Far East Hospitality launching 2 Australian brands in Singapore 

FAR East Hospitality (FEH) is introducing 2 Australian brands in Singapore in the coming months - Vibe Hotels and Adina - through a rebranding of existing properties.

Vibe Hotel Singapore Orchard will open at The Elizabeth Hotel on Mount Elizabeth in the last quarter of 2022. The 256-room property will cater to Australians and travellers seeking a taste of contemporary Australian lifestyle.

In July, Adina Serviced Apartment Singapore Orchard will replace the Regency House serviced residence on Penang Road with 88 keys, targeting corporate expatriates as well as leisure travellers seeking transient accommodation.

Vibe and Adina belong to a portfolio of brands owned by Toga Far East Hotels (TFE Hotels), FEH’s joint-venture partnership with Australia’s Toga Group. FEH is part of Far East Orchard Limited, a listed company under Far East Organization.

This is the first time that Vibe is venturing outside of Australia, while the Adina brand is present in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Explaining the decision, Arthur Kiong, FEH’s chief executive officer, told The Business Times that the company is trying to address the challenge of pivoting to quality tourism post-pandemic.

“In order to do that, the daily average rate of hotels must increase and hotels cannot compete on a cost model. Prior to the pandemic, our hotels were mostly in the mid-tier section. So we want to go from being a mid-tier operator to a curator and creator of lifestyle brands, as they can command a much higher average rate by selling an experience, rather than just accommodation.”

In Singapore, FEH operates 16 hotels across 5 brands, including the Village, Oasia, Rendezvous and Quincy brands.

Kiong said the Australian market was chosen as there are 20,000 to 30,000 Australians living in Singapore and Australians also make up one of the top 5 visitor arrivals to Singapore pre-pandemic.

“Among the top 5 markets, Australians are also the most likely to be able to pay more and appreciate what you are trying to do in terms of lifestyle,” said Kiong, adding that the Australian segment already posts the highest average daily rate.

The Elizabeth Hotel was in dire need of refurbishment, and is ideal to carry the Vibe brand post-revamp because its location gives it a residential feel that lends itself well to a private club setting for the Australian community to congregate, he said.

Prices of rooms at Vibe will start at around S$250 per night, compared to below S$200 charged by The Elizabeth Hotel.

Regency House was renovated recently and “it made sense” to signal its rebirth by rebranding it under Adina, with indicative rates starting from above S$300 for a one-bedroom studio unit, compared to below S$280 previously.

“Both brands coming to Singapore gives us the opportunity to showcase a casual Australian-style hospitality that we can promulgate into other places we are expanding into, particularly Japan, and the rest of North Asia,” said Kiong, adding that FEH could turn more hotels in the Republic into the Vibe or Adina brands or build new ones for them in future.

FEH is also trying to get visitors to extend their typically 2-night stays to at least 4 nights by “twinning” stays on Sentosa with those on mainland Singapore. FEH has about 1,000 rooms on Sentosa and 5,000 in the city.

“Singapore has built its tourism strategy on being a stopover as part of a multiple destination holiday to Malaysia and Thailand, but that cannot be, post-pandemic. So the mono-destination appeal that hotels have to offer must compete as part of a precinct, with the precinct being the lure and the hotel very well-integrated to offer relevant local experiences,” said Kiong.

FEH has a target of 25,000 rooms by 2025 globally. The count currently stands at around 22,000, including those that are about to open. The next 3,000 rooms will likely come from Australia, Europe, Japan and Vietnam, starting with a new hotel in South-east Asia, to be announced in June.

FEH will also start a human resource programme alongside TFE Hotels, sending up to a dozen staff members annually through a 6-month cycle to Australia to expose them to working in a foreign country and enhancing their career pathways.