CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), will review the design of its lodging products and services to ensure they are future-ready for continued growth in a post COVID-19 landscape.
Leveraging the existing design strengths of Ascott’s serviced residences, it will redefine the guest experience to take advantage of emerging trends such as the increased popularity of working-from-home, deeper health and safety concerns, and a rapidly digitising world.
Mr. Kevin Goh, Chief Executive Officer, Lodging, CapitaLand Group and Chief Executive Officer, The Ascott Limited, said: “Ascott’s serviced residences have remained resilient amid COVID-19. We continue to be the accommodation of choice by providing a safe haven for our guests who have placed their trust in Ascott. To cement Ascott’s position as a dominant lodging player and deliver more value for our guests and business partners, we are taking steps to ready Ascott for a post COVID-19 landscape. Ascott is reviewing every touchpoint within the living and workspaces of our apartments to tap on the work-from-home trend. We are also improving our digital solutions and looking at leveraging smarter technologies to provide value and safety to our guests.”
As global and domestic travel restrictions ease, the group has launched ‘Ascott Cares’ across its properties, to reassure guests and staff of the stringent cleanliness and hygiene measures in place, as the global properties begin to welcome new and returning guests home. These measures will also be effective across Ascott’s properties within the Middle East and Turkey: Ascott Park Place Dubai, Citadines Metro Central Dubai, Ascott Tahlia Jeddah, Ascott Sari Jeddah, Citadines Al Salamah Jeddah,Spectrums Residence Jeddah, AscottRafalOlaya Riyadh, Ascott Corniche Al Khobar, Somerset Panorama Muscat, Somerset Al Fateh Bahrain, Somerset Maslak Istanbul, and Somerset West Bay Doha.
Vincent Miccolis, Ascott’s Regional GM for Middle East, Africa, Turkey and India, said: “We have implemented enhanced sanitisation measures across our regional properties in the Middle East & Turkey. These include daily temperature checks, governmental directives on leisure and health facilities. In addition, the obligatory regulations of facemasks, gloves, and hand sanitizers are in place, while sterilising efforts have been ramped up across apartments, lobbies and public utilities. Ascott has always been a trusted brand and we look forward to the same momentum, assuring our long and short stay guests of a care-free and safe haven when they come home to Ascott.”
Redesigning Ascott’s serviced residences to tap on new trends
Currently, Ascott’s spacious serviced apartments are well-suited for guests who choose to stay indoors for extended periods of time – including separate living, working and dining areas, fully equipped kitchen and refrigerator within the apartment, and high-speed Wi-Fi. To tap in to the work-from-home trend, Ascott is looking at upgrading its design to create a more productive workspace within the serviced apartment. Improvements to the overall ergonomics of the workspace may include better task lighting, better use of space and appropriate wall features suited for videoconferencing or webcasting.
Digital solutions and technologies may also be further deployed to provide convenience, value and safety to guests. The use of sensors at Ascott properties can offer better safety through thermal scanning or to track footfall and crowds to facilitate better safe distancing measures, as well as smarter room energy and water management.
Ascott will also increase the adoption of mobile technology, including the launch of a new mobile app later this year. A one-stop service, the app will offer guests contactless services such as contactless entry to their apartments, payments, check-in and check-out. It can also provide seamless in-room service and smart controls, management of Ascott Star Rewards loyalty points or redemption of special flash deals.
Ascott Cares’ – A commitment to cleanliness to reassure guests and staff
Ascott will deliver stringent hygiene and cleanliness standards as well as safe distancing through its newly launched ‘Ascott Cares’ commitment, to continue providing safe homes for its guests, and a safe working environment for its staff. ‘Ascott Cares’ covers nine commitments to enhance Ascott’s existing cleanliness protocols, including:
- Staff Work Environment
- Guest Safety
- Physical Distancing
- Enhanced Housekeeping
- Apartments and Rooms
- Food and Beverage
- Shared Facilities
- Contactless and Paperless
- Vendors
The comprehensive protocols are in compliance with the World Health Organization standards and local regulations, and will be rolled out progressively to its properties globally from June 2020. For more information on ‘Ascott Cares’, please refer to the Annex or visit www.the-ascott.com/ascottcares.
Mr. Alfred Ong, Head, Global Operations, The Ascott Limited, said: “Ascott has always placed the safety and well-being of our guests and staff as our top priority. ‘Ascott Cares’ reaffirms our commitment to deliver high standards of cleanliness. Safe distancing in shared spaces and increased sanitisation will be part of the new normal. A health and hygiene champion will also be appointed in each property to uphold these standards and act as an official liaison with local health authorities to ensure compliance with the latest regulatory health measures. With ‘Ascott Cares’, our valued guests will have greater peace of mind and full confidence in our commitment to their well-being.”
