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Ascott
Unveils Citadines Connect Business
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Hotels
to Expand Short-Stay Offerings
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A sub-brand of the established
Citadines serviced residence brand,
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Citadines Connect business
hotels with limited services cater
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to highly mobile, constantly
connected travellers
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Singapore
– April 2019 / Newsmaker Alert / CapitaLand’s
wholly owned lodging business unit, The
Ascott Limited (Ascott), has launched Citadines
Connect, a line of business hotels with selected services, to widen
its short-stay offerings as it continues to grow its portfolio. A sub-brand
of Ascott’s well-established Citadines serviced residence brand, Citadines
Connect business hotels cater to frequent travellers who are constantly
connected, offering a chic living experience in vibrant city destinations.
Citadines
Connect business hotels will have tech-enabled features such as mobile
keys, self check-in kiosks, smart washing machines or laundromats, content
streaming-enabled televisions, and Google cloud printers. Guests can enjoy
the convenience of ‘Grab & Go’ counters offering food and beverage
options and daily necessities, common pantry areas, meeting pods, as well
as 24/7 gymnasiums. They can also relax at the ‘Refresh and Recharge’ spaces
that come with private napping pods with USB charging points, lockers and
shower rooms. The hotels offer mostly studio rooms ranging from 18 to 21
square metres.
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Mr
Alfred Ong, Ascott’s Head for Global Operations, said: “Citadines is Ascott’s
fastest growing brand. It has a strong reputation amongst travellers who
enjoy the flexibility to choose the services according to their lifestyles.
Riding on the worldwide popularity of the Citadines brand which focuses
on the extended-stay market, we are introducing the Citadines Connect sub-brand
to capture the short-stay segment. The Citadines Connect brand, which offers
contemporary and tech-enabled hotel accommodation in well-connected locations,
cater to highly mobile business travellers who appreciate convenience,
fuss-free services, online connectivity and recreational experiences.”
“We
see strong potential for the short-stay segment and hotel rates are rising
given the rapid growth in global mobility, bleisure travel and a flourishing
gig economy. More and more skilled professionals are taking on short-term,
freelancing and ad-hoc work assignments which require them to travel frequently.
We will leverage Ascott’s international network and strong management capabilities
to bring the Citadines Connect brand to key gateway cities such as Hong
Kong, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo as well as popular destinations in Southeast
Asia where there is high demand for quality, short-term accommodation.”
Mr.
Ong added: “By extending our range of product offerings with Citadines
Connect, we can scale up our lodging business at a faster rate and further
sharpen our expertise in managing hotel assets. Our business partners and
guests alike can choose from a wide variety of lodging products that can
best cater to their business models, travel patterns, and accommodation
needs.”
The
two properties to debut under the Citadines Connect brand are in highly
attractive locations in the top cosmopolitan cities of Sydney and New York.
Ascott is also looking to rebrand its properties such as Temple Bar Hotel
Dublin in Ireland and The Domain Hotel Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, California
to Citadines Connect.
Citadines
Connect Sydney Airport
The
150-unit prime freehold business hotel is currently operating as Felix
Hotel and will be rebranded as Citadines Connect Sydney Airport in May
2019. Located in Mascot within the city of Botany Bay, it is within walking
distance to the Mascot railway station and Sydney Airport – Australia’s
busiest airport which caters to around 44.4 million passengers in 2018[1]
and is forecast to receive around 60.7 million passengers by 2033[2]. The
business parks of Alexandria, Botany, Mascot and Waterloo, The Lakes and
The Australian golf clubs as well as the Westfield Eastgardens Shopping
Centre are all nearby. Sydney’s Central Business District is within a 15-minute
drive or ride by train. The precinct is further earmarked for development
to accommodate future population and employment growth capitalising on
its accessibility to public transport.
Citadines
Connect Fifth Avenue New York
Citadines
Connect Fifth Avenue New York is centrally located in the heart of Manhattan.
Attracting a good mix of both corporate and leisure travellers, the property
with 125 rooms is performing well with an average occupancy rate of more
than 95%. Citadines Connect Fifth Avenue New York is steps away from Times
Square, Fifth Avenue, the Theatre District and Rockefeller Center. It is
also a short walk from key attractions such as the Empire State Building,
Museum of Modern Art and Grand Central Station.
Since
Ascott acquired the Citadines Apart’hotel serviced residence chain in 2004,
it has expanded the Citadines portfolio by about five times from 5,100
apartment units in 18 European cities to about 25,000 units in over 140
properties and 86 cities across Asia Pacific, Europe, the U.S. and the
Middle East. Last year, Ascott invested in TAUZIA Hotel Management, one
of Indonesia’s top five hotel operators, to capitalise on opportunities
in the growing middle-class hotel segment.
Business
travel spending has been growing steadily from 2012 to 2017 and is expected
to grow at an average rate of about 5% to US$1.7 trillion by 2022[3]. This
year, hotel rates are also expected to rise 3.7% globally[4].
About
The Ascott Limited
The
Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading
international lodging owner-operators. It has more than 58,000 operating
units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East
and Africa, as well as about 42,000 units which are under development,
making a total of over 100,000 units in over 660 properties. The company’s
serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott, Citadines, Somerset,
Quest, The Crest Collection, lyf, Citadines Connect, Préférence,
Vertu, Harris, Fox, Yello and POP!. Ascott’s portfolio spans more than
170 cities across over 30 countries.
Ascott,
a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific’s
first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott
Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry
track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.
Ascott’s
achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include
DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2019 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’;
World Travel Awards 2018 for ‘Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’ in Asia,
Europe and the Middle East; TTG China Travel Awards 2018 for ‘Best Serviced
Residence Operator in China’; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2018
for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’; Business Traveller UK Awards 2018
for ‘Best Serviced Apartment Company’ and Business Traveller China Awards
2018 for ‘Best Luxury Serviced Residence Brand’. For a full list of awards,
please visit www.the-ascott.com/ascottlimited/awards.html
About
CapitaLand Limited
CapitaLand
is one of Asia’s largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed
in Singapore, it is an owner and manager of a global portfolio worth over
S$100 billion as at 31 December 2018, comprising integrated developments,
shopping malls, lodging, offices, homes, real estate investment trusts
(REITs) and funds. CapitaLand’s market capitalisation is approximately
S$13 billion as at 31 December 2018. Present across more than 180 cities
in over 30 countries, the Group focuses on Singapore and China as core
markets, while it continues to expand in markets such as Vietnam, Europe
and the U.S.
CapitaLand’s
competitive advantage is its significant asset base and extensive market
network. Coupled with extensive design, development and operational capabilities,
the Group develops and manages high-quality real estate products and services.
It also has one of the largest investment management businesses in Asia
and a stable of five REITs listed in Singapore and Malaysia – CapitaLand
Mall Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand
Retail China Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust. Visit www.capitaland.com
for more information.
[1]
"Sydney Airport Traffic Performance December 2018", (19 January 2019),
Sydney Airport Limited
[2]
"Sydney Airport Masterplan 2039", (2018), Sydney Airport Limited
[3]
"GBTA BTI Outlook: Annual Global Report & Forecast", (August 2018),
Global Business Travel Association
[4]
"2018 Global Travel Forecast", (July 2017), Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Joan
Tan
Vice
President, Group Communications
Tel:
(65) 6713 2864
Mobile:
(65) 9743 9503
Chen
MeiHui
Manager,
Group Communications
Tel:
(65) 6713 3676
Mobile:
(65) 8133 8334 |