Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) is seeking to regenerate its 47-year-old Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧) in downtown Taipei after announcing plans to shut down its flagship property, Westin Taipei (台北威斯汀六福皇宮), at the end of this year, company officials said yesterday.
The group, which also operates the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei (六福萬怡), Leofoo Resort (六福莊), Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村) and other recreational facilities, has dropped efforts to seek an urban renewal plan for the property on Changchun Road in Zhongshan District (中山).
Review of urban renewal applications tends to be lengthy and filled with uncertainty, Leofoo communications director Anne Wang (王淺秋) said, adding that the group has decided to transform Leofoo Hotel instead.
Wang declined to provide more details.
Near Songjiang Nanjing MRT Station, Leofoo Hotel has 226 guestrooms and three restaurants that feature Chinese, Japanese and Cantonese cuisine, its Web site says.
The hotel had an occupancy rate of 75.69 percent last year with an average daily room rate of NT$1,599, according to Tourism Bureau data.
Food and beverage sales accounted for 50.39 percent of overall revenue last year, while the guestrooms generated 45.49 percent.
The hotel’s Chinese Golden Phoenix Restaurant (金鳳廳) still keeps the traditional practice of serving dim sum from carts that allow diners to select bite-sized portions of food in small steamer baskets or on small plates.
As nostalgia has a strong appeal among tourists, Leofoo Hotel is partnering with Taiwan Taxi Co (台灣大車隊) to provide accommodation packages that feature one or two nights in its classic guestrooms with taxi tours of popular attractions in Taipei’s Beitou (北投) or Jiufen (九份), and Pingsi District (平溪) in New Taipei City, Wang said.
Leofoo is also taking advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival to launch special rice dumpling gift boxes that could generate NT$9 million (US$300,401) in sales, Wang said.
“We expect to sell 10,000 gift boxes this year and believe the goal is achievable after signing a cooperation agreement with the 7-Eleven convenience store chain,” she said.
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