Hind’s new boutique hotel to up luxury ante

Naumi, the latest name in boutique hotels, opens in Singapore next week, with room rates ranging from $390 to $1,200.

Located next to Raffles Hotel in Seah Street, the 40-room Naumi will offer mostly deluxe suites costing $500 a night – about the same as a room at a five-star hotel. But Naumi is a different proposition. Owned by the Hind Group, its managing director Surya Jhunjhnuwala says that the hotel will provide ‘highly personalised’ service.

The initial staff-to-guest ratio is one to one – and Mr Jhunjhnuwala still expects this to increase. His family owned the Imperial Hotel off River Valley Road between 1977 and 1999 before selling it. ‘We have always been keen to get back into the hospitality business,’ he says.

This time, Hind Group wants to focus on the boutique segment. Mr Jhunjhnuwala says that the target is to have hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms within three years, with the ideal size for a Naumi hotel being 30-70 rooms.

The group will look for opportunities in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Thailand and is still looking in Singapore. But it is not likely to find anything for $18 million – the price it paid for the Metropole Hotel in April 2006, which was converted into Naumi in eight months.

Indeed, it could sell the hotel now and make a tidy profit. But Mr Jhunjhnuwala says that although there is ‘a price for everything’, selling Naumi is not the plan at present. The old Metropole Hotel was gutted and given a hip makeover by award-winning local firm Eco-id Architecture and Design at a cost of more than $10 million or an estimated $250,000 a room.

Naumi is by no means Singapore’s first boutique hotel. Establishments such as The Scarlet, Hotel 1929 and the New Majestic Hotel are already popular with the fashion-conscious crowd.

But Mr Jhunjhnuwala says Naumi is less ‘thematic’. He is confident it will provide at least a 5 per cent return on investment.

Source : Business Times – 06 Sept 2007

No space to build more hotels? Float it

WE’RE open to the idea of a floating hotel, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Will it be based on a converted cruise liner or built out of lightweight material? Floating hotels can take many forms.

There’s the King Pacific Lodge in Canada which is built from native pine, fir, cedar and stone on a barge.

It has 17 guest rooms and suites, a wrap-around deck with spa, Jacuzzi and plunge pool. It’s accessible only by air from Vancouver.

There’s also one being built in Mexico out of composite materials used in navy frigates.

While a floating hotel may dock here one day, it’s unlikely to be in time for the Formula 1 races next year, STB said.

The Business Times had reported on Thursday that floating hotels may be commissioned here to accommodate 50,000 foreign guests for the F1.

It reported that STB is studying the idea and quoted a source as saying that two cruise ships, converted into floating hotels, might be moored off Changi or Labrador Park.

But in an email reply to The New Paper on Sunday, STB’s Ms Caroline Leong, director, travel & hospitality business, said discussions on the possibility of developing a floating hotel here are still at an exploratory stage.

Said Ms Leong: ‘We have yet to receive a firm proposal. Should there be firm interest from investors, an in-depth feasibility study will have to be undertaken with the relevant government agencies to establish the appropriate location and the necessary infrastructural developments required for such a floating hotel concept to work.

‘Even if we are to proceed with the floating hotel concept, it is unlikely to be ready by September 2008 when Singapore hosts its first Formula 1 Grand Prix.’

She added STB has been approached by investors keen to build hotels, and venture into creative accommodation concepts like floating hotels.

It is open to such ideas to ensure that there are enough rooms to meet the target of welcoming 17 million visitors a year by 2015.

In 2006, visitor arrivals here hit a record of 9.7 million people.

Floating hotels are not new to Singapore.

In the 1980s, the 186-room Saigon Floating Hotel was built in Singapore by the then Bethlehem Shipyard. It was stationed in the Saigon River for around seven years until it was closed in 1996 when Vietnam refused to renew its operating licence.

Before that, it spent a short time operating off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

The New Paper on Sunday looked at other projects around the world.

One of the most interesting is a hotel inspired by an ancient civilisation.

But the materials used to build it are so advanced, they go into the stealth corvettes of the Swedish Navy.

The engineer behind the Maya Hotel says it’s an idea Singapore may want to consider.

The hotel resembles a Mayan building and by the end of 2010 or early 2011, it should be in the waters off Cancun, a playground of the hip and trendy in Mexico.

Mr Ronny Nordell, 62, an engineer and co-founder of the $338 million project, said it is being built by the Swedish company Oceanic-Creations.

CONVERTING CRUISE LINERS

Like in many other places, Singapore appears to be considering converting a cruise ship.

But Mr Nordell, in a telephone interview from Sweden, said: ‘When ships remain still for long periods of time, they rust easily. That means a higher cost to maintain them.

‘And when materials like steel rust, fungus forms and you get a bad smell from the bottom parts of the ship.’

Even ships that sail need regular maintenance. Mr Nicholas Oh, 36, marketing manager for Top Niche, which owns a fleet of seven tugs and barges, said each vessel has to go for maintenance every 21/2 years to remove barnacles and for repainting if necessary.

He said: ‘It’s very common for fungus to form and for the ships to rust if they are at sea for a while.’

Mr Nordell said his company uses a composite material which he claims can reduce maintenance costs by 80 to 90 per cent and has been used by the Swedish Navy to build their stealth warships.

It is also light and eco-friendly. The hotel will have gas turbines which will be able to desalinate 150 million litres of water a day.

That is about twice the 76 million litres produced by Singapore’s three NEWater plants daily.

There will be 452 double rooms and 18 suites of different sizes to accommodate up to 1,200 guests.

Although the hotel can float out to sea, Mr Nordell said the Maya will be moored close to the quay for safety and practical reasons as the guests will be closer to tourist spots.

During an emergency, guests will be able to make it to land quickly.

Work on the project began in 2000 and they had to be sure they picked the right spot to locate the hotel because hurricanes are a problem in Mexico, said Mr Nordell.

He added: ‘Before we build a floating hotel, we have to spend six to eight months to study the weather and the climate.

‘For a region like Southeast Asia, we would have to do a total study for earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes.

‘These are the things we look at because the structure and strength of the hotel must be able to withstand them.’

He said they would then need about eight months to plan the project and 12 to 24 months to build the hotel.

The Maya is the company’s second floating hotel. Its first, a 120-roomer, will be delivered by the end of 2009 to Ireland.

When the 90,000 sq m Maya is completed, it will have restaurants, spas, a cinema, viewing gallery to see marine life, and 15 to 20 boutiques selling items ranging from clothes to jewellery.

If Singapore is planning to have floating hotels, Mr Nordell said: ‘We look forward to Singapore contacting us.’

For now, the closest floating hotel to home is the River Kwai Jungle Rafts in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, with 100 rooms on two wing rafts. It can be reached only by boat.

SAIGON FLOATING HOTEL, VIETNAM

186-room floating hotel was built in Singapore in 1980s

Was shipped to Great Barrier Reef in 1987 where it spent 2 years reportedly as world’s 1st floating hotel

Part of it (minus court and pool) was towed to Saigon in 1989 where it was popular with S’porean, Hong Kong and European businessmen

Closed down in 1996 after Vietnam didn’t renew its licence

KING PACIFIC LODGE, CANADA

Floating luxury lodge built of native pine, fir, cedar and stone on 100 x 60 sq ft barge

Boasts 17 rooms and suites with wrap-around deck offering spectacular views

Owned by Morita family of Japan’s Sony Corporation

Anchored along Barnard Harbour, Princess Royal Island (which has no permanent inhabitants or structures)

No roads to hotel, so guests arrive by boat or sea plane

Towed in from Prince Rupert from May to Sep

Built in 1996, was originally a humble floating fishing lodge

Actor Kevin Costner is apparently a fan of lodge

MAYA HOTEL MEXICO

The US$209m ($338m) Maya Hotel located south of Cancun, slated to open in 2010

Pyramid-shaped hotel built with new composite material six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel
 
Source : New Paper – 20 Aug 2007

Bukit Merah hotel site up for sale

The first of the four hotel sites to be put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales Programme for the second half of this year is to be at the junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road.

The site has an area of 0.79 ha and a maximum permissible gross floor area of 22,249 square metres (239,486 sq ft).

A spokesman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it has already received some market interest for the site, which is close to Mount Faber and Sentosa.

The URA said: ‘The area is of a mixed-use character and there is no change in planning intentions in the near future.’

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han says that, as the site is near Alexandra Hospital, a hotel there might attract ‘medical tourists’.

At present, the area is predominantly an industrial and car showroom enclave.

‘There’s a price to everything and hotel sites are well in demand now – regardless to location,’ Mr Han said.

He thinks the site could sell for between $400 to $450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), putting it in the $100 million range.

He pointed out that hotels near regional hubs are needed to help commercial growth as part of URA’s decentralisation strategy.

Mr Han reckons a 3-star hotel with up to 400 rooms would be feasible. Rates would be below $180 per night.

Highlighting that the current $220 per night average room rate has caused some concern within the tourism industry, Mr Han said: ‘More suburban or 3-star hotels may be needed to keep hotel rates affordable, particularly for the budget-conscious tourists.’

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak believes interest for the site is not likely to come from any of the big players.

‘If any developer were to be interested in this site, they are likely to be small developers or hotel operators such as Fragrance Land or Hotel 81,’ he said.

For the first half of the year, URA released three hotel sites on the reserve list.

In July, a hotel site in the Tanjong Pagar area sold for $97.07 million or $562 psf ppr.

Source : Business Times – 17 Aug 2007

Peter Kwee to build 200-room hotel on Laguna club grounds

ENTREPRENEUR Peter Kwee, known for his cars and country clubs, will build a 200-room hotel on the grounds of his Laguna National Golf & Country Club.

The project, estimated to cost $90million, is expected to be completed by 2010. It will be the first hotel on a golf course in Singapore.

Mr Kwee, 60, told The Straits Times that regulatory approval has been granted, adding that the design, plan approval and tender process will take around nine months. Construction will take about two years.

The hotel’s 2010 opening should leave it well-placed to cash in on the tourism boom that the integrated resorts are expected to herald.

Mr Kwee has not decided on the class of hotel. ‘The money is in three- and four-star hotels, but the prestige is in five- and six-star ones,’ he said.

But he is clear about other concepts he wants for the hotel, which will be his first in Singapore. He owns one hotel in Perth, Western Australia.

Mr Kwee said the Laguna hotel will be tied to the club membership and construction will coincide with a revamp of the golf course and its facilities, containing 16 rooms mainly to accommodate overseas players.

He has not decided whether Laguna will run the hotel but is in talks with a Japanese hotel management company.

He has also won approval to rebuild a Nassim Road site that may be used for a five-storey townhouse with a basement carpark and a swimming pool. This project will cost $120 million.

The real estate boom, with top-end apartments breaching $4,000 per sq ft and landed property crossing the $1,000 psf barrier, is good news to Mr Kwee. His land holdings stand at around 200,000 sq ft, all in the prime districts.

Barely three years ago, the Indonesian-born businessman had tongues wagging when he relinquished some properties, sports cars and two motor franchises.

Asked how much his net worth has increased with the boom, Mr Kwee said: ‘It does not matter whether my properties have gone up by $10 million to $20 million. I can eat only three meals a day.’

Source : Straits Times – 4 Aug 2007

Merchant Rd hotel site up for sale

The Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday launched the tender for a hotel site in Merchant Road, near the Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel. The 99-year leasehold site can be developed into a seven-storey hotel with about 300 rooms. The tender for the 37,762 square foot site closes on Oct 25. Maximum gross floor area comes to 132,159 sq ft.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak expects top bids to come in at about $70-80 million, reflecting a unit land price of $530 to $605 per square foot of potential gross floor area. That reflects a land price of around $233,000 to $267,000 per hotel room. Mr Mak reckons the site is suitable for a four-star business hotel.

Last month, URA released another hotel site on the confirmed list of the H2 2007 Government Land Sales Programme. That site can be developed into a hotel with about 500 rooms. It’s on Upper Pickering Street, within walking distance of Chinatown and Clarke Quay MRT stations. That tender closes on Oct 10.

Source : Business Times – 3 Aug 2007

Merchant Rd hotel site up for sale

The Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday launched the tender for a hotel site in Merchant Road, near the Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel. The 99-year leasehold site can be developed into a seven-storey hotel with about 300 rooms. The tender for the 37,762 square foot site closes on Oct 25. Maximum gross floor area comes to 132,159 sq ft.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak expects top bids to come in at about $70-80 million, reflecting a unit land price of $530 to $605 per square foot of potential gross floor area. That reflects a land price of around $233,000 to $267,000 per hotel room. Mr Mak reckons the site is suitable for a four-star business hotel.

Last month, URA released another hotel site on the confirmed list of the H2 2007 Government Land Sales Programme. That site can be developed into a hotel with about 500 rooms. It’s on Upper Pickering Street, within walking distance of Chinatown and Clarke Quay MRT stations. That tender closes on Oct 10.

Source : Business Times – 3 Aug 2007

Boom time for hotels

SINGAPORE hotels crossed a historic threshold last month, chalking an all-time high average room rate of $210 a night.

Not only was this the first time the $200 mark has been breached — thanks in part to the Great Singapore Sale and conferences hosted here — it also represents a 22.6 per cent jump in average room rates over the same month last year.

According to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data, gazetted hotels generated $164.3 million in room revenues, a 26 per cent growth over June 2006 figures. Average occupancy hovered around the 86 per cent mark for the third straight month.

And some hoteliers are expecting more good tidings ahead, with the peak tourist months in the latter part of the year still to come.

“The main reason for the rise in rates is incremental demand. The primary contribution to the boost in demand is the increase in the number of corporate travellers attending meetings, conferences and exhibitions,” said Mr Mohamed Yusof, the director of yield management and business development at the Royal Plaza on Scotts.

Speaking to Today before the STB’s latest performance report was released, he predicted that room rates would continue their climb.

Even the smaller industry players are optimistic.

“The outlook for world travel is positive, with more budget airlines and growing third world economies enabling more people to travel,” said Mr David Wee, general manager and executive director of the New 7th Storey Hotel.

Rising room rates are a barometer for the tourism industry, which hit record highs for the first half of this year. The STB estimates the country received $6.4 billion in receipts from 4.9 million visitor arrivals.

Compared to the same period in 2006, this is a 9 per cent growth in tourism receipts and a 5.2 per cent increase in visitor arrivals. “We have also seen record high visitor arrivals for each month this year compared to the same month in previous years,” said Mr Lim Neo Chian, STB chief executive and deputy chairman.

June alone saw 848,000 visitors, a growth of 7.5 per cent over June 2006; with visitors from Indonesia (180,000), India (81,000) and China (77,000) comprising the top three markets. The markets of Vietnam, the Philippines and India registered the highest growths.

With STB targeting 10.2 million visitor arrivals and $13.6 billion in receipts by the year’s end, first-half figures give STB reason to smile.

“If the industry continues to sustain the growth momentum, STB is confident 2007 targets will be met. Historically, higher visitor arrivals are posted in the second half of the year during the peak travel months of July, August, and December,” said Mr Lim.

Source : Today – 25 Jul 2007

New hotel site near Hong Lim Park up for tender

A New hotel may soon rise beside Hong Lim Park near Chinatown on a fairly large site that the Government released for sale yesterday.

The 74,905 sq ft plot is bounded by Upper Pickering Street and Upper Hokkien Street.

It carries a 99-year lease and has a plot ratio of 4.2, giving it a total potential gross floor area of 315,000 sq ft.

A three-star hotel with 450 to 500 rooms can be built on the site, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of property firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Part of the building may go up to 20 storeys. The height of its other parts, however, has been capped at only 16 storeys.

Mr Han expects bids for the site to come in at about $450 to $500 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) or about $141.5 million to $157.3 million.

But despite a boom in Singapore’s hotel sector, he believes that interest in the site will be lukewarm at best.

‘I don’t think we’ll see a whole lot of bidders as we would see for commercial or residential sites,’ he said.

‘The thing is, although there are a lot of investors looking at hotels to buy, a developer buying a site to build a hotel would have to be in it for the long term.’

Mr Han predicted that ‘fewer than five bids’ would be submitted for the site, adding that the last hotel site released in nearby Tanjong Pagar area attracted only two bids.

The contract to develop that site went to the Carlton hotel group last month. The group’s $123 million bid worked out to about $573 psf ppr.

The hotel industry in Singapore is seeing a good year. Hotel room rates have reached record highs for the second time this year on the back of rising occupancy rates and a tourism boom.

The Upper Pickering site, however, has been on the Government’s reserve list for land sales for a year without any takers.

Under the current system, a site can be put up for sale only if a developer commits to bid for it at a minimum price acceptable to the Government.

But no developer came forward for the Upper Pickering site. This led the Government to transfer the plot to its confirmed list last month, which meant the site would be put out in the market at a fixed date regardless of developer interest.

Source : Straits Times – 19 Jul 2007

Two en bloc sites, hotel plot up for grabs

PROPERTY owners continue to ride on the buoyant market by offering their sites for development. The latest attempts at collective sales are at Meng Garden Apartments off Killiney Road and Villa delle Rose just off Holland Road.

SuperBowl Holdings’ vacant site at the corner of Balestier Road and Jalan Datoh is also up for grabs; the site has approval for development into a hotel. All three sites are freehold.

Villa delle Rose, with 297,132 sq ft land area, is just off Holland Road, overlooking the Botanic Gardens. The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area). A $12.6 million development charge (DC) is payable.

CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing Villa delle Rose through an expression of interest exercise due to close on Aug 8, said there is no official price indication.

However, market watchers note that the much smaller Aura Park nearby was recently sold to Lippo Realty for $1,280 psf per plot ratio inclusive of DC.

Sources believe Villa delle Rose’s owners may be looking at a higher price, in the region of the $1,544 psf ppr achieved this year for Bishopswalk.

Villa delle Rose was jointly developed by Keck Seng and Pontiac Land in 1982. The existing development comprises 104 units ranging from 2,800 sq ft to 3,200 sq ft.

CBRE is seeking expressions of interest in Meng Garden Apartments at Lloyd Road with a 35,639 sq ft land area. The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio. An estimated $440,000 DC is payable. Submissions should be made by Aug 7.

The development of 26 apartments and a penthouse was built in the mid-1980s. Prior to its development, the site was the original residence of the Alkaff family, CBRE said in its news release.

Over in the Balestier area, Colliers is marketing a 22,965 sq ft vacant site approved for hotel development. Searches show the site’s owner is Superbowl Sentosa Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Superbowl Holdings.

Colliers said the site’s indicative land value is about $40 million, or about $580 psf per plot ratio. No DC is payable.

‘With a proposed gross floor area of 68,896 sq ft and a gross plot ratio of approximately 2.99, the subject site could be redeveloped into an 11-storey tower block comprising 168 hotel rooms above a two-storey podium block – plus a basement car park and a swimming pool,’ Colliers said.

The tender for the Balestier site closes on July 25.

Source – Business Times – 4 Jul 2007

CGH Group bids $97.07m for hotel site near Amara

BUSINESSMAN Chng Gim Huat of CGH Group has emerged as the top bidder for a hotel site near Amara Hotel, with an offer worth $97.07 million.

The group plans to invest a further $70 million-plus developing the 99-year leasehold plot into a 270-room, three-to-four-star business hotel. That brings the all-in investment to about $620,000 per room.

‘Assuming an average room rate of about $168 per night currently, the hotel’s occupancy will have to be above 70 per cent before we can break even. But we expect room rates to be at least 20 per cent higher when the hotel is completed, most likely within three years,’ said CGH Group director Benjamin Chng.

The state tender drew only one other bidder – from Hiap Hoe Superbowl JV Pte Ltd, which offered $78.8 million for the site.

The reserve-list site was triggered for release with an undertaking by a developer to bid at least $60.888 million. Mr Chng’s bid at yesterday’s state tender reflects a unit land price of $562 psf of potential gross floor area, which is $11 psf per plot ratio lower than the $573 psf ppr fetched for another nearby hotel plot, awarded to Carlton Properties earlier this year.

The lower bid in yesterday’s tender could be due to the fact that the latest site has a lower plot ratio, and hence smaller maximum gross floor area compared with the earlier plot, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho reckons.

Mr Chng told BT yesterday that besides developing the plot into a 270-room hotel, CGH Group also plans to include about 30,000 sq ft net lettable area of commercial space.

‘Some of this will be for the hotel’s use while the rest will be strata titled for possible sale, or we may just keep it for investment,’ Mr Chng said.

CGH Group also owns Orchard Grand Court at Killiney Road, comprising more than 200 ‘hotel-style’ service apartments. It still owns about 600,000 sq ft of ramp-up factory space at Paya Ubi Industrial Park which it developed. This comprises about 40 per cent of the original development. The other 60 per cent has been sold. Of the 600,000 sq ft CGH Group still owns, 80 per cent has been let.

In the residential sector, the group recently completed the 44-unit condo Dengfu Ville in Kampong Eunos, which was fully sold earlier this year.

In August/September, it is planning to launch Esta Ruby, which has 72 apartments housed in a 19-storey twin tower development, with a rooftop pool. The project also includes ground floor shop units and a basement carpark.

Mr Chng controls 51 per cent of Compact Metal Industries.

Source – Business Times – 4 Jul 2007