S Hotel, owned by Chinese celebrity businessman Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲), plans to expand its facility to include an outdoor garden and a bakery, its latest changes to win new customers and boost sales one-and-a-half years after opening.
The facility expansion and a less-expensive menu at its restaurant falls in line with strategy adjustments to make the hotel more affordable and popular among Taiwanese diners, especially fashion-savvy female customers, Wang said yesterday.
“Female Taiwanese know how to enjoy their lives and S Hotel aims to strengthen its appeal with this group by offering a bigger selection of food and beverages,” Wang told reporters in Taipei yesterday.
On Oct. 5, the hotel is to open an outdoor garden by French designer Phillippe Starck to increase food and beverage revenue, S Hotel marketing and communications director Jesse Day (戴永威) said.
The hotel in November is to open a bakery to take advantage of bread-related business opportunities, Day said, adding that there is no competitor in the vicinity.
The hotel of 103 guestrooms is on Dun Hua N Road next to Mandarin Oriental Hotel Taipei (台北文華東方酒店) and has set itself apart from the luxury neighbor as a boutique.
t recently introduced a new menu featuring French cuisines with average prices of NT$1,500 per set, down from NT$2,500 with an emphasis on Nordic dishes, Day said.
Taiwanese diners might need more time to embrace Nordic menus, said Wang, who doubles as the hotel’s general manager after the management contract with a French hotelier ended.
Wang is known for marrying Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛). He previously ran an unprofitable Chinese restaurant called South Beauty (俏江南) in the city’s prime Xinyi District (信義).
Still, the Chinese businessman remains upbeat about the local hospitality industry, saying he plans to open a new hotel in Taipei under a different brand that would place more emphasis on fine arts.
“I enjoy doing business in Taiwan, where people are friendly and interesting,” Wang said, adding that the new hotel might come into being in one-and-a-half years.
S Hotel might see revenue and occupancy pick up 20 percent next quarter from this quarter with the arrival of the high-sales season, sales and marketing director Vita Chiu (邱妤庭) said.
The hotel’s occupancy rates averaged 66.83 percent in June, while daily room rates averaged NT$3,657, according to statistics provided by the Tourism Bureau.
The showings are not bad, but are not strong enough to turn a profit yet, Chiu said.
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