SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - International hospitality owner and operator Far East Hospitality will add The Clan Hotel, its latest brand, to its growing portfolio. Slated to launch in 2Q2020, The Clan Hotel Singapore will be the group’s first luxury hotel in Singapore.
Arthur Kiong, Far East Hospitality’s CEO, says the 324-key, 139,931 sq ft hotel has been in the conceptualisation stage for several years. “The good that came out is that we had a lot of time to consider what the product is that we want to create, that will be unique and special,” he says.
According to Kiong, there has been a “complete shift in thinking” on what constitutes a “luxury hotel”. From expecting a hotel to be “grand” and “spacious”, travellers now expect a place that is spacious and offers personalised touches.
“In the past, luxury was about being exclusive. For the modern-day traveller, ‘luxury’ is about being inclusive, it’s about wanting to feel that you are welcome,” says Kiong. At The Clan Hotel, the services include immediate room check-in services at the airport with limousine transfer, a welcome tea ceremony with Chinese tea and traditional snacks, and turndown services with flower tea and essential oil rollers. Guests will also be able to sign up for tours, which the hotel staff will lead.
At The Clan Hotel, four room types are available. The rooms are priced from $300 a night. They are the Superior, Deluxe, Premier and Grand Premier rooms. The latter two room types are part of the MASTER Series rooms that offer highly customised services.
Kiong points out that there is also a shift in expectations among travellers – from good-quality finishings to good designs. That is why the Sky Gym at The Clan is designed like a Chinese dojo, paying tribute to the heritage in the area.
The Clan Hotel wants to “connect more travellers to unique experiences and deliver both a deeper cultural connection and a strong sense of place”, he adds. It helps that situated atop Far East Square, the hotel is only minutes away from Raffles Place and Collyer Quay, yet is surrounded by the heritage streets around Far East Square, Telok Ayer Street, Ann Siang Hill, and even Chinatown. That the area is steeped in history is to the hotel’s advantage, he notes.
Kiong also questions the conventional idea of “quality tourism”. In land-scarce Singapore, the constant formula that hotel developers have been adopting is to maximise land use by building more rooms, coupled with the introduction of technology like service robots. “Small rooms, lots of robots. Is that quality tourism?” he asks.
The launch of The Clan Hotel comes on the heels of Far East Hospitality’s new launches in April – its flagship 606-key Village Hotel Sentosa that caters to families, and the 193-key The Outpost Hotel Sentosa that aims to attract couples. This December, Far East Hospitality’s third hotel in Sentosa, The Barracks Hotel Sentosa, will open its doors. With just 40 rooms, The Barracks Hotel Sentosa will cater to the “more discerning and mature traveller”, says Kiong.
“What we hope to do is to actually create a new tier of business in Sentosa. What’s missing in Sentosa right now is obviously the mid-tier customers, because Sentosa is seen as an expensive destination,” he says.
Expansion continues to be a focus, notes Kiong. He says that Far East Hospitality is looking at opening four other hotels outside of Singapore – in Japan, Vietnam and Australia.
The 306-key Village Hotel Ariake Tokyo in Japan will be the first under the Village brand outside of Singapore. Owned by a 50-50 joint venture between Far East Hospitality and Far East Organization, the hotel is in Koto City, near the Ariake waterfront area. Situated in the Olympic Village, it will open just before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, says Kiong.
In Vietnam, the 56-key Hotel Reve and the 30-key Suzu Hotel, situated in District 1, will be under a management agreement with developer Five Elements Development, and are expected to open in the first half of next year. In Australia, The Quincy Melbourne will be a joint venture with TFE Hotels, located on the corner of Flinders Lane and King Street.
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