One of the recent highlights for The Peninsula Hotels has been the opening of the Peninsula Shanghai in October 2009, marking the company’s return to one of its founding roots after an absence of 55 years.
Peter C Borer, chief operating officer of The Peninsula Hotels and executive director of owning company The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH), was in Dubai recently in the company’s efforts to reinforce the message about Peninsula and to inform the region, which is a very important source of business, about its latest developments, including the opening of The Peninsula Shanghai as well as the Peninsula Paris, which will open in 2012.
The company has also launched an Arabic website and appointed a sales agent with Dnata.
“We have always enjoyed very good business from the Middle East for many years and would like to grow that, hence the new initiatives for this market. I believe that we have very high brand recognition in some important markets because if I look at our business mix, it consists of a high number of trade delegations and government and important family visits.
“Last year was a difficult year for all regions globally. You would have seen a decline from the Middle East as we did from the US. So we have concentrated a lot of our hotels to look at their regional and domestic markets. In America, we started to concentrate who really needs to go to New York and hence have carried out a lot if initiatives in America itself. In Hong Kong we have gone local, offering local packages, which has been hugely successful. In Thailand, we concentrate on regional travel.”
In its hotels division HSH saw total revenue down by 17 per cent as compared to 2008. However, the performance of the commercial properties and clubs and services division were more stable. The business of the hotels division was affected by a combination of factors including the financial downturn and weak business from the corporate sector especially the US, the threat of the H1N1 flu epidemic and an oversupply of hotel rooms in several cities. By the fourth quarter there were signs of hotel occupancies stabilising and recovering, yet room rates in markets such as New York, Chicago, Beijing, Bangkok and Manila remained significantly below pre-financial crisis levels.
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Borer…expansion plans |
Amongst the Peninsula Hotels, the strongest performance came from the flagship property The Peninsula Hong Kong, which experienced a marked recovery in the last quarter of the year as the local economy improved and Hong Kong benefited from an increase of visitors from emerging regional markets including mainland China and the Middle East.
“However it witnessed a decline from the US, because of the business travellers who stopped coming. This has changed and you are now seeing them come back in very large numbers again” said Borer.
“In markets like Chicago, which depend largely on corporate business and citywide conventions, we are seeing much slower recovery.”
The Peninsula Shanghai, which soft opened in mid October 2009, saw business pick-up and the hotel has quickly established a strong reputation as a leading destination in China.
“As the only new-build along the Bund, this hotel’s magnificent location, stunning architecture, interior design and service levels have already enabled The Peninsula Shanghai as an iconic addition to Shanghai,” said Borer.
He stressed on a very loyal clientele at the Peninsula Hotels. “Some of our customers look for price, some for good value. We have very comprehensive hotels, so we are able to add more value to every guest’s stay, be it a spa experience or a dining experience or even airport transfers in a Rolls-Royce. So, we have various means to make our guests stay memorable without dropping our prices too much,” he added.
Looking ahead, Borer maintains that as one of the world’s oldest hotel companies, the philosophy has always focused on offering personalised service, outstanding facilities, and excellent value, together with a firm commitment to local communities. “This will continue, but with the aim of further enhancing the guest experience in each of our hotels. In 2010, we are introducing ‘Enriching Your Life’, an innovative programme that further defines not only our guests’ experiences, but those of their friends, family,” said Borer.