Northstar

18 | www.travelweekly-asia.com HOSPITALITY Loh Lik Peng is no stranger to Singapore's hospitality industry. Often credited with elevating the concept of boutique hotels in Singapore, the lawyer-turned- hotelier-and-restaurateur's first project in 2003 involved transforming a row of derelict shophouses in Keong Saik, a district once known for its brothels, into the cool Hotel 1929. Seventeen years on, the founder of Unlisted Collection, an umbrella group comprising boutique hotels and restaurants, has gone beyond transforming old structures to making a difference to the industry. In May, he was conferred a Special Recognition Award at the Singapore Tourism Awards for leading innovation initiatives as chairman of the Singapore Hotel Association's (SHA) Hotel Innovation Committee and developing talent as chairman of Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC). Since you opened Hotel 1929 in 2003, you've seen the hotel industry through its ups and downs. What has changed? The fundamentals of running a hotel haven't changed much but Singapore's tourism landscape has changed a lot. It is more sophisticated. There are more players and different types of products. It's a lot more vibrant, but costs have also gone up. To run a hotel is so much more expensive. Travellers now are more discerning, and this has spurred the need for the hotel industry to evolve. What has been done right, and wrong? What has been done right is recognising that today's diverse landscape is largely divided between branded and independent hotels – both of which are successful because of the different customers they attract. In the past, boutique hotels were small and unsophisticated. Now they have grown to such an extent that chain hotels are forced to go into that space. What hasn't done so well is that the fundamental business model of hotels hasn't changed much. The wave of travel has changed, but the industry has stood still. Big management players are still stuck trying to sign management deals when they are losing market share to innovators like Airbnb and WeWork. Now they react by merging and offering more brands but they are not competitive against the real industry disruptors. They focus a lot on loyalty programmes, call it different names and try and link up with airlines, but they're nibbling at the edges. They used to not want to sign deals with OTAs, but now they have no choice. It's totally reactive. So is it up to the boutique players to disrupt the industry? Yes, big players have invested too much in their own business models, so they end up doing the same thing in a different or bigger form. They talk about technology but it's hardly different from what it was 10 years ago. If they're not careful, they'll be reduced to half their size because travellers today have many choices. But can boutique hotels be innovative and successful? You've built a string of successful boutique hotels, yet found yourself having to sell Hotel 1929, close New Majestic Hotel and redevelop it entirely into a new business. Why we moved out had more to do with rising costs: Asset prices increased tremendously, with real to hire, the perception was the jobs were unfulfilling. People now are more knowledgeable about what the job entails, and there is also a broader scope in hotels beyond front desk, rooms and housekeeping. There are now roles such as social media and data scientists that draw different talent. What are some successful initiatives to change perceptions of what the hospitality industry is about? The Open Hotels Weekend organised by Singapore Tourism Board and SHA has been successful. Once a year, hotels open to jobseekers and the public so they can see what's it like to work in a hotel. Last year saw 50% more participants than the previous. But more needs to be done to make careers more rewarding. Traditional hotels remain quite hierarchical and millennials are not interested in that. If your kids wanted to work in the industry in future, what would you say to them? I would make sure they had the right motivation and passion because it is not for everyone. The hotel industry is really demanding – rude customers, working on weekends and public holidays etc – but tremendously rewarding if you have the right motivation. If you enjoy the industry, none of these will faze you. A candid conversation with the founder of Unlisted Collection and chairman of SHA and SHATEC. By Lee Xin Hui Hotelier Loh Lik Peng On Boutique Hotels, Innovation And Developing Talent "Hospitality jobs have become more attractive than compared to 20 years ago." - Loh Lik Peng, founder of Unlisted Collection estate cost going up seven, eight times; labour costs also more than doubled. Our hotel rates rose but not by the same margin. Our profit margin was shrinking every year. It made more sense to sell the real estate, or reposition it to a product like Straits Clan where I will make more money than running a hotel. But that's not true for all markets. We continue to invest in hotels in Ireland and Australia, where we have more scale and real estate prices are more realistic. So, independent hotels can compete with larger hotels if they're clever about how they market themselves. Let's talk about the Hotel Innovation Challenge (HIC). How successful have the initiatives been? It's been very successful. During the last HIC in 2017, we got many vendors to invest in new technology that addresses problems faced by hotels. We were pleasantly surprised that, out of 15 qualifying solutions involving inventory management, luggage management, chatbot and predictive maintenance, 12 were completed and adopted by 12 hotels. Another aspect of your role is to develop future talent for the industry. Has it been difficult to attract the right people? Hospitality jobs have become more attractive than compared to 20 years ago. In the past when we tried

• Cover