Upscale hotel chain Westin Hotels & Resorts yesterday opened its first hotel in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪), aided by a former technology heavyweight making his first foray into the local hospitality industry.
The new facility is next to the Dasi Golf Course, one of the nation’s most expensive golf clubs, which Li Fu Investment Co (笠復投資) acquired from the cash-strapped Hone Shee Group (鴻禧集團).
“We spent NT$4 billion [US$122.92 million] renovating the hotel complex over the past three years and partnered with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc to utilize its industry experience,” said Westin Tashee executive director Jennifer Huang (黃郁婷), who is the daughter of property owner John Huang (黃震智).
“Starwood is familiar with the local market after setting up the Westin Taipei, Grand Sheraton Taipei, W Hotel Taipei and Le Meridien Taipei hotels,” said Jenniffer Huang, who went to college at the Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland.
Her father, a keen golfer and luxury-car importer, used to own the second-largest digital camera supplier in Taiwan, but in 2006 sold Premier Technology Co (普立爾) to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), local media said.
John Huang, now chairman of Li Fu Investment, stepped in to buy the 200-hectare golf resort after developers voiced plans to turn the property into a cemetery.
“It would be a shame for the golf course, the site of world-class events that drew legendary players such as Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo and Jim Furyk,” John Huang said.
With 205 newly decorated guestrooms, the Westin Tashee is to offer golfers special rates to boost occupancy, and food and beverage sales, general manager Philip Kang (江培材) said.
“Our top priority is to build the hotel’s reputation and to that end, we plan to adopt a conservative pricing strategy in the first year,” Kang said at the grand opening.
Westin Tashee expects first-year occupancy rates to hover at about 50 percent and average daily room rates to be NT$6,500, Kang said.
The target is achievable given the hotel’s convenient location, artistic room designs and well-integrated recreational facilities, including two restaurants, a lounge bar, swimming pools, a fitness center and other amenities, he said.
The hotel is one hour’s drive from Taipei and the nearby town of Yingge (鶯歌), known as the center of ceramics and pottery in Taiwan, is a quaint community with 2,000 shops and many artisans.
Local tourists are expected to account for 85 percent of customers, Kang said.
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