Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei (王朝大酒店) has adopted a new name — the Illume Taipei (茹曦酒店) — following months of renovation and downsizing as it prepares for its relaunch next month.
The property near the Taipei Arena MRT Station in the city’s Songshan District (松山) has cut its number of guestrooms from 730 to 408 by subleasing 1,274 ping (4,212m2) of floor space to retailers, restaurants and fitness facilities and other tenants to boost its cost-efficiency, it said on Thursday.
The Illume Taipei aims to rejoin the market on Aug. 18 to take advantage of an expected recovery in the hospitality industry as COVID-19 cases drop and authorities ease disease control measures.
It also comes as hotels in Taipei, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, look to benefit from the government’s NT$5.5 billion (US$183.7 million) travel subsidy, which took effect yesterday.
The Illume Taipei is targeting family tourists in the summer, and seeks to court business and leisure travelers afterward, it said.
The hotel brand is owned by multilevel marketing company Sunrider International (仙妮蕾德), headquartered in Torrance, California, which acquired the mixed-use complex for NT$7 billion in 2006.
Sunrider sold the property to Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) for NT$26.8 billion in 2020 with a leaseback agreement. The deal suggested a huge profit on the part of Sundrider, thanks to soaring property prices in Taipei over the years.
Sunrider reportedly spent NT$500 million renovating guestrooms, and banquet and conference facilities to give them a more modern look, media reports said.
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