Hospitality giant Marriott International has opened the doors to its first branded apartment hotel in Hangzhou, China, the Marriott Executive Apartments Hangzhou.
The property in Zhejiang Province’s capital city features 142 fully-serviced apartments ranging from 40m2 studios to 140m2 three-bedroom suites. Each apartment is outfitted with a fully-equipped kitchen, free Wi-Fi, and satellite TV.
A room in Marriott Executive Apartments Hangzhou
Residents can make use of meeting rooms, a mini-theatre, and health club facilities such as a 24-hour fitness centre, an indoor swimming pool, as well as a sauna. There is also a kids’ club for families with children.
On-demand services such as housekeeping, grocery shopping and chauffeur-driven limousines can also be arranged.
Strategically situated in the center of the Future Sci-Tech City and part of the European Financial City, Marriott Executive Apartments Hangzhou is close to an array of notable companies and major industrial zones, including Alibaba’s headquarters, Zhejiang Overseas High-level Talents Innovation Park, Hangzhou Internet Dream Town and Hundsun Technological Park.
In addition, the International Conference Center is just a short walk away, while it only takes 15 minutes to drive to Hangzhou Xixi Wetland Park, INtime Mall and Impression City Shopping Center.
The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is struggling to accommodate increasing interest from Asian groups, losing significant amounts of business while it lobbies the government for an expansion.
Still buzzing from hosting the Commonwealth Games in April followed by the Infinitus China incentive group which brought in an extra 6,000 visitors, business tourism authorities have been working hard to ensure both events are leveraged for long term gains.
The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
“I think the city’s been overwhelmed by the response and the work that’s been done by Destination Gold Coast in attracting sporting-related conferences,” said Adrienne Readings, general manager of GCCEC. “Enquiry rates from Asia have increased by about 200 to 300 per cent, especially from mainland China, thanks to Infinitus China.”
But bookings at the GCCEC have almost reached capacity, and the structural demands of some large-scale meetings means that the centre has turned away a “significant amount” of business.
“I don’t want to delve into the numbers because we’re working on a business case at the moment and a lot of that information is confidential,” Readings told TTGmice during last week’s This Is Gold Coast Business Exchange.
Since four years ago, Readings has been lobbying the government to extend the centre by up to 50 per cent, with the state government now undertaking scoping studies. But she admits the wait is costing them.
Readings: GCCEC in dire need of an expansion to cope with increased interest
“We’ve (been) measuring our lost business for about eight years. The Gold Coast is a very popular destination both nationally and internationally, and the combination is a bit of a perfect storm if you don’t have the space.
“We are the largest venue (in Gold Coast that can) accommodate big incentive groups, (and) international conferences out of Asia and Europe (which) require a lot of concurrent meeting space,” Readings elaborated.
The GCCEC currently seats 6,000 in an area divisible into three spaces, with more than 6,000m2 of exhibition space which can be divided into four halls and 22 meeting rooms.
Some hosted buyers from Singapore have indicated that Gold Coast has exceeded their expectations and they are keen to send groups Down Under.
For the first time since the annual showcase started in 2014, This Is Gold Coast Business Exchange (TIGCBE) invited event planners from South-east Asia. For the three hosted buyers, it was also their first visit to the Gold Coast.
SkyPoint Observation Deck
“It’s been more than I expected,” said Trendy Dai, senior event manager for George P Johnson. “The (suppliers) we met were very helpful and they have a passion for events. The itineraries we’ve been shown and entire concepts have been awesome, and quite a few hotels have impressed me.”
A customised programme designed for them included site visits to hotels and meeting venues, a helicopter ride over the the city, and a surprise visit by a koala at the SkyPoint Observation Deck.
Sufiyana Hassan, senior events executive for CWT Meetings & Events, said there is a perception among her clients that Australia is an expensive destination but her visit has given her ideas on how to cut costs.
“They’ll want to experience the city like a local (anyway) so we don’t have to do transfers. We can take the tram instead and it’s just a few stops (to nearby hotels). Also, I’ve seen innovative backdrops which are cheaper and more mobile that we can potentially use,” Sufiyana shared.
Both Dai and Sufiyana told TTGmice that the visit has convinced them to bring groups to the Gold Coast.
“My clients have previously asked about Gold Coast but we didn’t have much knowledge about this place so we were (lukewarm) about the idea,” said Dai, whose main clients are from the IT industry like IBM. “Now we know what’s best for which groups and have the right contacts in Gold Coast to make this happen.”
Sufiyana said her groups have been going to South Korea and Japan, but she’ll now ask them to consider the Gold Coast for future meetings and incentive experiences.
(From left) Trendy Dai, Sufiyana Hassan, and Erica Hegarty at a Polo By The Sea experience as part of This Is Gold Coast Business Exchange
However, Erica Hegarty, head of sales for Asia-Pacific at Pacific World, said while the Gold Coast impressed, it may not be the best place for her corporate groups.
“I feel that Brisbane would be a better option for corporate meetings because they have more venue options. But I think the Gold Coast has more choice when it comes to activities and experiences, particularly for incentive groups,” she opined.
Regardless, Hegarty said more of her Asia-Pacific based corporate clients have been asking about Australia as a meetings destination.
“They’ve done enough within Asia, and Europe has been more appealing because it’s just a few more hours travel than Australia,” Hegarty said. “But I think (the appetite) to experience new destinations (is there) and Australia is being mentioned quite often these days.”
A total of 68 hosted buyers attended the three-day showcase which ended on Saturday.
Marriott International has announced its vision for a transformed Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, with 25 per cent of Sheraton hotels worldwide having committed to renovations totalling an estimated US$500 million.
The company, which introduced its new Sheraton guestroom late last year, is showcasing its vision for Sheraton’s public spaces at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference in New York.
Sketch of the Sheraton’s design foundation
Sheraton is the third largest brand in the Marriott portfolio, and the largest outside of North America in terms of room count.
“From the moment we closed the Starwood merger in late 2016, the revitalisation of Sheraton has been a top priority for our company,” said Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International.
Reverting to its roots as the gathering place for locals and guests, Sheraton’s strategy will include collaborative venues, technology enabled designs, and a host who helps deliver an experience that is exclusive to Sheraton.
“We wanted to build on Sheraton’s legacy of sitting at the heart of communities across the globe, but also create a differentiated positioning and compelling proposition for our owners,” added Sorenson.
“This is the first time in years that the brand has been above competitive benchmark in both rate and occupancy,” said Tina Edmundson, global brand officer, Marriott International. “We have improved brand standards, increased group bookings, and ramped up our business engine over the last year as a first step in a multi-phase, multi-year plan, leveraging our experience in revitalising lodging brands.”
Since joining Marriott International as part of the acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in September 2016, Sheraton has exited 6,000 rooms with another 2,000 expected to depart by the end of the year. During the same period, 5,000 rooms have been signed to the portfolio.
According to Marriott, intent to recommend for the brand has already increased two points year-over-year and market share has grown for the first time in years.
Sheraton’s portfolio currently consists of nearly 450 open hotels with 80 additional projects in the pipeline in 72 countries and territories. By 2020, the brand’s footprint is expected to expand to 90 countries.
One of the function spaces on the property with abundant natural lighting
The 316-key DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang in Malaysia is seeing a growth in demand for meetings, incentives and conferences at the property since its January opening.
The hotel’s business development manager, Joyi Ng, attributed the growth to the recognition of the Hilton brand, saying that it was strong in Malaysia and this has helped to attract more events. Events mainly hail from the domestic market, and overseas markets such as Singapore, Greater China, and the UK.
One of the function spaces on the property with abundant natural lighting
Ng further shared that 40 per cent of the hotel’s business mix are from the business events sector who make use of the hotel facilities for their functions. The remaining 60 per cent are leisure tourists.
From August 6-9, DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang will also be the venue for the Asian Leadership Conference 2018. Around 500 delegates are expected to attend, and it will be the largest conference booking to date, revealed Ng.
The seafront resort, located in the Batu Ferringhi area, has the largest pillarless ballroom in Penang, provides a lot of natural daylight and overlooks a garden and pool. Other meeting facilities include three function rooms that can hold 12 and 120 delegates, and a sea-facing terrace that is suitable for cocktails or teambuilding activities. In addition, the beach fronting the hotel, known as Miami beach, is also suitable for teambuilding events up to a maximum of 50 pax.
This property is the first DoubleTree Resort in Malaysia, and joins three other DoubleTree hotel properties in the country, namely DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur, DoubleTree by Hilton Melaka and DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru.
Maureen O’Crowley, the executive director of Seoul Tourism Organization from 2008 to 2017, passed away peacefully on the evening of June 4 with her family by her side.
She had been battling pancreas cancer.
O’Crowley was deeply passionate about promoting her city, Seoul, as well as South Korea for leisure tourism and business events, and worked tirelessly as an advocate of both at travel trade events around the world with her team.
In an announcement on Facebook of her demise on Tuesday (June 5), Seoul Convention Bureau described O’Crowley as a “great leader, colleague, and friend”.
The post read: “Maureen O’Crowley, former executive director of the Seoul Convention Bureau, inspired and touched many hearts here at the Seoul Tourism Organization. She left an incredible legacy promoting Seoul and Korea around the world, and her work, passion, and kindness will always be remembered.”
Dubai prioritises the Asian market
Dubai has been expanding its presence in a number of Asian markets with offices staffed with team members from Dubai Business Events that can assist agencies, corporates, and planners.
The emirate is currently represented in cities such as Guangzhou, Seoul, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur. The latter three offices are just a year old, having opened in June 2017.
“Having that infrastructure of people on the ground helps us be proactive in sales, as well as provide support for these organisations looking towards Dubai (as an incentive destination),” Steen Jakobsen, assistant vice president, Dubai Business Events and City Operations, told TTGmice.
On why Asia was being looked at more keenly now, Jakobsen shared: “The focus is more on incentive programmes and on corporate meetings now. We’ve seen a growing interest from many markets throughout Asia such as Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. More direct-selling industries are using Dubai as a destination for their annual incentive programmes.”
At this point, half of Dubai’s business sector are incentive groups, and of this about 80 per cent are Asian companies. Particularly for the China market, incentive groups have been large. Forever Living brought 12,000 pax to the city, while NuSkin China brought some 14,500 pax.
Steen attributes this growth to the softened visa regulation a year ago for Chinese nationals. They can now obtain a visa upon arrival, and as a result arrivals leapt 41 per cent. – Rachel AJ Lee
ICC Wales construction enters new phase
ICC Wales has reached a milestone in the £84 million (US$112.7 million) project, with more than half the steel for the new centre now in place.
The joint venture between Celtic Manor and the Welsh Government will be able to accommodate 5,000 delegates in total. Function spaces includes a 4,000m2 pillar-free main hall, a 1,500-seated auditorium, 12 flexible meeting rooms, a glass atrium, and 2,500m2 outdoor plaza.
The building will be watertight by the end of November, and is on track for a completion by summer 2019.
When complete, ICC Wales is expected to bring £70 million a year into the Welsh economy.
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to open hotel in Houston
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will be opening a second hotel in the state of Texas come 2023 in Houston’s Uptown District. It will be located near The Galleria shopping area, and the Texas Medical Center.
The property will comprise 150 rooms, and be located in a mixed-use development. The Houston outpost will have two F&B venues, outdoor pool, fitness centre, Rosewood spa, and meeting spaces.
Event brief
Asia Ability’s office in Malaysia was contracted by a healthcare technology company in Singapore to organise and execute a teambuilding event for 1,300 employees in July 2017.
The objective of the exercise was to provide a fun and engaging experience for the participants while at the same time reinforcing the organisational values.
Asia Ability
Challenges
Asia Ability’s signature teambuilding activity, Trade Winds, met the requirements of the client. It is a fast moving and highly immersive pirate themed game that explores the skills of negotiation, information gathering and networking.
A challenge was securing enough manpower to prepare the props needed for 1,300 participants, the largest group the teambuilding specialist has handled so far for Trade Winds. Props included pirate costumes, make-belief trading coins, cards, manual instructions and treasure chests, among others. Asia Ability has less than 20 full-time staff around the region and historically, preparations for events has been done mostly in-house.
Another challenge was getting everyone in this group to fully participate while ensuring the company’s key messages were effectively delivered.
Solution
The last two weeks before the event were the most frantic, recalled Hailin Gambud, programme manager at Asia Ability.
Gambud said: “We may be a small team but every member at Asia Ability in the different regional offices chipped in to help, including senior management, to ensure all the props were ready for the event and packed into boxes to be taken to (the site).
“We attribute part of the event’s success to (our cooperative) offices in Singapore and Thailand (whose staff) chipped in to (help). For example, the lead facilitator, David Fotheringham, is from our office in Thailand. Dressed as Jack Sparrow, he oozed charm and quickly got the audience fully engaged.”
He was assisted by Asia Ability’s experienced facilitators as well as freelancers sourced by the Singapore office. The latter were provided with training prior to the event so that they understood the concept of the game, and were able to assist and encourage participants.
Key takeaways
Gambud recalled that a series of in-house meetings were conducted to plan minute details, and to anticipate the different behavioural patterns of participants.
“We had trained personnel to encourage the quieter personalities within the group to participate and have fun. Most importantly, we were able to draw on our talented pool of team facilitators who brought both their professionalism and the all important great energy required to facilitate a successful large scale team event,” said Gambud.
Event: Staff Teambuilding 2017 Venue: Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre Date: July 14, 2017 Number of participants: 1,300
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s summit will reportedly take place at Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island next week.
Sentosa and the linkway to the island from Harbourfront have been designated by the Singapore government as a special event area for the upcoming summit between the two leaders.
An aerial view of Capella Singapore, the location for the historic summit
This came in a public order published on the government’s online gazette on June 5, and adds to a previous announcement that the area around Shangri-La Hotel Singapore – area comprising the districts of Tanglin, Newton and Orchard – has also been designated as a special event area.
It said extra security measures would be in force for both these areas between June 10 and 14.
For instance, drones, weapons, flares, loud hailers, sound systems and banners will be banned in the special zone, with police allowed to conduct body searches on those entering the area.
Macau’s ongoing expansion of its family-oriented product and experience offerings through attractions, as well as entertainment facilities within hotels and resorts, has made the destination – once better known as a gaming paradise – an attractive option for corporate family days and staff parties.
According to Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), most of such events hail from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
MGM Theater
For planners of corporate family days and staff parties, a plethora of new non-gaming attractions are ripe for picking.
The new MGM Cotai, for one, has plans for impressive performances at its MGM Theatre, said to be Asia’s first dynamic theatre with revolutionary technology that brings to life multisensory experiences. As well, the hotel has over 300 permanent art pieces and an exclusive array of digital art on display.
The transformed Taipa Village – once home of fishermen – now tantalises visitors with various heritage attractions, innovative dining experiences, unique shopping opportunities and diverse arts and entertainment options.
Taipa Village Destination’s associate director, head of marketing, Pamela Chan, told TTGmice that as a “culturally-rich enclave”, Taipa Village has been a popular destination for festivals, family carnivals, workshops and other activities.
“Our Easter programme this year attracted more than 250 family visitors (locals and foreigners) over two consecutive weekends,” Chan said.
She added that restaurants within Taipa Village are ready to welcome special corporate gatherings, such as staff appreciation dinners and other celebratory events, and can support requests for customised menus.
“The Taipa Village Art Space is also a prime venue for local and international visitors to appreciate artworks of different media, from paintings, photography and sculptures to multimedia installations and films,” she said.
Fun outings can also be sought at Planet J, a theme park within Sands Cotai Central. The attraction, which offers over 200 interactive games across a 9,300m2 site, is popular for corporate family days and staff appreciation events.
Planet J’s sales and marketing manager, Dilys Leung, explained that Planet J works great for such gatherings as the theme park is suitable for both children and adults.
New to Planet J are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) games. City Gate AR, for instance, presents a three-metre tall dragon created with AR technology. Participants don AR goggles and are armed with weapons to fend off the fearsome creature.
Planet J supports corporate planners with assistance in arranging teambuilding programmes as well as lighter activities such as magic shows and educational sessions.
Last November, Macau earned the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation, another milestone in MGTO’s efforts to diversify the destination’s appeal. MGTO believes that Macau’s latest UNESCO status will earn it even more corporate groups in search of wholesome fun.
CWT Meetings & Events Hong Kong’s events manager, Frederick Leung, told TTGmice that Macau has indeed become a hot pick for corporate family days and staff parties.
He explained: “Macau’s luxury accommodation, fine-dining restaurants and wide ranging activities and entertainment for all ages create a complete package not found in many other destinations in the region.
“Guests staying in Cotai Central can also access facilities at some of the other hotels in the area. This makes Macau an attractive choice for corporate incentive trips and events.”
However, he saw the need for more venues and attractions independent of hotels and resorts in the destination.
“Many of the new dining and entertainment options are located in hotels, and access is often restricted to hotel guests. Developing more off-site venues and attractions will contribute to making Macau more appealing,” CWT’s Leung elaborated.
Manuel Wu, managing director of Macau Explorer Cultural Travel – an agency that specialises in unique destination experiences such as tailored culture tours and cooking classes as part of corporate events – has observed a rising trend in corporate groups heading to Macau for “cultural and community activities that help drive the local economy”.
While BCD Travel Hong Kong hasn’t seen requests for corporate family days, managing director Lily Agonoy said the destination gets a lot of staff appreciation programmes from Hong Kong. She attributes this to Macau’s accessibility from Hong Kong and reputation of being an integrated entertainment destination.
“The new integrated resorts are making Macau more appealing, as their entertainment facilities cater to different age groups,” said Agonoy, adding that the destination itself can support fun arrangements such as family day carnivals, circus-themed corporate events, and sporty staff appreciation retreats with activities like yoga or Zumba.
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
The five-star property excels in backing its expansive facilities with seamless service and personalised attention, setting the benchmark for luxury in Bangkok.
