PCMA has appointed Florence Chua as its managing director APAC, taking over from Karen Bolinger.
Based in Singapore, Chua will lead the APAC team to expand upon the momentum of region-specific events, thought leadership, community building, education and content.
Florence Chua
Chua has more than 20 years of experience working with corporations and associations throughout the APAC region, most recently as vice president, growth and brand management for Entrepreneurs’ Organisation.
Bolinger, who has been managing director APAC for PCMA since April 2020 on a part-time consultancy basis, will continue to support PCMA in a consulting capacity and handle specific projects.
Under Bolinger’s leadership PCMA’s brand expanded throughout the region, PCMA launched its inaugural Convening APAC and for the first time ever Convening Leaders was live from Singapore in 2021.
Singapore’s pandemic exit could benefit year-end events
Safe meetings procedures are well in place; will inspire foreign attendees’ confidence
Asia’s fluctuating infections could handicap Singapore’s large-scale events recovery
MICE organisers in Singapore are optimistic about upcoming prospects as the city-state begins plans for an endemic phase; high-rise buildings in Singapore’s CBD pictured
Tradeshow and conference organisers in Singapore believe that easing of restrictions on business events and quarantine-free arrivals for vaccinated travellers, should these come into force once herd immunity is achieved in the coming month or so, could result in a livelier year-end calendar of events for the city-state.
Dylan Sharma, vice president, advocacy and communications with the Singapore Association for Conventions & Exhibitions Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS), said the announcement was a “glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel” for “an industry that has been severely impacted by the pandemic in the past one and a half year”.
“The easing of restrictions such as quarantine-free travel will come as a much-needed boost for the MICE and events industry, as it will provide a sense of certainty and sufficient runway for the planning of events,” commented Sharma. “More importantly, as a country that is heavily reliant on international participants, the government’s plan to allow a certain degree of normalcy while Covid remains in our midst will allow our industry to finally open up and attract foreign visitors.
Despite pandemic challenges that shut Singapore off to most international traffic, the country has been able to conduct some 90 business event pilots since August 2020, most of which were hybrids that saw overseas participation via the Internet. Such pilots include the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Computational Electromagnetics, the Asia Pacific MedTech Virtual Forum 2020, TravelRevive, and Geo Connect Asia 2021.
“Should this come to pass, it would be great news and a fillip for the MICE industry and Singapore,” agreed Edward Liu, managing director of Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS). He added that quarantine-free travel would encourage regular foreign exhibitors and trade visitors to join the company’s tradeshows in person.
CEMS currently maintains a packed roster of tradeshows in Singapore over the months of October and November. They include Architecture & Building Services 2021, which comprises seven co-located exhibitions to present a comprehensive platform for all building needs for markets in South-east Asia.
“If the government could make the reopening pronouncements unequivocally, this would restore confidence in the economy both in Singapore and abroad. Businesses would be able to make firm decisions in sync with the government guidelines and policies. With their commitment to partake in our conferences and exhibitions, then it would be easier for us to persuade our international speakers and exhibitors to attend our events in-person,” added Liu.
Patricia Cheong, managing director Asia, of International Conference Services, told TTGmice that she is encouraged to “push forward with our plans for more in-person or hybrid events in the coming months”.
She said quarantine-free travel intentions are “spurring hope that regional, and maybe even global meetings and events, may be possible before the end of this year and paving the way for the return of larger-scale face-to-face events in Singapore”.
Cheong pointed out that compulsory quarantines have a direct impact on travel costs and time, discouraging companies from approving their staff’s in-person attendance at trade events in destinations with such requirements.
“This (in turn) impacted international attendance at events. Allowing quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated participants means we can aim to return to live events with global participants as quickly as possible,” said Cheong.
Safety first
With an expanded in-person audience no longer a possibility reserved for the distant future, organisers here say that greater attention must be paid to participants’ health and safety.
Cheong said: “Nothing can replace the in-person greeting and serendipitous moments that face-to-face events allow – but we also need to demonstrate that we are meeting safely.
“Fortunately, Singapore has been demonstrating the ability to deliver safe events amid the pandemic and instilling confidence with business travellers. Coupled with the reopening of borders and quarantine-free travel options made available, we expect to see a rise in demand from international delegations to events here in Singapore.”
With foresight, SACEOS has been preparing for brighter days, launching the SG SafeEvent Certification on April 7. The “first-of-its-kind programme” aims to strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading global business events hub, explained Sharma.
“To date, 68 companies have registered for the SG SafeEvent Certification, and many more are beginning the certification journey to be an accredited SafeEvent Organiser, Venue or Supplier,” he detailed.
Cautious steps ahead
Tradeshow organisers acknowledged that the extent of Singapore’s border reopening will hinge on how well other countries are coping with Covid-19 infections as well as their rate of vaccination.
Even as Singapore achieves herd immunity and is able to manage local cases through frequent testing and quick tracing, Liu said continued high global infections will force the city-state government to limit the reach of its quarantine-free travel allowance.
Cheong made the same projection. “At this stage, the plan is to start reopening borders and to establish travel corridors with countries that have Covid-19 infections under control. Unfortunately, vaccination has been progressing quite sluggishly in Asia. This would mean that having participants from the region would continue to be challenging,” she said.
Asia’s ongoing struggle with new waves of Covid-19 infections also means Singapore is more likely to reopen to vaccinated travellers from Europe, the Middle East and the US – where governments have also resumed life and economic activities in a post-pandemic environment – and less likely to those in the South-east Asia neighbourhood.
For Kenny Yong, founder and group CEO of Fireworks Trade Media, this presents a challenging reality. He explained: “Many shows staged in Singapore are regional-led – they target mostly visitors from ASEAN member countries. (Singapore’s quarantine-free travel) will not address the problem of us not being able to reach out to ASEAN visitors, which are key to many tradeshows here.”
Furthermore, the uncertainty of Covid-19-related regulations continues to weigh heavily on Yong’s mind.
“Singapore has announced a more liberal opening of the country but we have all witnessed the fluidity of situations these past 18 months, with many decisions made at a short notice. These are unsettling and enough to give any bona fide organiser the jitters,” he said.
And should quarantine-free entry for vaccinated travellers kick off come September, trade events scheduled for 4Q2021 would have a very small window in August and September to promote and acquire international visitors, opined Yong, adding that the move is good but too late for the industry.
Sharma echoed the same concerns, but noted that industry players are determined “to not let Covid-19 get the better of us, and for us to continue what business events do best – bringing people and communities together”.
He added: “We are determined to stay the course, take all necessary precautions, and look forward with optimism.”
Meanwhile, Cheong is keeping an eye on Covid-19 test requirements for event attendees once larger shows are allowed to resume in an endemic Covid state.
“Cost of testing remains high, and will serve as a key consideration when organisations evaluate the overall cost of travel for their staff to attend events overseas,” she explained, adding that there is also an expectation that organisers should cover the cost of pre-event testing to encourage attendance.
Yong is less concerned about the cost of Covid-19 tests on arrival and at events, as the “hunger” among his overseas clients to resume business trips and engagements in person has led many of them to allocate test charges as part of essential travel expenses.
Metro Manila to be placed under enhanced community quarantine for third time since the outbreak of Covid-19
In yet another setback for the Philippines’ tourism industry, the government has announced that Metro Manila will be placed under the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20 to stave off a surge of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19.
Under the ECQ, only essential industries are allowed to operate and public transportation either suspended or limited.
Metro Manila to be placed under enhanced community quarantine for third time since the outbreak of Covid-19
This comes after authorities extended the general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened and additional restrictions in Metro Manila, from July 30 to August 5, with leisure and business travel being prohibited.
Various destinations throughout the Philippines are in varying levels of lockdown.
Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have cancelled a number of domestic flights following the immediate suspension of point-to-point flights for leisure. Returning flights are for tourists residing in the NCR Plus (metro Manila plus Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal).
Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat had informed the travel and tourism sector that from July 30, hotels are not allowed to accept leisure or staycation guests. Staycation guests residing in areas outside Metro Manila have to shorten their stay and return to their place of residence.
Essential meetings and social events are prohibited and dining is not allowed in restaurants in Metro Manila during the GCQ with heightened restrictions and ECQ.
Indoor tourist attractions have already been closed, and while outdoor attractions may operate at 30 per cent of maximum venue capacity, they will have to suspend operations by August 6.
Since July 30, point-to-point travel for leisure from NCR Plus areas has been banned. Accredited establishments outside NCR Plus areas are not allowed to accept leisure guests coming from NCR Plus areas, regardless of the date of the booking.
On August 1, the Philippines recorded 8,735 new Covid-19 cases, and 127 deaths. The country has reported 216 cases of the Delta variant, but health experts say the real number could be higher.
This is the third time metro Manila has entered ECQ, including the first at the onset of Covid-19 in March last year.
Like many social activities, corporate teambuilding programmes have been disrupted since early 2020 as governments enforced safe distancing requirements and companies began an unusual work-from-home experiment that has since become the norm in many Asian cities.
For Action Teams, a Singapore-based provider that has been in business since 1996, bookings tumbled almost 75 per cent.
Founder Raj Sandhu recalled how 2020 had started off strongly, with the whole year booked out with programmes all over the world, but spiraled into despair in February as the pandemic hit and clients either cancelled or paused their plans.
Other specialist providers, such as Asia Ability and smallWORLD Experience, saw bookings recede too. But even as governments eased restrictions and virtual teambuilding options emerged to connect remote teams, engagements throughout 2020 and 2021 are nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.
Slashed budgets due to poor corporate performance amid the global crisis, fatigue from daily online communications, and unfamiliarity with virtual teambuilding programmes are blamed for the slow pick-up.
What worries Sandhu most are companies freezing teambuilding activities because of human resource disruptions.
He explained: “Some clients have had to let people go. Hence, they feel that this isn’t a good time for teambuilding. But this is why now is a good time. If you are letting people go, the rest of the team will be worried. They will be wondering when it will be their turn.”
Sandhu said some clients also mistakenly believe that as long as teams were communicating daily via instant messaging tools, there was no need for engagement.
Lost connections
Elevated stress levels at work and remote work arrangements have presented employers with a welfare challenge, noted teambuilding specialists.
Ana Marques, general manager of Macau-based events specialist smallWORLD Experience, noted the downsides of isolation at the workplace: the growing lack of team interaction will dismantle team spirit, break down communications and eventually impact client servicing.
Remote work requires greater information sharing, as people could no longer simply walk over to a colleague for discussions, opined Marques. Teambuilding programmes can convey to participants the advantages of information sharing and identify ways to work efficiently with sharing tools.
Sandhu warned of staff burnout, especially as remote employees feel their purpose at work was just to generate results and go at it alone.
“This is the serious side of what we do,” commented David Powell, managing director of Asia Ability. “Teambuilding is often seen as being all about play. But the new work arrangements have highlighted the important values of teambuilding. Working remotely turns people’s attention to the task and away from relationships. By not conducting any team engagement now, companies risk team cohesiveness.”
Virtual uncertainty
While teambuilding specialists were able to translate their in-person teambuilding programmes for virtual use – and even craft new ones specifically for online interaction, they found themselves having to convincing clients to get onboard last year, as many companies struggled to make sense of the concept of remote work and video conferencing. This led Marques to describe the year 2020 as an “adaptation period”.
Powell: online teambuilding can be effective
“Many people were also waiting for things to get better and to return to in-person events. Different markets had different pandemic situations; some were improving and that fuelled hopes that things would return to normal soon. But as we have seen, conditions can go back and forth. Now, we are finally at a stage where people are realising that life as normal is actually some distance away and they are opening up to the idea of remote teambuilding,” said Powell.
As more clients came to accept their present situation and appreciated virtual and hybrid events, online teambuilding programmes started to see a brighter future this year, found Marques.
Teambuilding specialists were also challenged by the existence of simple and cheaper online games that competed with professional remote team engagement programmes – some of which disappointed corporate buyers and turned them off the real deal.
Sandhu said some competition came from escape room games that provided no real takeaways to achieve business goals. With prices as low as S$10 (US$7.30) per participant for these games, Sandhu said professional teambuilding providers are having a hard time competing, especially when clients are themselves unsure of what teambuilding truly means.
“For some companies, going bowling together or sharing a seafood dinner counts as teambuilding. Clients are comparing in-person experiential teambuilding programmes with (such options). To many of them, virtual teambuilding activities are perceived as just games, and therefore shouldn’t cost much.”
A real solution
Experienced teambuilding providers say clients have little to worry about the effectiveness of virtual teambuilding programmes, which are carefully designed to bring about similar results as a live engagement.
Sandhu: companies risk staff burnout
While Actions Teams had a programme matrix of 60-plus in-person activities, with each fulfilling specific team goals and serving different purposes, only 10 made the final cut for virtual conversion. Sandhu shared: “We had an intense discussion internally to determine which activities would translate well online. We have some excellent in-person activities that are not quite feasible as online versions, perhaps because it was not easy to put details on shared screens or on Google Drive.”
Actions Teams’s virtual selection attracted “great feedback”, with the company delivering five virtual and hybrid teambuilding events in November and December last year for clients in the thriving pharmaceutical industry, some of which engaged a global audience.
Powell believes that virtual teambuilding activities can be as effective as face-to-face versions – provided they are properly set up and designed to allow the same high level of energy and interaction.
“There is a lot of investment in the programme’s redesign to ensure we are doing it right,” said Powell, adding that most of Asia Ability’s virtual teambuilding programmes provide a higher facilitator-to-attendee ratio and more resources are channeled into demonstrations and rehearsals to prepare clients.
Since evolving its programmes in early-2020 to suit the online and hybrid event norm, Asia Ability has continued to innovate and today offers clients an opportunity to fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals while engaging remote teams. It has also designed apps to collect live scores and other useful data for client’s real-time review.
Teambuilding specialists said virtual options offer some unique advantages, such as ease of preparations, lower logistical costs and time savings as participants do not need to travel and be far from their duties for too long.
Furthermore, a successful virtual teambuilding experience could even teach participants how to cope better with other forms of virtual engagements, added Powell.
Choosing the right option will depend on factors such as corporate theme and objectives; time constraints; team’s demographic; and team’s level of technical readiness, advised David Fotheringham, director, Asia Ability. Here is a graphic to guide your selection:
What happens when people are made to function almost daily at home with far reduced social interactions over a long period of time?
Social support is key to many individuals. Social support can take many forms, such as having a heart-to-heart talk with a close friend over a meal or going hiking with friend. It is really about having someone to turn to or lean on. Social support makes getting through tough times and emotional difficulties a little easier.
But with implementation of Covid-19 safety measures, particularly social distancing, reduced visitation at home and working from home arrangements, it limits people’s access to social support. Naturally, with prolonged reduced social interaction, it will reduce one’s ability to manage emotional difficulties.
At work, reduced social interactions can impact the quality of work and relationship with colleagues. Cohesiveness and trust is built through face-to-face interaction, so without enough of that mistrust and miscommunications can set in and give rise to conflict.
And as employees continue to work in silos, they can lose focus on the purpose of the entire group and instead see only themselves. In the long term, this can affect work efficiencies and erode motivation to keep working.
I’ve seen more social media conversations about mental well-being throughout the pandemic. Is there really a growing awareness of mental well-being?
As we observe each of the 21st century pandemics, we see imprints of psychosocial impacts and varying degrees of psychological effects such as anxiety, which is often reported as distress, fear or panic, as well as anger, depression, insomnia, social isolation, loneliness and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
Being more informed of the psychosocial impacts of past pandemics has led more mental healthcare professionals to bring this conversation to the public and to encourage help-seeking behaviour.
It also seems there are more mental health conversations now because of increased used of social media.
Are you seeing more individuals recognising and speaking up about their own mental well-being?
I am. As awareness of mental health grows, employers are showing more care about their staff’s mental well-being, such as by establishing an Employee Assistance Programme to provide accessible avenues for employees to seek help from.
Sometimes, people may not realise they are under stress. They may encounter more body aches, fall sick more often, or suffer more frequent or lasting migraines. People may therefore not go to a psychologist for help. Instead, they will go to a GP. The good thing is, GPs are now aware of the physiological symptoms of mental stress, and will refer patients to the right channel for help.
What can employers do?
First and foremost, employers or people in leadership roles must acknowledge the difficulties of working in current situations.
Second, they will need to connect with individual staff or with the team regularly, not just for work updates but also to find out how they are feeling and coping at home. Doing this brings back human interaction and show that they are not alone in this new and difficult situation. Furthermore, this also serves as a reminder that everyone is working as a team, and not as individuals, and support is available.
Third, they need to provide a helping hand to staff in need.
This was first published on TTGmice July-August 2021, as part of the cover feature, Teams under challenge.
Adrian Toh is a clinical psychologist at Thrive Family in Singapore. He also holds the role of vice president (development) at the Singapore Psychological Society.
The Singapore government is looking into relaxing rules for the fully-vaccinated in August, and the possibility of quarantine-free travel in the near future, said co-chair of the multi-ministry task force Lawrence Wong who was delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday.
This comes as 80 per cent of Singapore’s 5.7 million population is expected to be fully vaccinated by September.
Singapore has started moving towards living with Covid-19, with most restrictions expected to be lifted soon
A review will be done in early August, and if the virus situation is stable, Wong shared that the government will look into reviewing restrictions for fully-vaccinated individuals, ahead of August 18 (the supposed end date of Phase 2 Heightened Alert).
This, however, depends on infection clusters being controlled and hospitalisation rates remaining low. As such, individuals who want to dine in at a restaurant or exercise in a gym will also have to be fully vaccinated. The same goes for those who want to attend a large event or religious service with more than 100 people.
There’s also a possibility that Singapore residents who have received two doses would not need to serve a 14-day hotel quarantine when they return from overseas. Eventually, people may also be allowed without masks outdoors.
Should travel corridors be established, it will be with countries or regions where Covid-19 is under control.
Health minister Ong Ye Kung further stated that once effective vaccination of the population has been reached, Covid-19 would be treated like the flu – without contract tracing and quarantine in dedicated facilities. Hospitalisation will only be for those seriously ill.
He added that there will be shifts in health protocols, and if Covid-19 was to be endemic, having 200 or more cases a day may not be unusual. During the influenza season, infection rates numbered around 1,000 a day.
Certain health protocols are already in effect, for instance, the city-state has been admitting more Covid-19 patients aged 17 to 45 directly to community care facilities instead of hospitals. This age bracket will be expanded to age 59.
It has also shortened the length of stays in hospitals and community care facilities from 21 days to 14 days for the fully-vaccinated, and lets those who are fully inoculated serve quarantine at home instead of at government facilities.
However, Wong warned that new variants may also emerge, and could be more transmissible or lethal, which may force the government to reintroduce restrictions from time to time.
Constellar Holdings has retrenched 21 employees, equivalent to 12 per cent of its employees in the Singapore office, citing the prolonged impact of Covid-19 as a reason.
This exercise was conducted in close consultation with the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union, and with the support of the Employment and Employability Institute, to assist affected employees with advice and counsel in their career transition.
Constellar reiterates retrenchment exercise was a difficult one
Affected and eligible employees will get a retrenchment package based on their length of service. Constellar will also continue to extend medical insurance coverage to them until March 31, 2022, or when they find employment, whichever is earlier.
This move is despite having implemented cost reduction and a freeze on wages and hiring, tapping on government support such as the Jobs Support Scheme, and implementing management pay cuts of up to 30 per cent.
Since the circuit breaker in Singapore was implemented in April 2020, the events industry has been severely upended. Events in Singapore were suspended and were only allowed within strict capacity limits and safe events protocol from October 2020 with travel and border restrictions effectively in place. As a result, the majority of events had to be postponed or cancelled, while others had to be significantly downsized, or go digital or hybrid. This has resulted in a 95 per cent drop in physical events held at its managed venue, the Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria.
With a skeletal pipeline of events and the Covid-19 situation still unpredictable, Constellar said in a press statement that it has had to undertake this exercise to preserve financial resources and get ready to rebuild as the economy recovers.
“Like the rest of the events industry, we’re facing the hard truths of huge uncertainty, cautious sentiment, low business volume and continued cost pressures. The rightsizing decision is a deeply difficult one, after considering all options and scenarios,” a spokesperson for Constellar Holdings said.
will be the best platform for the local team specifically and for the Asia region to learn about the latest developments in bleeding disorders treatment and care in the new normal
The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) World Congress will be making its way to Malaysia in 2024 after an uneventful 2020 cancellation due to the pandemic.
The congress will bring the world best’s professionals in hemophilia to Malaysia for the first time to provide local healthcare professionals with opportunities to network, collaborate, share best practices among industry experts and finding solutions to save human lives.
The conference will be the best platform to learn about the latest developments in bleeding disorders treatment and care in the new normal
WFH has a global network of patient organisations in 122 countries and has official recognition from the World Health Organisation.
According to Jeremias Rodriguez, director – congress & meetings for World Federation of Hemophilia, the congress is returning to South-east Asia after a 20-year gap.
The announcement of this event is the first step towards restoring confidence in the nation’s ability to hold in-person events.
According to Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s CEO Abdul Khani Daud: “Supporting a health-focused congress such as the World Federation of Hemophilia is especially crucial during the Covid-19 crisis whereby it has made life challenging for people with a bleeding disorder. Unlike many medical congresses, this Congress is unique because it is attended by patients as well as medical experts, researchers, scientist and regulators. It acts as a platform for patients with bleeding disorders to gain new information from the medical aspect and learn about latest developments that could assist them in their daily lives.”
On July 21, the Catalonia Tourism Board (CTB) – in collaboration with the Spain Tourism Board in Singapore and part of ILTM Singapore – managed to launch their first in-person event since the pandemic, one day before Singapore went into lockdown for the third time.
The Catalonia Workplace, held at Andaz Singapore, aimed to stimulate interest in travel to Barcelona and the region of Catalonia, and welcomed a full attendance of 14 MICE and luxury buyers based in Singapore. The event also sought to bring Singaporean tourism professionals together and meet face-to-face, amid new meeting regulations.
At the Catalonia Workplace, CTB also unveiled a new tourism product, The Grand Tour of Catalonia. The Grand Tour of Catalonia offers 2,000km of circular itineraries that link iconic natural and cultural sites in the region, ranging from the Pyrenees mountains to the 500km of Mediterranean coastline.
Attendees got to taste and experience a little bit of the Grand Tour of Catalonia through artisanal gifts, and also a real-time video call from leaders and suppliers of the region.
The tourism board strongly believes that Singaporeans would be the first segment of travellers from Asia Pacific to head to Spain once travel restrictions are lifted. Singapore is one of the 10 countries outside of the European Union that have permission to enter Spain without being vaccinated or undergo quarantine, since European borders reopened on June 7.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has rolled out WHERE NEXT? Buyouts – the second phase of its global WHERE NEXT? campaign.
Corporate groups and bleisure travellers can now select buyout options inclusive of entire floors, wings, or even full property takeovers at more than 135 independent luxury properties around the world.
Borneo Eagle Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
The WHERE NEXT? Buyouts offer is available for stays through December 31, 2022, with highlights in Asia including the Alma Resort in Cam Ranh, Vietnam; Borneo Eagle Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; and The Capitol Hotel Tokyu (Tokyo, Japan).
“Our global sales team has fielded more requests over the last six months for partial or entire hotel buyouts than ever before, so we launched WHERE NEXT? Buyouts to fuel inspiration among travellers and our loyal I Prefer guests while providing them with information on each of the tailored hotel options available to them,” said Alison McDermott, executive director of global merchandising and marketing for Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
“This continuation of the WHERE NEXT? global campaign is designed to appeal to many travellers and caters to different budgets and group sizes to offer exclusive solutions to everyone ready to reconnect and create memories.”
WHERE NEXT? Buyouts follows the May launch of WHERE NEXT? Experiences – an offer for two nights’ accommodation or longer at the best available rate, which extends complimentary daily breakfast for two, a locally-inspired experience for two, and fast track to I Prefer Elite status.
The newly-opened Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok anchors the One Bangkok development with cosmopolitan elegance. Featuring the city's largest ballroom and a spectacular new penthouse suite, it delivers exceptional hardware and deeply authentic, soulful service for business and leisure travellers alike
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.
Founder Raj Sandhu recalled how 2020 had started off strongly, with the whole year booked out with programmes all over the world, but spiraled into despair in February as the pandemic hit and clients either cancelled or paused their plans.
