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Hotel business thrives during the holidays

With Christmas here and the New Year just around the corner, the economic slowdown seems to have had little effect on the holiday spirit as sales have been booming for hotel countdown parties and stay packages.

Taipei City has been adorned with all kinds of iridescent decorations and a festive atmosphere has reigned in every spot.

Like many other big cites around the world, Taipei City has plenty of live entertainment, champagne toasts and party favors to enjoy during the festive season.

Every five star hotel is having special Christmas and New Year's Eve packages and bashes.

Thanks to the scheduled fireworks display at Taipei 101 to bring in 2008, hotels with rooms facing Taipei 101 were fully booked as early as September, while the occupancy rate for other rooms in these hotels has also increased to 80 percent to 90 percent.

The Grand Hyatt Taipei, located right next to Taipei 101, has 200 "fireworks rooms."

These rooms were fully booked for Dec. 31 three months ago, and 98 percent of the hotel's 856 rooms have been booked for New Year's Eve.

Starting with specially selected seasonal cuisine on its Christmas menu and culminating in the grand finale on New Year's Eve, the Grand Hyatt Taipei is presenting a countdown party, dubbed "The Hanging Garden," on the theme of the illumination of the sky and an array of colorful flowers, magical fruit balls and gigantic hanging vegetable centerpieces to represent the four seasons.

Although at NT$6,288, with a 10-percent service charge per person, the price for attending the party is not cheap. But 80 percent of the tickets have already been sold.

The hotel's marketing communication manager, Luanne Li (李佳燕), said that the economic gloom seemed to have had no effect on the hotel's business.

May Hu, assistant communications manager at the Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel Taipei, said that business was booming for the holidays, adding that business for the whole year has been good at the hotel, which targets foreign businesspeople.

The Shangri-La Far Eastern's rooms from which the fireworks display can be seen are also all booked, she said, adding that the hotel would give two free tickets each worth NT$2,800 to guests in the other rooms to attend its New Year's Eve countdown party by its swimming pool on the 43rd floor.

For people who want to see something new, the Venetian Carnival Masked Masquerade at the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei and the musical performance at the Grand Howard Plaza Hotel, in which guests can sway elegantly to romantic melodies, savor the exquisiteness of Italian cuisine, and marvel at the wonderful circus acts, live band performances and outstanding DJs, gets everyone excited, a hotel representative said.
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