executive Conference Centre.
President & COO, Mr Chris Cahill, told TTGmice the hotel was more appropriate as a Fairmont than Raffles as it had more group business, bigger meeting space and was more commercial, whereas Raffles was more residential and intimate in its brand dimension. DMCs TTGmice spoke to agreed.
Raffles Hotels & Resorts is sister of Fairmont since the two portfolios were merged in May 2006, following the acquisition of Fairmont by Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital, which owns the Raffles and Swissôtel portfolio.
The conversion to Fairmont had been easy and seamless, Mr Cahill added. No major changes were necessary, he said, as the hotel had performed well, with a long standing in the market.
Meanwhile, the timing for the 299-room St Regis, Singapore to lead the pricing position in the city, raise awareness of the brand among Asia’s wealthy and build a loyal customer base could not be better as room allotments become tighter in the city.
General manager, Mr Yngvar Stray, is aiming for an average room rate of S$500 (US$350) and S$600 – or levels enjoyed by similar luxury hotels in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong.
He could not believe Singapore hotels closed 2005/06 with rates that were not much different from 1995/96 when he was director of rooms of The Sheraton Towers Singapore.
The hotel targets top corporate travellers, government officials and diplomats, and individual leisure travellers. It also targets board meetings, and corporate meetings and incentives of up to 100 delegates. Sixty per cent of the market is expected to be from Asia, and the rest from the US and Europe.
There is more than 1,500m2 of event space, including the John Jacob Ballroom accommodating up to 1,000 guests, five multi-purpose event rooms and one boardroom. For an average room rate of S$500 to S$600, all guests enjoy butler service, the only hotel in Singapore to offer this, and transfers via a customised fleet of Bentley limousines.
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