Page 30 - ar2012

Business Review (continued)
HOSPITAL ITY
2012wasayearofsignificanttransformation
for our hospitality division, where we
undertook a series of initiatives to
unlock value and position it as an engine
of growth.
ASSET ENHANCEMENT
PROGRAMME
The first initiative was the S$100 million
asset enhancement programme which
started in 2011 at fiveof our hotels; namely
Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore,
Rendezvous Hotel Perth, Rendezvous
Studio Hotel Perth, Rendezvous Grand
Hotel Melbourne and Rendezvous
Grand Hotel Auckland, to improve the
returns on our hotel properties. Many
of the refurbishments were disruptive to
business in the short-term and affected
our performance unfavourably in 2012
resulting in a loss of S$36.2 million for
FY2012 compared with a loss of S$5.8
million for FY2011.
At the time of writing, most of these
asset enhancements at our hotels in
Australia and New Zealand have been
completed except for Rendezvous
Hotel Perth. We are beginning to see
positive contributions from some of our
refurbished hotels as a result of higher
room rates and improved business mix.
BRAND
The second initiative was to build on
the Rendezvous brand and extend
its brand recognition. The Group’s
portfolio of contemporary and heritage
style hotels are redefined as midscale
to upscale hotels operating under the
Rendezvous Grand Hotel, Rendezvous
Hotel and Rendezvous Studio Hotel
brands. All of the Marque Hotels have
been rebranded as Rendezvous Studio
Hotels while Rendezvous Hotel Perth and
RendezvousMerry Hotel Shanghai will be
rebranded as Rendezvous Grand Hotel
Perth and Rendezvous Hotel Shanghai
Merry respectively.
STRATEGIC ACQUISITION
The third initiative was the acquisition
of the freehold interest of Rendezvous
Grand Hotel Melbourne in September
2012, enabling us to improve our returns
on the hotel as an owner rather than
as a lessee.
The 100-year-old building, listed on
Victoria’s Heritage Register as a historic
building of significant cultural value, is
located within the heart of Melbourne’s
retail and commercial precinct, surrounded
by premium grade office towers and
situated within close proximity to major
tourist attractions.
Following the acquisition of this hotel,
we began asset enhancement works to
refurbish the hotel in April 2012. We have
started to see the gains in the form of
higher room rates and increased guest
satisfaction.
Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore, Straits Trading’s flagship hotel was among the
first to be refurbished, rebranded and reopened
Rendezvous Grand Hotel Melbourne was acquired in September 2012
T R A N S F O R M AT I ON / 28