The Lai Lai Sheraton Hotel (
"We will definitely look into a large-scale renovation of the place once the transition is finished," said Josef Dolp, general manager of the hotel.
According to the Chinese-language Business Weekly magazine (
On April 30, Tsai, head of My Humble House Group (
Established in 1981 by Tsai's elder brother, Tsai Chen-nan (蔡辰男), the five-star hotel's ownership and management rights returned to the Tsai family after seven years.
In 1995, the Tsai family -- owners of Taiwan's largest insurance group, Cathy Life Insurance Co (
One industry watcher said refurbishing the Lai Lai is absolutely necessary.
"To compete with other new hotels in Taipei, the Lai Lai needs a face-lift as soon as possible," said Lee Shao-pin (
Hotels generally undergo refurbishment every three to five years, Lee said.
"Guests and travelers like to stay in bright, new places," he said.
Location is also a problem for the Lai Lai.
With the city's business center long shifted eastward, the Lai Lai is far from most pedestrian conveniences, Lee said.
Both the Taipei World Trade Center and the Taipei's major shopping districts are on the east side of the city.
"However Taipei Sheraton is located on Taipei city's west side, far from current hot spots," Lee said.
But one Taipei resident said the Lai Lai is always very competitive.
"Without any doubt, every time my friends and customers come to Taiwan I recommend they stay [in the Lai Lai]," said Dick Adler, a foreign businessman who has lived in Taipei for more than 30 years.
While the Lai Lai is older in appearance compared to the Grand Hyatt or the Formosa Regent, its hospitality and service are very good, he said.
"As far as I know, the Lai Lai retains many loyal customers," Adler said.
The company reported NT$2 billion in sales last year, Dolp said.
"This year we will target the same amount of sales," he said, adding that the industry is currently experiencing a slump.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure
RSS