It’s back to business for Pan Pacific Hotels Group

SINGAPORE – It’s back to business for Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), which is moving ahead with expansion plans including a first property in Europe next year, and a full facelift for its recently acquired PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, which has brought forward its reopening to November 2020.

A wholly-owned subsidiary under UOL Group Limited (UOL), PPHG’s growth momentum is pushing on at a good pace, with openings marked for Melbourne, London, Dalian, Hanoi, Malaysia, Jakarta and Singapore in the next two years.

“Particularly, we look forward to planting our first flag in Europe with the opening of Pan Pacific London in spring 2021. It will be a welcome addition to the luxury market in the Liverpool Station area,” said Cinn Tan, chief sales & marketing officer, PPHG.

These announcements come on the back of earlier news in March on the launch of PPHG's new brand, PARKROYAL COLLECTION Hotels & Resorts – which aims to take sustainable hospitality to the next level.

Properties in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are also undergoing facelifts, including the S$45 million (US$32.4 million) complete overhaul on their newly acquired Marina Mandarin property – which has been rebranded as PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay. Continuing on works immediately after Singapore relaxed rules on its Circuit Breaker period, Ms Tan shared with M&C Asia that the project “is ongoing full steam… to transform this icon into a ‘hotel-in-a-garden’ and reopen doors in November”. The original launch was slated for Q1 2021.

Restrictions have also eased in Australia, with “intrastate travel restrictions removed from New South Wales and Victoria since 1 June, while Phase 4 has started for Western Australia since 27 June,” which has resulted in “a gradual pick up in business, with the weekend leisure business showing more positive signs” for PPHG’s properties Down Under.

Meetings groups however, are still slower to return “due to the restrictions on capacity and safe distancing measures. Some corporate companies are also restricting business travels at this point of time,” said Ms Tan.

Apart from focusing on value-adds in stay packages, PPHG has also launched ‘Pan Pacific Cares’, promising elevated cleaning standards and partnering with various infection prevention vendors and authorities to ensure all properties are protected against the Covid-19 virus. Processes have also been reengineered, resulting in contactless check-in-and-out, payments, also enforcing adjusted measures and capacities for meetings and events.

“Travellers are looking at assurances from hotel groups as travel resumes… there’re also fears of a second wave such as in South Korea and Beijing. Hence, safety, cleanliness and well-being remains top of mind for all travellers.”

“Our hotels, resorts and serviced suites provide flexible cancellation till end of the year and work with our clients to ensure that we provide a solution to any postponement of their events or accommodation needs.”