Newly opened Hotel Pin (品文旅) in Yilan County’s Jiaosi Township (礁溪) aims to achieve 70 percent occupancy in the first year, unfazed by growing competition that last year drove six small hotels out of the market.
“The goal is achievable, as occupancy already averaged 70 percent during the soft opening in May, thanks to promotional discounts,” Hotel Pin general manager Jimmy Huang (黃明政) told a media briefing yesterday.
A new lifestyle brand under Taipei-based L’Hotel de Chine Group (LDC, 雲朗觀光), the hotel is to benefit from existing marketing campaigns and the sales channel, Huang said.
The facility, featuring 178 guestrooms, aims to raise average room rates from NT$3,200 to NT$4,500 per night to set it apart from the nearby affiliated Maison de Chine (兆品酒店), which has daily room rates of NT$5,500, he said.
While Maison de Chine is courting family guests, Pin is targeting young, budget-savvy travelers who do not want to compromise on travel quality, he added.
Both properties are a franchise contract between LDC and Got More Co (佳茂化學), a Taiwanese manufacturer of plastic bricks and toys, which spent NT$3 billion (US$943.1 million) building Pin, a two-building complex with 3,400 ping (11,239.69m2) of floor space.
Pin is the only hotel in the neighborhood with a pizza house and an affiliated organic farm supplying its vegetables, Huang said.
“That might help us stand out against competitors such as Just Sleep (捷絲旅), which is within walking distance,” he said.
Huang said that competition is heating up, as another hotel is set to enter Jiaosi Township next year, a market where there are already six hotel brands, including My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co’s (寒舍餐旅) Mu Jiaosi Hotel (礁溪寒沐酒店), the Hotel Royal Chiaohsi (礁溪老爺大酒店), Evergreen Resort Hotel in Jiaosi (長榮鳳凰酒店) and the Forte Hotel Group (福泰飯店).
“The hotels with distinct appeal and sensible pricing will emerge victoriously,” Huang said.
A distinctive feature of Pin is its eco-friendly atmosphere: It does not provide disposable slippers, toothbrushes or other hygiene items.
Separately, Caesar Park Hotel Banciao (板橋凱撒飯店), the flagship property of Caesar Park Hotels and Resorts (凱撒飯店連鎖), is looking at a 20 to 30 percent increase in food and beverage sales in the second half of this year, as it enters its peak season.
Its Chinese restaurant Jia Yan (家宴) has launched special chicken, beef and seafood entrees fused with fruits and vegetables to help boost healthy eating, at prices starting from NT$380, marketing and communications official Zara Wang (王筱瑩) said on Monday.
The second half of the year traditionally generates 60 percent of the hotel’s food and beverage revenue, while the first half accounts for the remaining 40 percent, Wang said.
The property of 400 guestrooms has three restaurants and originally aimed for food and beverage to contribute 65 percent of sales, vice president Jack Wu (武祥生) had said.
The hotel reported occupancy rates of 80 percent on average in the first half of this year, but rates have fallen to 60 percent over the summer thus far as competition sharpens, she said.
The entry of the Hilton Taipei Sinban Hotel (台北新板希爾頓酒店) into the New Taipei City market and the Marriott Taipei Downtown (台北國泰萬怡酒店) in Taipei provide customers more options, she said. Hilton returned to Taiwan after a 14-year hiatus.
Caesar Park Banciao has sought to drive up occupancy by offering special packages aimed at school children, Wang said.
Average room rates have improved to NT$4,500 this year from NT$4,000 last year, she added.
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