Fans of the roti prata from the Hotel Phoenix cafe will have to look elsewhere - the hotel closes on Wednesday after a 35-year run. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG
HOTEL Phoenix - famed for the roti prata and other local delicacies at its Phoenix Garden Cafe - will close on Wednesday after a 35-year run. It is unclear if or when a new Phoenix will arise, but all 150 staff of the Orchard Road landmark, including general manager and veteran hotelier Noel Hawkes, were given their retrenchment notices last week.
OCBC Bank, which owns the hotel and the adjoining Specialist Shopping Centre, declined to comment on the terms of the package, but The Straits Times understands that it is a generous one.
All staff will get a month's pay for each year of service, on top of two months' pay in lieu of notice. For management staff, the payout is capped at 25 months.
There could be more good news for staff: Other hotels are already looking to hire some of them.
Some senior staff have already been snapped up by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Resorts World at Sentosa.
Meanwhile, others, such as Orchard Hotel, are interviewing staff to fill positions in their housekeeping and kitchen departments.
Ms Amy Ang, Orchard Hotel's director of marketing communications, told The Straits Times that her hotel is looking to take on some of the more mature and senior staff.
She said: 'Some of the staff have been with Hotel Phoenix for a long time, so they are very experienced, which will be a bonus for us.'
Hotel Phoenix has also organised job fairs and invited human resource officers from other hotels to interview employees.
The hotel, a stone's throw from Somerset MRT, was started in 1972 by Mr Tan Chin Tuan, then the chairman of OCBC bank.
In recent years, the 392-room establishment has been achieving occupancy rates of above 90 per cent.
Up to 40 per cent of its clientele are repeat guests. The majority come from Australia, Europe and Indonesia.
OCBC Bank remains mum about redevelopment plans for the hotel and Specialists' Shopping Centre. Its spokesman simply said the bank will hold on to both properties for 'long-term investment' and that a 'major refurbishment' is in the pipeline.
Speculation on the properties - which have a gross floor area of 443,689 sq ft, has been rife recently.
Redevelopment in the area promises to reshape Orchard Road - the buildings will be flanked by Far East Organization's $650-million Orchard Central and Land Lease's $900-million Somerset Central development. Market watchers note that amended banking rules effectively bar OCBC from tearing down the buildings for redevelopment. However, it can refurbish or retrofit them.
Meanwhile, the hotel's closure will have some immediate impact on the industry: It will tighten the squeeze on hotel rooms here.
Supply is already tight because of a surge in tourist arrivals, which has pushed average room rates past the $200 mark for the first time, and the loss of Hotel Phoenix's 392 rooms will be felt.
However, the STB said it has been working with other authorities on adapting unoccupied state buildings into hotels to address the overall room shortage issue.
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