Cathay Hospitality Management Co (國泰商旅), an affiliate of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), plans to focus on attracting return guests as traveler numbers stall.
The growing number of players in the sector has also led the company to put its expansion plans on hold this year and next, to give it time to see how the industry is faring.
The company, which operates five hotels in Taiwan under the brands of Madison Taipei (台北慕軒) and Hotel Cozzi (和逸), has a goal of enrolling 68,000 people in its “Amazzing Club” loyalty program over the next 12 months and raising its direct booking rates by 5 percent, general manager Phyllis Chuang (莊婉華) said on Friday.
“The goal is achievable, given that return guests currently account for 22 percent of occupancy at Madison Taipei and 18 percent at two Cozzi outlets in the city,” Chuang said.
However, the number of return guests is lower at its two other hotels and the weakest is at Cozzi Kaohsiung, at 8 percent, Chung said.
The numbers suggest a need to adapt more to fit local tastes in southern Taiwan, she said.
Higher direct booking rates would allow Cathay Hospitality to elevate its profit margin even if occupancy rates hold steady or dip this year amid sharpening competition, Chuang said at an event to celebrate the third anniversary of Madison Taipei.
Online travel portals such as Agoda.com, Expedia.com charge commissions of up to 25 percent, she said.
The company is seeking organic growth by targeting Cathay Financial clients by issuing cobranded credit cards with affiliated Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) later this year, Chuang said.
Through offers of special rates at lodging and dining facilities, some cardholders might be won over, marketing director Eddie Ku (古清琳) said, adding that there is virtually no requirement for the loyalty program.
The program might help boost food and beverage sales if Cathay Financial employees use the hospitality arm’s cakes and pastry when cultivating relationships with customers, Chuang said.
“Cathay Financial employees themselves are a vast source of customers, if properly motivated,” Chuang said.
There are also plans reach out to Cathay real-estate customers, most of whom are affluent and loyal, Chuang said.
One aim of the promotions is to lift occupancy rates at Madison Taipei to 70 to 75 percent this year, from 65 percent last year, Chuang said.
However, daily room rates might be lowered slightly — from NT$5,800 last year to NT$5,500 as pressure mounts from the growing number of competitors, she said.
Chinese restaurateur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲), who married Taiwanese film actress Big S (also known as Barbie Hsu, 徐熙媛), on Monday, opened a new boutique S Hotel in Taipei City’s Dunhua N Road.
The guestrooms were designed by French designer Philippe Starck to be fashionable and entertaining, while the hotel also boasts a Scandinavian-themed restaurant, a fitness center and meeting rooms.
DEJA VU: Echoing the probe into real-estate giant Evergrande Group, the bank is under Beijing police scrutiny after last week, telling investors it is ‘severely insolvent’ Chinese authorities said they recently opened criminal investigations into Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co’s (中植企業) money management business, days after the embattled shadow banking giant revealed a shortfall of US$36.4 billion in its balance sheet. Police in Beijing said in a statement on WeChat that they took “criminal mandatory measures” against multiple suspects, identifying one by their last name, Xie (解). They urged investors to report cases or provide leads to the authorities, including filing complaints online. Xie Zhikun (解直錕), the group’s founder, died in 2021, but several of his relatives are executives at the company. The statement did not elaborate on what
CONSIDERATIONS: The NSTC instructed the park to assist laid-off workers and urge companies to use furlough programs to ease the effects of falling demand Firms in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which houses major tech companies, reported laying off 496 employees last month amid weakened global demand, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯) said yesterday. Wang told a news conference that 48 companies in the science park laid off employees last month, including one hard disk supplier which let go 241 employees as part of a plant closure due to falling demand. Other companies reported sporadic layoffs as they adjusted to weakening demand, he said. Wang made the remarks after local media reported the layoffs over the weekend. Although the global economy is struggling with high
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck have promised to solve investment subsidy issues for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Intel Corp, despite the country’s budget woes. Uncertainty over the funding to TSMC and Intel has arisen after a ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court, which cast doubt over subsidies for construction of local semiconductor chip plants. On Nov. 15, the court ruled that the German government’s decision last year to reallocate 60 billion euros (US$65.74 billion) of unused funding from COVID-19 pandemic support measures to its Climate and Transformation Fund
NEW TREAD: The Taiwanese shoe brand paired with TSMC to turn silicon waste into a circular economy good, following its success making shoes from coffee grounds Ccilu International Inc (馳綠國際), a Taiwan-based footwear brand, has become the first company in the world to turn silicon waste from contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) into eco-friendly shoes. Last year, the global footwear industry saw the first pair of pressure-relief slippers made from recycled silicon waste by Ccilu. The brand continued to unveil follow-up collections, including sports shoes and massage slippers made from the same materials. In an interview with CNA, Ccilu CEO Wilson Hsu (許佳鳴) recalled the company’s innovation of the first pair of slippers made from silicon waste after its silicon waste treatment partner, Semisils Applied Materials
RSS