Thursday, March 6, 2008

UOL Group Unveils New Luxury Serviced Apartment

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 05 March 2008

Property developer UOL Group has unveiled a new luxury serviced apartment, marking its entry into the extended stay business.

Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, located in the Somerset area, will open for business in April. It offers 126 deluxe units, which come with personal assistants to tend to the needs of guests.

Besides waking up to a view of downtown Singapore in an apartment kitted out with designer European furniture, there is also a swimming pool filled with mineral water for one's use.

Ten personal assistants – trained by the former butler of the King of Jordan – will work around the clock to ensure everything goes smoothly.

It might come as no surprise then that the room rates at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites are 20 to 25 percent higher than those at other luxury serviced apartments in Singapore.

Prices start from S$420 a night in an executive suite to over S$1,000 a night in a two-bedroom penthouse. But UOL is sure there will be takers.

Kam Tin Seah, Senior GM, Investment & Strategic Development, UOL Group, said: "We have arranged at least 20 appointments with our existing top client list that Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts has, as well as new opportunities that we have identified from the current demand level, so I would say we are confident to keep to at least 75 percent occupancy for six months."

UOL said the decision to move into the extended stay business is unrelated to the current hotel crunch. But it expects to benefit as demand spills over from hotels to the serviced suites.

UOL plans to roll out five more Pan Pacific Serviced Suites in the next three years. One will be launched in Bangkok next year and the others in fast-growing countries such as China, Vietnam and Malaysia. - CNA/so

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