For a man whose organisation has just contributed significantly to the US$345 million purchase of one of Sydney’s luxury hotels, Arthur Kiong is looking remarkably relaxed. But that’s maybe something to do with the fact that he is sinking deep into a leather armchair at Melbourne’s heritage-listed Rendezvous Hotel at the end of a road trip to promote Far East Hospitality’s hotels to Australian audiences.
For a man whose
organisation has just contributed significantly to the US$345 million purchase
of one of Sydney’s luxury hotels, Arthur Kiong is looking remarkably relaxed.
But that’s maybe something to do with the fact that he is sinking deep into a
leather armchair at Melbourne’s heritage-listed Rendezvous Hotel at the end of
a road trip to promote Far East Hospitality’s hotels to Australian audiences.
The
FEH chief executive is reluctant to talk about the finer details of the
purchase of The Westin Sydney hotel in a joint venture between Singaporean developers
Far East Land, an FEH parent company, and the Hong Kong-listed Sino Land
Company.
Far
East Land is part of the sprawling Far East Organisation, which has purchased
more than $1 billion of Australian hotel real estate, including brands such as
Rendezvous, Adina, Vibe, Medina, Travelodge and Hotel Kurrajong Canberra under
the stewardship of Toga Far East (TFE) Hotels – a joint venture between Toga Group and Far East
Hospitality.
Far
East Hospitality has entered Australia in a big way because it didn’t want to
be seen as a peripheral player in the market, and a strong Australian economy was
seen as a means to diversify its investment base outside Singapore. At the time
of the deal, Kiong said other factors that influenced the move into Australia
were “transparency
and the (common) language”.
Far
East Hospitality is the largest operator of hotels and serviced residences in
Singapore and its portfolio includes Quincy, Oasia, Rendezvous, Village, Far
East Collection and The Marque. All of which present a challenge in that so
many brands can be confusing for the customer.
The answer, according to
Kiong, is to make customers aware that they are staying with “the number one
hotel operator in Singapore” in Far East Hospitality. “That gives us
credibility,” he says. “First, we
introduce ourselves as Far East Hospitality. Once they know about the FEH
emporium then we can get to the individual brands.”
Far East’s diverse range of
hotels fill different niches. “Quincy is fashionable, hip, a place to be seen.
For those seeking comfort and less ostentation, there is Village hotel. Our
mid-scale rates are attractive - somewhere between S$150-S$280 and within that price
range guests will find one of our brands that suits their lifestyle and
personality,” Kiong says.
Kiong says FEH hotels do
things “a little differently” and this has contributed to their success. “We
focus a lot on what’s outside our hotels for visitors to enjoy. Most hotels
groups want to tell you about what’s inside their hotels, we like to tell
guests what’s outside our hotels.”
One example is the Far East Heritage
Food Trail room package. Guests taking
up the package are offered a self-guided heritage trail linking many of
Singapore best attractions, restaurants and neighbourhoods.
Restaurants in FEH hotels
are mostly outsourced “so we don’t depend of guests spending money in the
hotels”, Kiong says.
Standard offerings for
guests during a current promotion period include a Metro card allowing visitors
to travel around the city, as well as a complimenatry city tour.
“We want our guests to use
the Metro cards to hop on and off transport, to see local sights and try local
food. Sometimes visitors need a bit of a nudge to go exploring and we want to
help them get the best out of Singapore. And we want them to have a lot of fun
doing so,” Kiong says.
FEH also offers an airport
lounge facility at Changi as part of its Far More Perks offer, available when guests
book a Club level room at several of Far East properties in Singapore.
FEH’s new Amoy brand in Singapore
is also gaining friends, and is rated the top hotel in Singapore on
TripAdvisor. The converted shop houses in Far East Square will be expanding
from the current 37 rooms to 97 rooms by the end of next year.
FEH also has big plans for Sentosa.
“It’s a successful destination but it hotel rates are high,” Kiong says.
FEH is working on the
Outpost Sentosa, a precinct being created from the former military barracks and
parade square that once housed British armed forces under General Arthur Percival
in the Second World War.
Three hotels due to open in
2018 will offer between 700 and 800 rooms with an entry rate in the low S$200s.
The
development on
elevated ground overlooking Palawan Beach will include a 620-room Village Hotel, which is
aimed at the mid-tier segment, and the 230-room Outpost Hotel Sentosa which
will be more upscale.
“These properties will open
up a new mid-tier market and will be especially popular with families and the MICE
sector, which currently finds Sentosa a challenging destination because of high
room rates.
The thoughts of Arthur
Kiong
On the outlook for Singapore
in 2015:
I expect flat to moderate
growth in visitor arrivals and hotel rates will remain modest because there are
many new hotel openings coming on stream. Between 2009 and 2012, Singapore
hotels enjoyed strong growth in room rates but from now until 2017 the extra capacity
will mean modest rate growth. I expect things to pick up again in 2018 when the
new capacity has been absorbed and the lack of land being released for new
hotels will mean fewer openings.
On the outlook for FEH
Hotels:
Together with Togo Far East
we are looking at growing more aggressively in Australia where I feel there is
immense potential for inbound tourism. If a small red dot like Singapore can
attract 15 million visitors, there is huge upside for Australia.