GOSTELOW REPORT—“To manage Singapore’s tight labor situation, we are streamlining work processes to be more productive,” says Choe Peng Sum, CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), headquartered in Singapore.
Singapore’s current unemployment rate stands at a mere 2.4%, and there is not a single property in the city-state that can say it has no labor challenges. And, as Choe explained, “as owner-operator of nine hotels and serviced suites with over 3,000 rooms in Singapore, we’re one of the largest Singapore-owned hospitality companies in our home base.” In its Singapore hotels, PPHG is already piloting self-check-in kiosks, and luggage tagging. It has introduced linen robots and it is considering more automation.
The labor situation will be highlighted when PPHG opens its 10th hotel in Singapore. Scheduled for the end of 2021, Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore, will be a 347-key property, designed inside and out by local firm WOHA: The 10-floor property will dominate the north end of Orchard Road.
PPHG is owned by Singapore-based UOL Group Ltd., and Choe reports direct to Group Chief Executive Liam Wee Sin. As of January 1, PPHG has 33 open hotels, with a pipeline of 15. Of this total 48-strong portfolio, 27 are fully owned and 26 are branded Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts. Of those, 13 are owned: This is the brand with club lounges and the biggest bedrooms.
There are 22 Parkroyal Hotels and Resorts, of which 14 are owned: These hotels have ADRs approximately 70% of Pan Pacifics – the Parkroyal Collection Hotels and Resorts sub-brand is more eco-friendly, with living walls in some public areas (across the entire PPHG portfolio, technology advances include smart systems that manage energy consumption). There are also, in Singapore, plus Malaysia and China, five blocks of serviced suites, branded Pan Pacific or Parkroyal.
In all, Choe oversees 14,384 bedrooms and suites, and he has responsibility for 6,023 full-time employees.
“One of the reasons I joined is that PPHG is known for its sincerity in looking after its people, and it is trusted for integrity in the way we conduct business,” Choe explained. He is proud of such initiatives as the Graduate Management Trainee program, to accelerate careers of most promising young leaders by grooming them to top, even general manager, positions in 10 years.
“Across the board, we offer competitive benefits in the market to attract best-in-class talents, career progression plans and opportunities for internal transfers and cross-learning. As an advocate and hospitality pioneer of inclusive hiring, we are committed to building an inclusive and caring workplace and promoting diversity in a performance-focused organization which recognizes talent.”
Looking forward, Choe says Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel in Tokyo, starting in February, will be marketed as a Pan Pacific Partner Hotel and be distributed through PPHG’s sales and marketing channels. These include Pan Pacific Discovery, which in turn is linked to the network and Discovery loyalty giant of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA).
“The world is coming to a point that if you are alone you cannot cope; GHA is the way to look after our own customers,” he explained.
On another tack, Choe’s eyes light up at the thought of Pan Pacific London, a 300-key new-build that is scheduled to open in the Bishopsgate city-area in September this year. The designer is the Canadian-U.S. company Yabu Pushelberg.
“We are already in Canada, and the USA (Seattle). London is a stepping-stone east to our hotels in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Australia, and of course Singapore.
“I want to grow, fast,” said the Singaporean who seems to have been born with ambition. Having won a Shangri-La scholarship to Cornell University, he spent 15 years with that group before the Frasers drinks conglomerate asked him to set up a hotel division. Twenty-two years later he took a break but after six months his wife begged him to get another job. The first thing he did on arriving at PPHG on September 1, 2019, was to host a week-long executive retreat at Parkroyal Penang Resort in Malaysia.