Aloysius Lee

Can you be alone together? Can a 654-room hotel be a highly individual place? This new project soft-opening in Singapore in 1Q15 says yes. South Beach Consortium’s CEO, Aloysius Lee, tells Raini Hamdi why it’s the new choice for MICE planners

You have been working on the project since 2009, translating CDL (see box) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng’s vision to create a ‘non-cookie cutter’ hotel. So how unique is it?
Ours is a HIP hotel, ie, Highly Individual Place. (When conceptualising the hotel), we were looking at the Hudson in New York, Delano in Miami, SLS Hotel Beverly Hills and Le Royal Monceau (Raffles Paris).
These hotels really bring life, energy  and connectivity to their public spaces. They understand people want to be ‘alone together’ (laughs) or, as some call it, “isolated togetherness”.

What an oxymoron (laughs).
Yes. Four and a half years ago, when chairman Kwek spoke to me about such a hotel concept, it was still a fresh trend. Now of course most hotel refits are going along these lines.

Won’t you be common then?
In Asia, it’s not done to the same extent yet. Asian hotels are still largely traditional – the typical big lobbies, halls, etc.
Our three pillars are, firstly, we are a designer hotel, not only in the sense that the hotel is designed by Philippe Starck. We have, for example, the best IT design in-house right now. If you are IT-savvy, you will be extremely happy staying with us; we have the technology, for example, for the TV to be mirrored onto your own device. If you are not IT-savvy, you will also be happy as we are not one of those hotels where you have to figure out how to work the technology.
Our second pillar is to offer a fresh dining experience. We will hopefully sign up a concept from Europe soon – not a celebrity restaurant – but a stylish, contemporary experience that combines shopping and dining in a space of 30,000sqft (2,787m²).
Thirdly, we will have a lot of imaginative social spaces to cater to the need for ‘isolated togetherness’. We even have such a position as head of social space.

What are these social spaces like?
It’s all about ‘connectivity’, about providing spaces for people to eat, work, socialise, or be alone in the presence of other people, in places other than their rooms.
We will have as many as 17 social spaces, in different areas and settings. Some might serve snacks, some will have music and there is always IT support. The smallest social space would be in the lobby, which will have different corners where people could relax, read the papers, use the Internet – it is not going to look like the traditional lobby I can assure you.

What are the F&B options in the hotel itself, ie, excluding the retail dining concept you’ve just mentioned, and what MICE facilities will be available?
The hotel will have an all-day dining outlet and three bars. MICE facilities will include a ballroom which seats around 500 pax for a banquet and 350 pax for cocktails. Planners can do incentives here and we’re working closely with Suntec Singapore to have a fair share of convention delegates. I believe we have the best access to Suntec – from the hotel, just a walk across Nicoll Highway through an overland bridge and you’re already at the convention hall.
We’re creating a new product, probably the first in Asia that offers this kind of a lifestyle choice. With high occupancies in Singapore, we are a serious choice for all segments, be it MICE, bleasure, leisure, etc. Most new hotels that are opening are smaller in roomcount. We have 650 rooms.

What rate are you looking at?
The current rates of hotels in the neighbourhood are around S$400 (US$317) to S$500.

CDL also owns St Regis and W in Singapore. How would you position South Beach in this collection?
St Regis is traditional luxury while W is hip, which is closer to South Beach, but in a different environment.

How many people do you need and how are you going to get them in this labour crunch?
We’re recruiting around 60 people from now (at the time of interview in mid-March) till June, including the GM and head of human resources. By September the full recruitment will start for around 500 people.
It is difficult to find people. On the other hand, we must be innovative with our job offerings, by thinking differently about positions, by offering the right people an advancement when they join us, not just a lateral transfer, so they are motivated by a real new challenge.
We’ve even set up a good pre-opening office at the site – now just waiting for the bodies to come in (laughs).

How innovative are you with your job offerings, apart from the aforementioned head of social spaces?
We will have, for example, an EAM-sales & marketing services, and all the customer-facing departments will be under him – sales, branding, revenue, catering, front office, reservations, concierge, VIP services (many of these functions are usually under operations).
Service should be part of sales and marketing. When I started my career with Singapore Airlines in 1972, I believed the airline had all services – cabin crew, amenities, menus and so on – going under marketing, not operations. Marketing has a stronger feel of the market, which it can drive back to operations.

So what does your EAM-operations do?
They cover F&B – again, a departure from the common practice – housekeeping, engineering and security. So in effect we have two EAM positions which will enable the executives to become a future GM. This is what we want to do as well, ie, groom talent.

What advice do you have on working with Asian tycoons?
Firstly I’ve observed that tycoons really love talent and are passionate about the business. They are open and they like to share their thinking, philosophy, vision and strategy. And they hope you can deliver it for them.
Sometimes it may be that they are so far ahead and running so fast – after all, they are more seasoned, successful and have seen the world – that it is difficult for the executive team members to follow. But I believe when they speak, there is a lot of wisdom and big value at the end of the day, even if they can’t justify it there and then.

AT A GLANCE: SOUTH BEACH DEVELOPMENT

• A mixed-use contemporary/ecological development comprising over 46,000m2 of Grade A office space; 190 residential units; a 654-room hotel designed by Philippe Starck; a retail concept; and a private membership club
• Developed by City Developments Limited (CDL) Singapore and IOI Corporation Berhad
• Located opposite Raffles Hotel Singapore on the Beach Road side and is directly connected to Suntec Singapore via an overhead bridge on the Nicoll Highway side
• A heritage site formerly comprising three army blocks and the NCO Club, a favourite haunt for army, naval and air force offices, and famed for its Olympic-sized swimming pool
• Architecture by Foster + Partners and Aedas

Note: The hotel is currently called The South Beach. A decision has yet to be made on a third-party management, franchise or marketing representation

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