Caesar Park Banciao (板橋凱薩飯店), the flagship property of Caesar Park Hotels and Resorts (凱撒飯店連鎖), is aiming to keep occupancy steady next year after a steep increase to 85 percent this year from 50 percent last year, marketing and communications official Zara Wang (王筱瑩) said yesterday, adding that daily room rates rose from NT$4,300 to NT$4,600 over the period.
“We’re almost fully booked this month, thanks to the Christmasland in New Taipei City festival that is attracting visitors from different parts of Taiwan and overseas with its music concerts and light shows,” Wang said.
The two-year-old hotel is within walking distance of the annual event and its relatively affordable pricing strategy has helped it win guests from similar-grade facilities in Taipei, Wang said.
The travel ban imposed by Beijing on individual tourists has had little effect on Casesar Park Banciao, as domestic travelers constitute its biggest source of customers, she said.
The hotel has also benefited from the government’s subsidies for domestic trips, she added.
Caesar Park Banciao aims to maintain its performance by keeping room rates flat, Wang said.
The facility of 400 rooms would focus on raising its profit margin by increasing the share of bookings on its own Web site so that it can save on commission expenses, she said.
Restaurant sales account for 40 percent of overall revenue, suggesting that there room for improvement, she said.
The hotel has altered its business model for its Carrara Restaurant (卡拉拉), which now serves cuisine from France, Spain, Italy and Greece using a semi-buffet format, Wang said.
The change aims to give the eatery an upgrade and set it apart from the hotel’s buffet restaurant Bon Appetit (朋派), she said.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
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