Surekha Ragavan
Apr 30, 2018

Prince Hotels to expand MICE market to Southeast Asia

The hotel chain has plans to bring its MICE clout to Singaporean shores.

The Prince Park Tower Tokyo.
The Prince Park Tower Tokyo.

Prince Hotels is a big player in Japan’s MICE sector, with an approximate 35% share of the venue market. The brand is now setting its sights on Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia, influenced by the region’s high growth potential.

An aspect of Prince’s expertise that they’re looking to import to Singapore is the brand’s ability to turn a room in a short span of time. “Sometimes we do 20-30 [Japanese] weddings a day, which requires us to turn the rooms quickly,” says Victor Katsutoshi Osumi, managing executive officer at Prince Hotels. “Technology is one thing, but our know-how also extends to the efficiency we operate within our limited size and number of rooms.”

Given Singapore’s status as a gateway city and the reliability of Changi Airport, Osumi predicts the brand will be in good hands. Meanwhile, hotel management company StayWell Holdings – recently acquired by Prince – has plans to assist the hotel giant in executing an asset-light approach in Southeast Asia.

Park Regis Singapore.

Because Prince’s original model is based on property ownership, StayWell wants its client to move toward a more balanced portfolio.

“If you look at large successful hotel companies like Marriott, they generally own some assets and manage a bunch of others,” says Simon Wan, president of StayWell.

Wan adds that StayWell has also benefited from the acquisition by having access to Prince’s large MICE and rewards scheme database.

“We currently have 50,000 members in the StayWell Rewards Scheme. On the contrary, Prince and Seibu have over 900,000 loyalty card members. One thing that we’re targeting is to integrate our loyalty programme so members from both clubs will benefit,” Wan says.

“Generally, if we’re looking to expand our properties in Singapore, we’ll be calling on the expertise from our colleagues in Tokyo."

Source:
CEI

Related Articles

Just Published

9 hours ago

The anti-trend trend: How Starbucks aspires to use ...

THE CMO'S MO: Inspired by Apple, Starbucks Asia's marketing head, Samuel Fung, is blending tradition and innovation with a back-to-basics approach to build loyalty in a competitive market.

10 hours ago

STB partners with NBA to attract fans from the region

The Singapore Tourism Board seeks to make the city state an attractive destination for sport fans, as it looks further afield to boost its ambitious goals for inbound visitors.

10 hours ago

X partners with Magnite to boost programmatic ad sales

Magnite joins Google and PubMatic as official third-party sellers of X’s ad inventory which can help fill unsold inventory and attract more advertisers.

10 hours ago

Love looks different in Asia now, and so should ...

More people in Asia are choosing singlehood; it’s time brands moved beyond dated romantic tropes to catch up with times for V-Day marketing, argues this writer.