Hospitality with Heart
What awaits guests at a Pan Pacific Hotels Group property is luxury hospitality at its most gracious where the members of staff are sincere, thoughtful and trustworthy. In this interview, RLI sits down with CEO Choe Peng Sum to speak about the company origins, what its future pipeline looks like and what makes the business stand out.
Pan Pacific Hotels was launched back in 1975 by Japanese conglomerate Tokyu. The brand and the majority of its properties were acquired by UOL in 2007 and it was then rebranded as Pan Pacific Hotels Group. Since then two additional brands, PARKROYAL COLLECTION and PARKROYAL have been added to an ever-expanding global portfolio.
The company believes that true hospitality comes from the heart and that it should be genuine, gracious and warm. They treat each guest the same way they would wish to be treated themselves and by discerning their individual needs, preferences and wants, they endeavour to make each stay an unforgettable one.
Today there are close to 50 hotels and serviced suites in operation in 30 cities across North America, UK and Asia-Pacific. Of these, the Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore opened in June 2023 and it features iconic and dramatic biophilic architecture that combines sustainability and luxury. Another location launched in June was Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Nairobi, which are located in the prestigious GTC Nairobi Complex in Kenya’s capital city and its main commercial hub. Other sites launched in 2023 are BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel and the Hotel Groove Shinjuku, A PARKROYAL Hotel which were both opened in Tokyo in May.
In terms of refurbs, Pan Pacific Singapore re-opened in August which featured a full refurbishment and included the creation of F&B concepts and glamorous destination bar, Plume. An additional extensive refurbishment is taking place at Pan Pacific Perth and this is due to be completed next year.
When we asked Choe Peng Sum about what is in the development pipeline, he explains that some upcoming sites include PARKROYAL COLLECTION in Orchard, Singapore, PARKROYAL Serviced Suites Jakarta, Indonesia, PARKROYAL Dalian, China and Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Bangkok, Thailand.
“We have an exciting pipeline for the next two years, but we are also exploring several other new opportunities to add to our portfolio across our stable of brands, both hotels and serviced apartments. As we look to the future, the Group will continue to build on our presence in London and potentially Europe and other major cities in China.”
As the topic of discussion moves onto what attracts Pan Pacific to new sites, Choe highlights that location, market conditions, operational synergies within a cluster, relevance of brand and product and projected ROI are all considerations. They have a robust and rigorous evaluation system in place to ensure that their partnerships and investments have the best chance of success.
In the last few years, the Group dove deep into their brands in order to stay relevant to customers and to ensure their properties are distinguished from other compelling hotel brands. Through this, they understood that technology was going to be a significant part of the user journey, from search and booking behaviour to stay and post-stay engagement. They also wanted to build on what they are known for, sincerity, warm service and marrying authentic service whilst staying relevant and knowing their customers.
“Sustainability is also key to staying relevant and being the forerunner in this area is an intentional endeavour on our part. PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Singapore was launched a decade ago and it was Singapore’s first sustainable building. We followed it with PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore with our most recent opening Pan Pacific Orchard, which was built from scratch with sustainability in mind. The initial cost of embedding sustainability can be prohibitive, but we also know that it will work in our favour in the long run and this is a journey we are prepared to stick with,” Choe explains.
The company has continually adapted to the increasing importance of e-commerce and social media and they ensure their digital marketing platform is kept up-to-date and remains relevant and supports their business needs.
They now have in place an integrated cross-channel Digital Marketing Technology ecosystem. Their bespoke technology platform is based on the concept of platform modularity which brings together the best possible digital marketing technology for the Pan Pacific Hotels Group platform. This includes everything from customer data platforms to optimisation and testing.
“Pivotal within this comprehensive, tech-driven framework is our capability to connect, collect and understand first-party customer data. This allows us not just to personalise content based on our guests’ preference in order to provide the best digital experience, but also to drive incremental revenue. It also goes without saying that the system is seamlessly integrated with our website.”
Often seen as a dependable brand in great city centre locations & resorts that always offers reliable, sincere service, Pan Pacific has always known that consumer needs continually evolve and their adaptability to this is a key reason guests have remained loyal to the brand through the onset of Covid-19 and the rapid pace of technological advancement.
“Understanding new consumer value structures and need for a myriad of experiences when travelling allowed us to develop customer experiences through our brand offerings, from graceful, thoughtful luxury to vibrant locale programmes, all underpinned by our efforts in sustainability. All my teams from London to Singapore and Sydney work hard at meeting guests needs, being trustworthy and reliable no matter the circumstance,” highlights Choe.
A clear focus on business goals, knowing their customers and using technology to enhance the guest experience in a meaningful way are the key drivers behind the company’s success to date according to Choe.
“Our vision is to be The Trusted Global Hospitality Group. Trust is not a commodity to be taken lightly and our team have spent time going through what matters and hands down, recognised the need to continue to build and anchor our culture and community on trust.”
As he looks to the future, Choe comments that the industry they are in is a people industry and whilst they might have used technology to mitigate and facilitate many aspects of their products and services, it is still people who make the difference. This is why he is so grateful to his team on the ground for continuing to go beyond what is expected.
“The competition will only get tougher; technology will drive change on a massive scale and from there needs will keep evolving. We need to stay on top of all this and constantly evaluate ourselves.”
