Ambassador Hotels and Restaurants (國賓飯店) on Tuesday approved plans to seek urban renewal for its property in Kaohsiung, following a similar move last year for its flagship hotel in Taipei to cope with a business slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The hospitality provider, which ceased guestroom operations at Ambassador Hotel Taipei (台北國賓飯店) in July, said the 40-year-old Ambassador Hotel Kaohsiung (高雄國賓飯店) has been hit hard by border controls and social distancing measures.
Urban renewal would allow both properties to boost their floor area and value, the filing said.
Photo courtesy of Ambassador Hotels and Restaurants
Ambassador Hotel Taipei sits on a 1,454 ping (4,807m2) plot, making it the largest renewal project so far by measure of area, it said, adding that the company plans to build three high-rise buildings connected via the lower floors at the site.
One building would be reserved as an upscale hotel and the other two would house 76 luxury apartments, it added.
The company said it intends to invite Japan’s Palace Hotel Tokyo to operate the planned hotel in Taipei upon its completion and the two sides would sign a management contract in January next year.
Japanese travelers accounted for 70 percent of the clientele at Ambassador Hotel Taipei prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm said.
The company said it would temporarily move its Cantonese and Szechuan restaurants, as well as its Michelin-starred A Cut Steakhouse at Ambassador Hotel Taipei, to a new mixed-use complex on Liaoning Street in February or March next year.
The company also owns Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu (新竹國賓飯店), whose operations have been unaffected, it added.
The company reported losses of NT$51.68 million (US$1.86 million) in the first three quarters of this year, or losses of NT$0.14 per share, company data showed.
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