Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) yesterday launched its fifth hotel brand, Courtyard by Marriott, in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) to further tap into the nation’s fast-growing hospitality industry.
With 465 rooms on floors seven through 30 of a complex housing high-speed rail, regular train and Taipei MRT stations, the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei targets both business and leisure travelers and aims to break even in two years, Leofoo chief operating officer Lulu Chuang (莊豐如) said.
“The new hotel is expected to boost the group’s overall revenue next year and hopefully turn a profit in two years,” Chuang told a media briefing.
While the industry faces a challenging, slowing global economy and domestic political uncertainty, the group is to try its best to outperform peers, Chuang said.
The goal is achievable in light of a 40 percent revenue increase so far this year at the Westin Taipei (台北威斯汀六福皇宮), the group’s upscale hotel on Nanjing E Road, Chuang said.
The new hotel aims to benefit from convenient transportation, a minimalist design and cross-selling promotions, the hotelier said.
The upcoming high-speed rail station in Nangang would allow Courtyard guests more convenience when planning trips to the Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村) and Leofoo Water Park (六福水樂園), group communications official Andreas Huang (黃伊康) said.
The partnership with Marriott International Inc, a US hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and lodging facilities, is expected to help Courtyard Taipei gain popularity, Huang said.
The new hotel is positioned as a five-star facility in Taiwan, although the brand ranks four stars in other markets, due to extra services available here, Huang said.
The Courtyard Taipei plans to achieve an occupancy rate of between 60 percent and 70 percent in the first quarter of next year, with average daily room rates of between NT$6,000 and NT$6,500 (US$182 and US$197), Huang said.
The hotel has a lounge, two restaurants and several conference facilities, the group said, adding that it invested NT$1 billion in the new venture as part of the Ruentex Group’s (潤泰集團) 50-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) Nangang Station development project.
Other hoteliers are expected to soon establish a presence in the area, which is only a five-minute ride by MRT from the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall.
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