From left: Mark Winterton, Walid Ouezini and Sahil Rahat
IHG Hotels & Resorts has revealed the senior leadership team at voco Orchard Singapore ahead of the hotel’s rebrand from Hilton Singapore on January 1, 2022.
The appointments will see Mark Winterton return to Singapore as general manager, and see Sahil Rahat step into the role of director of sales & marketing. Walid Ouezini will also start as hotel manager in January 2022.
From left: Mark Winterton, Walid Ouezini and Sahil Rahat
Winterton returns to Singapore after a three-year stint with IHG Australia, to spearhead the pre-opening conversion operations.
He first moved to Asia in 2007, and has since successfully launched new IHG hotels such as Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay and InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay, and rebranded the Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park in Thailand.
Next, Rahat will lead the charge of developing and executing the overall commercial strategies of the hotel. Prior to joining voco Orchard Singapore, Rahat held dual responsibilities as director of sales, marketing and revenue, and acting director of operations at Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre. Having been with IHG for more than 10 years, he brings a wealth of experience across the different markets and all aspects of commercial deliverables.
Lastly, Ouezini has led operations at the Orchard Road Hotel since he joined as hotel manager in 2019. He has been instrumental in spearheading major projects for the hotel. Post-rebranding, he will continue to take on the role as hotel manager effective January 1, 2022, and lead daily hotel operations.
Ouezini started his career in F&B and has over 18 years of hospitality experience across luxury and lifestyle brands in France, Tunisia, Maldives and South-east Asia.
Marking the brand’s debut in South-east Asia when it opens on January 1, 2022, voco Orchard Singapore will offer 423 contemporary rooms, four restaurants and bars, and more than 1,750m2 of meeting and event space.
Voco Orchard Singapore will be IHG’s 12th hotel in Singapore and its seventh brand in the country where it joins Regent, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
Azerai Can Tho in the Mekong Delta has appointed Nicolas Pillet as its new general manager.
The French national brings a strong culinary background to Azerai Can Tho, having studied cuisine as part of his hospitality education in Nantes. Pillet has worked with several internationally recognized brands in his career, including the Eastern & Oriental Express, where he was general manager of South-east Asia’s only luxury sleeper train, and most recently as the general manager of Amanoi, the Aman property in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam.
Australia’s first Kimpton property, Kimpton Margot Sydney has announced that Bruce Ryde has joined the hotel as general manager.
Ryde has a long history of both operating hotels and leading global brands across Asia Pacific. Most recently, Ryde worked with owners John and Karina Stewart on their holistic wellness brand, Kamalaya, in Thailand, where he helped expand Kamalaya’s diverse range of solutions, improving its digital reach and launching an online platform, Kamalaya Connect.
Previously, the Australian managed the luxury brand strategy for Marriott International’s brands, amongst them The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels as vice president Asia Pacific. Prior to that, Ryde held the same position with IHG, overseeing the InterContinental brand as well as the launch of the Hotel Indigo and Kimpton brands in Asia Pacific.
Ryde will also act as the brand guardian for Pro-invest Group’s growing luxury and lifestyle portfolio.
From left: Changi Airport; and Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Corporate travel management companies are seeing an increase in enquiries, searches, and bookings since the Singapore-Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) was announced on November 8, 2021, signalling a strong desire to resume travel on what was once the busiest international travel route pre-pandemic.
A BCD Travel spokesperson shared that there has been “almost two-folds of enquires coming through from both Singapore and Malaysian travellers”, but noted that some clients remained “cautious”.
The VTL between Singapore’s Changi Airport (left), and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (right) will open on November 29
Joanne Taylor, senior director, FCM Consulting Asia, echoes the observation, saying that there is “an indication of interest and pent-up demand but many have yet to take the plunge to book”.
Taylor added that the FCM team has observed a projected spike in seat capacity – almost 40,000 seats – for the week of November 29 to December 5.
“Prior to this, total seat capacity on the Singapore-Malaysia route was low and almost flat for most of the last 18 months,” she said.
Issued flight tickets data is supporting the observations. According to Jameson Wong, ForwardKeys’ vice president strategic clients & partnerships Asia Pacific, a 28-fold increase in air tickets issued for flights from Changi Airport (SIN) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) was recorded on the day of the VTL announcement.
“This is not surprising. Before the pandemic, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route was among the busiest in the world; it was like a 24/7 sky shuttle in the neighbourhood. Its revival is symbolic – underscoring that normalcy is in sight,” commented Wong.
ForwardKeys’ Air Ticket Data further revealed that 80 per cent of the issued air tickets for SIN-KUL were return tickets and 20 per cent were one-way tickets.
On whom were the most keen to hop on the SIN-KUL VTL, Wong said: “A cocktail of Malaysian PMEBs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Businessmen) working in Singapore who are anxious to reunite with families and do not want to wait for the land borders to reopen; business travellers who are seizing the opportunity at bleisure, given Kuala Lumpur’s affordability in terms of travel time and budget; as well as pure leisure travellers who simply want to jump on a plane and fly out to the nearest city which they are familiar with.”
Taylor noted that Singapore’s recent VTL announcements have shown that business travel returns quickly once restrictions are lifted.
“If the momentum keeps up, seat capacity on the Singapore-Malaysia route could well return to pre-Covid levels by March 2022,” she said.
Pre-Covid, the combined business travel spend for the Singapore-Malaysia business travel industry was US$22.6 billion, but it has since contracted by 75 per cent, FCM Consulting Asia shared.
Hoteliers are also upbeat about the news, calling the VTL a positive sign and a step in the right direction for both countries.
Paul Hutton, area vice president, head of South-east Asia, for Hilton shared that his hotels have “received strong interest for meetings and events, both from Singapore and Malaysia, from late 2021 through to 1H2022”.
He added that Singapore was one of the “top source markets” for Hilton hotels in Malaysia before the pandemic.
A spokesperson for Desaru Coast integrated destination resort in south-eastern Johor of Malaysia expects the VTL to return a sense of normalcy to travel, and hopes that the VTL will be expanded to include land border arrangements to allow the tourist district to benefit from its close proximity to Singapore.
there is optimism overall as the industry, companies and travelers worldwide lean into recovery and the much-needed return to business travel.
Business travel recovery in 2021 proceeded at a slower, more cautionary pace than expected from a year ago. However, global business travel spending is expected to surge in 2022 with full recovery expected in 2024, ending the year on pace with the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of US$1.4 trillion, and a year sooner than previously forecast.
This is according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which released the results of its latest business travel index – the BTI Outlook.
There is optimism overall as the industry, companies and travellers worldwide lean into recovery and the much-needed return to business travel
The report provides a detailed analysis of business travel in 2021 with projections for 2022 and beyond, including post-Covid-19 recovery forecasts. Now in its 13th edition, the BTI Outlook is an annual study of business travel spending and growth covering 73 countries across 44 industries.
New first-time additions this year include survey insights from global senior financial executives as well as business travellers.
Forecasts and analysis highlights from the latest BTI Outlook Global business travel activity has begun its rebound from the sharp downturn brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. After declining 53.8% in 2020 to US$661 billion, global expenditures are expected to have rebounded 14% in 2021 to US$754 billion. This was more slowly than forecast in GBTA’s previous BTI Outlook report issued in February 2021.
Despite recovery setbacks in 2021, a year-over-year surge of 38% is expected in 2022 as recovery and pent-up demand kicks into a higher gear, bringing global business travel spending back to over US$1 trillion.
Recovery will continue into 2023, with global spending rising 23% year-over-year as even more international and group travel comes back online.
By 2024, global business travel is forecast to have made a full recovery, ending the year at US$1.5 trillion or just above the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of US$1.4 trillion.
In 2025, global business travel growth is forecast to slow to 4.3% – just below the 10-year average growth rate of 5.1% coming into 2020 – ending the year at a forecasted US$1.5 trillion.
However, persistent COVID-related threats and disruptions, supply chain strains, labour shortages, rising inflation, increased costs, and lagging recovery in Asian markets are just a few of the risks for continued on-target recovery. Additionally, yet to be determined are the potential impacts of emerging factors including broad adoption of remote working models, long term cuts or elimination of business trips and travel volume, and the increased focus on sustainability practices and policies for business travel.
Other key findings from GBTA’s BTI Outlook include analysis of 2021 challenges for the business travel industry as well as recovery outlook into 2025.
Business travel faces headwinds in 2021 The global business travel recovery that began in late 2020 hit a fair number of bumps in 2021. Pandemic surges, variant introductions, uneven vaccination rates, and mounting supply chain challenges all took their toll on previously forecast growth expectations.
North America led the recovery, the US in particular, rebounding 27% in 2021. Business travel markets in Latin America, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) all picked up 15% to 20% growth in 2021.
European markets have lagged in 2021. Emerging Europe is expected to gain only 10% and for the region of Western Europe, business travel expenditures for 2021 are expected to fall 3.8% from 2020 levels. This stems from early year underperformance, but with recent resurgence, business travel demand in the region is set to outpace most other parts of the world, barring any Covid-related setbacks.
Recovery in APAC has been slower, due to lagging border re-openings and a high dependence on international business travel. China’s expected growth was downgraded last year due to challenges posed by financial and other issues which could signal larger risks.
Business travel recovery will also vary by industry. Professional and business services and real estate have been resilient to date, while wholesale trade has been challenged. Accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation, and retail trade, which were significantly impacted during the pandemic, are expected to recover sharply over the forecast period.
View from the C-suite In a poll of 40 CFOs across North America, Latin America, APAC and Europe, 70% felt in 2022 the overall economy in their country would be better or much better than in 2021.
About half (52%) of respondents reported they expect their company’s business travel spend to reach 2019 levels in 2022.
When asked about the importance of business travel for their company, CFOs felt the top return-on-investment reasons for business travel are sales and business development (68%), internal business planning and strategy (50%), client account management (48%) and employee training and development (48%).
Business travellers are ready and willing Among 400 global business travellers polled, 86% report that they need travel to accomplish their business goals.
A majority (81%) believe that their volume of domestic business travel will be greater or on par in 2022 than it was prior to the pandemic.
Over half (54%) miss travelling and hope to travel more often in the future. However, 43% wouldn’t mind travelling less in the future, whether they indicated they miss it or not.
Four in five (81%) of business travellers say their company requires vaccines for travel and in-person meetings.
Challenges to the pace of recovery Global GDP growth is expected to reach 5.8% for 2021 and 4.2% in 2022. Should another wave of Covid materialise, China further decelerates, and/or an energy shortage intensifies, more downward revisions may be necessary.
The BTI Outlook outlines four conditions necessary for full recovery in global business travel: 1) the global vaccination effort, 2) national travel policy, 3) business traveller sentiment, and 4) corporate travel management policy. The recovery remains highly dependent on the vaccine rollout, employees’ return to the office, and normalisation of travel policies on both the national and corporate levels. Travel managers will also face the challenge of juggling duty of care with rising costs, sustainability priorities, and new considerations on the ROI of business travel.
GBTA members can download a full copy of the BTI Outlook on the GBTA members-only hub. The report was conducted in partnership with Rockport Analytics, a research and analytical consulting firm, and made possible by HRS.
EventX, a Hong Kong-headquartered software company providing hybrid event management solutions for businesses, has expanded its South-east Asia presence with the launch of its Singapore operations.
The expansion comes just months after EventX closed its US$10 million series B funding round.
A screenshot from the EventX website
The company’s business in Asia has grown significantly in recent years, and EventX is committed to continuing to expand its already strong presence in the key Asian markets. The company has rocketed 60 per cent month-over-month user growth in 2021, with over five million satisfied attendees in over 20,000 online, hybrid and offline events in the past years.
The company has been supporting marketers and event organisers through its all-in-one platform with virtual event features, such as customisable registration pages, 3D lobbies, detailed analytics and social networking lounge which enable organisers to deliver real engagement and interaction with their audience.
“We’re now in an era where businesses have myriad means to engage with other businesses, customers and staff, but they need the right solution to support their needs. South-east Asia is experiencing rapid digitalisation to varying degrees, and we have seen a growing hunger from businesses in Singapore to adopt technologies that fit the needs of today’s world,” said CEO & Co-founder of EventX, Sum Wong.
EventX is offering new clients in Singapore free platform trials, which can hold up to 1,000 attendees with unlimited time duration, until December 2021.
A rendering of a gala dinner within the Grand Hall
Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) has revealed that CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park has been chosen as the official venue to host its Welcome Event, to be held on March 21, 2022.
With plans to launch AIME’s biggest celebration yet, Silke Calder, AIME’s event director, is looking forward to uniting the community and being a part of its recovery by helping drive strong business for 2022 and beyond.
A rendering of a gala dinner within the Grand Hall
“The team at AIME and CENTREPIECE have been working behind the scenes to create an experience like no other – designing interesting ways to spark meaningful connections and marvellous event moments.
“We are beyond excited to reconnect with our friends and community, particularly after a challenging two years faced by our industry. We can’t wait to welcome you all in what is sure to be the event of the year – to not only help supercharge business, but also enjoy a well overdue catch-up.”
The new venue will greet delegates by highlighting Melbourne’s melting pot of arts, cuisine, culture and entertainment. Guests will be able to immerse themselves in CENTREPIECE’s paddock to plate philosophy, with a menu that focuses on fresh Victorian produce and sustainability – highlighting locally-sourced seasonal foods, curated within the venue’s state-of-the-art kitchen.
CENTREPIECE’s 2,000m2 Grand Hall was designed using cues from the venue’s natural surroundings and the space is flooded with natural light through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Welcome Events guests will also be able to enjoy views of the Melbourne CBD skyline from the expansive outdoor terrace.
AIME will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 21–23 in-person and March 28 to April 1 online.
Event brief
Gamescom asia, the region’s first satellite event of the world’s largest computer and videogames festival, gamescom, successfully wrapped its inaugural event in Singapore.
The event’s first-ever consumer and hybrid trade convention took place from October 14-17 2021, both onsite at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre and across digital platforms.
Gamescom asia 2021 is a premier platform for game developers in Asia to explore partnerships globally, and acts as a hub for international publishers who are looking for the next big thing in games. Divided between the Trade and Entertainment Zones, the event covers the entire diversity of the games culture and is a prelude to the full-scale physical event to take place in 2022.
To pave the way for the safe and calibrated resumption of MICE events, Koelnmesse Singapore was given the green light to trial new protocols and innovations at gamescom asia 2021.
As one of the selected MICE pilot events, gamescom asia 2021 was given approval by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to organise a large-scale event – within the government stipulated cap of 1,000 attendees – with less restrictive zoning requirements and arrangements for selected international attendees to enter Singapore.
With the health and safety of all event participants a top priority, the necessary Safe Management Measures implemented onsite ensured that all delegates could network and interact in a safe environment.
Event highlights
The in-person event, hosted at Suntec Singapore was graced by Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Ministry for Trade and Industry and Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth, who shared his insights on gaming.
The exhibition saw delegates and industry leaders network and interact with one another within the parameters of the safety restrictions in place. The environment brought back a glimpse of the pre-Covid era and attendees were elated to be a part of the revival of gaming events in Singapore.
The addition of the Singapore pavilion housed 11 homegrown gaming studios and developers, providing attendees with the opportunity to experience games and products first-hand. Delegates onsite were also able to interact virtually with online attendees, set up meetings, and catch the conference sessions simultaneously broadcast live both ways.
Across the hybrid offering, more than 80 regional and global industry experts came together to cover the breadths of Games and Mobile Gaming. The 44 sessions have been watched more than 3,900 times live and on-demand, with the online Trade Zone reaching a record high of 41,000 points of interactions between attendees, sponsors and exhibitors.
The all-digital Entertainment Zone (powered by AMD) drew international fans across six platforms, reaching over four million online viewers. The event was also launched and livestreamed on the official Discord and TikTok channels, as well as on partnering media channels like eGG Network and UnGeek and partnering with gaming ambassadors to engage their fans.
Challenges
The biggest challenge was organising an event with full offerings (exhibition, conference, networking, F&B) within a short few months, coupled with the hybrid elements of also making the live event available online to delegates around the world to interact simultaneously.
With the evolving health situation in Singapore, organisers and the various bodies had to be extremely cautious and vigilant towards the operational flow and human movements within the event. Organisers had to be flexible in pivoting and recalibrating to changing government rules and regulations.
Another key challenge faced was ensuring that all attendees coming down to the physical event had fulfilled the necessary safety requirements framed out by STB.
This included having full vaccination status, doing SafeEntry Check-Ins and health declarations upon arrival at the venue, before registration and before entering the conference venue, taking the PET Lucira test on-site and ensuring that safe distancing of at least one metre was maintained.
Foreign delegates flying in for the event were also required to send in their confirmations prior to attending the event and were also expected to adhere to the same regulations. Crew members, exhibitors as well all industry leaders attending the physical conference also had to produce a negative Pre-event Test result on a daily basis.
For the Trade Zone, organisers made use of virtual event platform, Hubilo, to provide online attendees with a similar networking experience as the physical attendees. In-person exhibitors and attendees could also set meetings online through their virtual booths within the digital expo to bridge the hybrid element.
Another production challenge was the coordination between conference speakers present in Singapore and those who had to be beamed live from overseas. Organisers had to think outside the box in displaying mixed panels onstage at Suntec Singapore while streaming them online. We also deployed a few tools to facilitate the Q&A sessions to be able to take questions from onsite and online attendees in real-time.
For the fully digital Entertainment Zone, we had a multi-channel communication setup between the team to ensure that all streams across our entire streaming offerings were broadcasting smoothly and any issues could be addressed immediately.
Event gamescom asia 2021 Organiser Koelnmesse Venue Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, and online at gamescom.asia Date October 14-17, 2021 Attendees 2,217 attendees (in total, in-person and online)
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) has enhanced its global technology suite to include a new global approval tool, CTM Approve, which will be available to CTM customers in early 2022.
Built entirely on CTM’s proprietary technology, the suite of tools includes a new global approval system, CTM Approve, and enhanced global portal and profile tools. The suite captures global PNR data from multiple sources to feed CTM’s risk management systems, allowing for duty of care no matter where their travellers are.
A screenshot of CTM Approve in action
“We know that having visibility into travel in one place will be vital for our customers to meet duty of care requirements in a post-Covid environment,” said Mike Kubasik, CTM’s global chief technology officer. “It extends CTM’s global capabilities and client solutions in response to that environment, and – as international travel begins to increase – creates a targeted solution for travel managers in need of a global view.”
A recent CTM business travel survey found the top priority for travel programmes in 2022 is travel risk, safety, and wellbeing, with nearly 80 per cent of respondents choosing it as their top focus.
CTM’s technology suite can source global PNR data anywhere in CTM’s 100+ markets within minutes. The suite also covers multiple countries.
“As an example, with a large global client we are sourcing and leveraging data from 25+ countries to enable a standardised and globally consistent approval process,” Kubasik shared.
Because of CTM’s proprietary tech stack and global development hubs, the global technology suite works “out of the box” for global companies with travellers booking or flying from anywhere in the world. Owning the end-to-end process of the entire technology suite also means that CTM isn’t reliant on third parties to deliver ongoing feature upgrades, enhancements, and fixes.
Launching in early 2022, the new CTM Approve is the pre-trip approval system for global travel managers who want multi-layered approval control. Within CTM Approve, CTM collects PNR data, runs it through a single approval instance, and sends out approval notifications to a client’s selected employees. CTM Approve provides a single global view of all approvals anywhere in CTM’s 100+ countries, including the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand.
CTM Approve shows a holistic view of the approval workflow process from booking to final verdict (approved/denied) with relevant statistical information for each category.
Additionally, CTM’s global profile system integrates global HR feeds for centralised client access to all employee profiles in one tool. The tool can also integrate with the online booking tool (OBT) of choice for the client, including CTM’s own Lightning OBT. The profile system also works for both online and offline bookings, keeping all booking types in one place.
With CTM’s global portal, global travel managers can log in to and use a single global portal across all regions. Risk management information is presented on a global interactive map. CTM’s global portal is available to clients using CTM wholly-owned locations globally.
“These solutions are part of a larger global strategy and an ongoing commitment to build proprietary technology for our customers, and in response to more multinational customers looking to work with us across multiple regions,” noted Kubasik.
Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia
Hold a memorable gala dinner inside the Angkor Archaeological Park, with the ruins of either Prasat Kravan or Wat Thommanon as a stunning backdrop. A traditional Khmer feast can be prepared for a party of no more than 120 people. Complete the Cambodian experience with cultural Apsara dance performances, which utilise the vibrantly illuminated ruins as an enchanting backdrop. marketing@asiantrails.org
Gili Rooftop at Taronga Zoo, Australia
Set against a stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour and the city skyline, including the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, Gili Rooftop at Taronga Zoo is the ultimate showstopper for a business event.
Gili Rooftop has space for 90 guests for a banquet or 100 cocktail-style, and serves up sustainably-sourced and locally-produced dishes. After the day’s activities, groups have the option of wandering back to one of the 62 suites at the Wildlife Retreat at Taronga, and fall asleep to the sounds of nature on their doorstep. tarongacentre@epicure.com.au
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Sail away in UNESCO-listed Halong Bay, and take in the natural landscape of towering limestone islands and calm, emerald waters before making landfall on a private beach for a seafood barbecue dinner.
Entertainment can be provided via a liveband or DJ, and the setting would be perfect for a 200-pax themed corporate party – think fearsome pirates or tropical mood. marketing@asiantrails.org
Halong Bay, Photo credit: Asian Trails
Hobbiton Movie Set, New Zealand
An event at Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata, New Zealand is an experience to tantalise visitors’ senses, as guests find themselves engulfed in the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of The Shire, as featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
The Marketplace makes a spectacular venue for special events, transporting 1,000 guests to the bustling markets of Middle-earth, while The Party Marquee is a fully-themed space with an outdoor garden bar – good for 350 pax – overlooking Hobbiton. Catering is available, and covers everything from canapés to a banquet feast fit for a Hobbit. events@hobbitontours.com
Hobbiton Movie Set
Ngãraratuatara Marquee, Te Puia, New Zealand
Enjoy the unique taste of Mãori cuisine at Te Puia Geyser in Rotorua. Guests can gather at the Ngãraratuatara Marquee, and watch as fresh New Zealand mussels, whole king prawns, corn and vegetables are placed in flax woven baskets and poached in the geothermal spring. A maximum capacity of 30 is allowed here at any point in time, but Te Puia also has five other function spaces available for hire. www.tepuia.com/contact-us
Te Puia Geyser, Rotorua
Palawan Green, Singapore
Meet on a green turf along Palawan Beach in Sentosa, which comes with a sea view to boot. Located next to the Beach Station monorail, the lush space is able to take a 500-pax banquet or 1,000 in a standing reception.
An event here can also be combined with a teambuilding or water-bonding activity at Tanjong Beach. For larger gatherings, the New Mempari Site – also on Palawan Beach – can incorporate a barbecue dinner under the stars, or planners can go luxe with butler-passed canapés. www.sentosa.com.sg/en/contact-us
Palawan Green. Photo credit: Sentosa Development Corporation
The Habitat Penang Hill, Malaysia
Imagine hosting a sunset cocktail function or a gala dinner in the heart of a 130 million years old rainforest, and getting serenaded by the sounds of nature.
That dream is brought to life at The Habitat Penang Hill, which offers event organisers three multipurpose, outdoor event spaces that can adhere to social distancing requirements. Curtis Crest can safely accommodate groups of 150 pax, while the Andaman Tent and Retail Rooftop can take in 100 pax and 25 pax respectively. inquiry@thehabitat.my
The Habitat Penang Hill
The Timber Yard, Australia
Built on a philosophy of recycling and upcycling, The Timber Yard in the Port Melbourne industrial precinct is a restored timber storage and fabrication facility that has been transformed into a gorgeous event venue.
Designed to bring the flavour and personality of the country into the city, The Timber Yard is an customisable urban sanctuary spanning 1,000m2 of turfed area. Space hire comes complete with food and drinks, with the option for organisers to hire food trucks and play up a festival vibe. www.thetimberyard.com.au
The Timber Yard
Xiengkeo Palace, Laos
Standing on an idyllic location on the banks of the Mekong River and framed by mountains, Xiengkeo Palace was once the royal residence of the Lao prime minister, Prince Phetsarath. Today, it is home to the Grand Luang Prabang Hotel and Resort. The 70-key property offers a full resort buyout for 150 delegates, with the main outdoor event space ideal for dining under the stars. Folk dances by ethnic minorities, Laotian performances or a Baci Ceremony (well-wishing ceremony) can be arranged. marketing@asiantrails.org
Xiengkeo Palace. Photo credit: The Grand Luang Prabang
Behind the imposing, Brutalist concrete that defines Zurich’s Oerlikon district lies a surprising secret. While its exterior honours the neighbourhood’s industrial roots, stepping inside Mama Shelter reveals a vibrant, neon-soaked world that is a far cry from its rigid shell
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
