Ascott converts some apartments into work suites, eyes cloud kitchens

CAPITALAND'S wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited, has launched a "work in residence" initiative at participating properties worldwide, to transform selected apartments into work suites.

To extend its service offerings to guests, Ascott is also providing its space-as-a-service by exploring with multinational corporations, entrepreneurs and small-medium enterprises different possibilities to optimise the use of space in its properties, the company said on Thursday.

These range from hosting cloud kitchens and Starbucks coffee kiosks, to organising live-streaming or fitness activities in its apartments, and serving as parcel collection hubs. In Singapore, Ascott has partnered a food tech company to set up a cloud kitchen in lyf Funan Singapore's shared kitchen to provide in-house guests with more dining options.

With Ascott's "work in residence", guests, corporates and students seeking alternative location to work-from-home or study can book work suites across over 60 participating properties in more than 30 cities over 10 countries, the company said. Guests can choose from daily, weekly or monthly packages.

Said Kevin Goh, CapitaLand's chief executive officer (CEO) for lodging and Ascott's CEO: "Ascott's strengths in the long-stay segment have bolstered our resilience against headwinds from the Covid-19 situation. Our record of securing 25 new properties in the first five months of 2020, as well as the addition of six new lyf properties in July are testament to the strong demand for our expertise and products."

He added that the group is evolving its lodging products and services to cater to new customer segments and uncover alternative revenue streams.

As at 10.30am on Thursday, CapitaLand shares were trading at S$2.79, up S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent.

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