Taipei's five-star hotels are remodeling rooms to lure international business-people and raise revenues.
In addition to regular maintenance projects, some hotels have heavily invested in luxury accouterments, including plasma-display panel (PDP) and liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions to cater to business customers, who usually stay indoors longer than those taking pleasure trips.
"We have seen their different needs and realize that offering tailor-made services would help us gain an edge amid fierce competition," said Ellen Chang (張筠), marketing and communications manager at the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei.
The hotel has refitted rooms on its top two floors and is offering what it calls "All Butler Service."
Corporate clients staying in one of the 80 higher-end suites can use the services of a personal valet, Chang said at a press conference yesterday.
"This is like one-stop shopping. Customers can present whatever needs and questions they have to their butlers, who also provide suggestions on restaurants and shopping information," she said.
Apart from the Grand Formosa Regent's butler service, the Westin Taipei has installed 42-inch PDP televisions in 60 percent of its rooms. The Hotel Royal Taipei, meanwhile, signed a contract with BenQ Corp (明基電通) on Thursday to purchase 1,000 LCD televisions with a total value of over NT$100 million.
The Grand Hyatt Taipei, Sheraton Taipei Hotel and Caesar Park Taipei are also planning to bring in large LCDs to offer high-quality in-room entertainment.
But these changes do not necessarily mean the nation's corporate client market is dramatically growing.
"As normal hotels are also renewing their in-room facilities, these five-star hotels must not be outdone so that they can maintain their status in the limited corporate client market," said Johnson Tseng (曾盛海), chairman of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents (台北市旅行公會).
The strategy for Caesar Park Taipei is to offer different services for business travelers and tourists in accordance with the hotel's various room rates.
"The purpose is to achieve market segmentation," said Amy Chen (陳怡珍), public relations manager at Caesar Park.
Chang agreed, adding that with higher prices charged for better "software" and "hardware" services, the company can also raise revenues.
Most hotels have raised room rates by an average 3 to 5 percent this year to reflect costs.
Another industry insider disagreed, saying that the nation's business travel market will continue to boom thanks to the expanding high-tech industry.
"I believe there is a growing demand in this segment of the market as Taiwan holds a key position in developing high technology," said an anonymous official at the Taiwan Visitors Association (
Even though the SARS and bird-flu outbreaks last year and the on-going political uproar have taken their toll on the tourism industry, which saw negative growth of 20 percent to 30 percent in the first quarter, the corporate client market has recovered, the association official said.
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