Hospitality's New Frontier

It might be an occupational hazard to squeeze in whatever he could in a five-minute window, but for the 38-year-old, it was all in a day’s work. I suppose that for someone who has dedicated 14 years of his career in hospitality, building the brand from a single hotel in Hong Kong to a 16-property success that it is today, ensuring that the smallest matters are attended to is as important as making high level executive decisions.

Charting Out the Future

Mr. Law recalls that back in 2004, his father, Mr. Law Kar Po, a successful businessman and chairman of the Park Hotel Group, acquired the Park Hotel Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui and asked him to run it. While exciting, Mr. Law admits that he “didn’t know much about the hotel industry.” The fresh graduate had no choice but to dive right into a six-month accelerated program at the hotel, and work two shifts and rotate through various departments to get an understanding of the hotel business. In other words, it was a baptism of fire.

“Besides the hands-on crash course in operations, I read extensively about leadership and looked for opportunities to learn from the best in class. Nearly 15 years on, I may have learnt the A-to-Z of the hotel business, but charting out where the future lies remains the key challenge,” says Mr. Law.

“Changes are happening so quickly,” he shares, “with disruptions and technological advancements across all sectors in the marketplace taking place concurrently. To stay relevant, we need to be dynamic and embrace change.” And in order to get a head start on much needed change, this is where Grand Park City Hall comes in.

All Eyes on Grand Park City Hall

Following extensive renovation works, Grand Park City Hall, the jewel in the Park Hotel Group crown, is ready to be reintroduced to the world. In addition, it also proved to be the perfect canvas for the future of hospitality. But how was such a daunting task mapped out?

“First, it is about timing,” reveals Mr. Law. “We have timed our transformation master plan for the hotel together with the rejuvenation of the City Hall precinct. Second, it is not about refurbishing an old hotel; it is about developing a new iconic landmark where locals and foreign visitors can enjoy in the years to come.”

With Grand Park City Hall poised to be a hotel of the future, how does it intend to stand out from a highly competitive landscape, particularly at a time where new properties with equally unique propositions are setting up in Singapore? The answer lies in meeting the traveler’s demand for distinguished, authentic, and seamless experiences.

Mr. Law says, “Our inspirations to create authentic experiences were found in Grand Park City Hall’s prized location within the Civic District and CBD area, including St. Gregory’s Place that is gazetted as a conservation site. And to actualize our vision, we engaged design experts like RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, as well as Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA). The team eventually fashioned a stunning concept that embraces modern lifestyle while preserving heritage and culture; to realize a premier destination that invokes memorable moments for those who visit — be it travelers or locals.”

Design plays an important role in all of this, where elements of old and new Singapore are incorporated in both public spaces and guest rooms. The hotel’s architecture and interior design reflects the city-state’s multicultural fabric, and at the same time, includes a carefully-appointed collection of artworks that creatively tell the Singapore story — all these can be seen as soon as you enter the driveway lobby, inside the lifts, as well as the rooms, where beautiful black and white photographs of various places in Singapore are proudly displayed. What’s more, custom furniture and heritage-influenced accents were carefully chosen to appeal to the senses of travelers visiting now or in the future.  

“To develop a hotel of the future, we considered numerous touch points that customers will look for. Through this process, we acknowledge the need to update our physical to digital guest experience by introducing a comprehensive mobile app, which allows guests more time to enjoy and explore what they love and waste less time on the unexciting matters,” exclaims Mr. Law.

Let’s Talk Tech

Who knew that selfies would one day play a part in hospitality?

The intent behind the mobile app (available on both the App Store and Google Play Store) is to enable guests with the convenience, access, and control over their experience at the hotel. “With this app, guests can spend less time waiting in line when they use the digital check-in feature; unlock their access to their guest floor and guest room; provide feedback and request for assistance; and even control in-room lighting, temperature, as well as TV channels,” Mr. Law elaborates.

While all these features sound impressive, phase two is already in development. “For the next version, which will be released very soon, guests don’t even have to go to the front desk to complete their check-in. All they have to do is take a selfie on their mobile device and be issued a digital key to enter their chosen guest room. Similarly, they can connect real time with our guest services manager to provide feedback or request for assistance.”

He adds, “The case in point here is that we will soon do away with the mundane yet needful process of requesting for guests’ credit card and passport details with the selfie check-in. The mobile app does this deed for us so that guests can go about their day as soon as possible, while the team members in the property can spend more time to value-add their stay experiences.”  

Technology is also used by the Park Hotel Group for their back of house, where investments are being made in workflow automation. This eliminates repetitive low value tasks, removing waiting time, and enabling the various teams to embark on high value work. “The workflow automation process is not only about increasing productivity, it helps our team members to achieve greater job satisfaction, such as focusing on the part of the job that we love and removing the parts we hate. We already spend most of our waking hours working, so I really want my team members to feel excited when they come to work,” says Mr. Law.  

The Human Touch Remains

Hospitality and the human touch cannot exist independently of each other. In order for quality service and tangible experiences to shine despite a growing reliance on technology, both have to work hand in hand. “At the end of the day, we are more about delivering an exceptional hospitality experience to our guests, while creating this mobile app is a nod to how consumer behavior and preferences have evolved. Our customers today are more inclined to be mobile- or digital-first in their day to day compared to before,” affirms Mr. Law.

He adds, “Hospitality is a people business. The ongoing technological advancements can and should also enable hoteliers like us to understand our guests more and improve the way we deliver hospitality in person. Using our app, for instance, we are able to take note of guest preferences and requests and use the data to help us deliver anticipatory service for seamlessly without being obtrusive.”

While Grand Park City Hall has introduced numerous innovations to enhance the guest experience, Mr. Law still believes in delivering hospitality the traditional way and that is to make the guests feel the warmth of being genuinely valued and cared for when they stay at the property. “This can only be possible when curated services, experiences, and engagement are delivered by our team members with passion and love.”

While on the subject of experiences, guests at the Grand Park City Hall will also be delighted to know that the group’s commercial development, City Hall Square, is literally just around the corner. Mr. Law shares, “Guests and visitors to both the hotel and City Hall Square will have a sense of place when they soot foot within our premises. Whether they are patrons to the retail and F&B outlets in City Hall Square or guests staying in the hotel, they can cohesively experience the décor, architecture, and memories that come with being in the heart of the Civic District and Singapore’s art and cultural center.”

Guided by the knowledge that the state of retail in Singapore is currently experiencing a downturn, City Hall Square seeks to align with online retailers by offering shop space and pop-up stores that online brands can provide their customers a high-touch physical experience, which prioritizes service and convenience rather than stocking up inventory.

“Much like the hospitality industry, our intent is to facilitate online retailers their online-to-offline strategy; to engage customers, build brand loyalty, and deliver seamless experiences throughout the customer journey,” he shares. “Furthermore, because online shopping and hotels never sleep, we are also exploring partnerships to offer online shoppers the option to pick up their purchase round the clock. Guests at our hotel may also enjoy the convenience of having their shopping bags delivered straight to their rooms.”

The S Word

Mr. Law is fully aware that building a hotel of the future also meant that they need to care about the impact it has on the environment. Hence, sustainability is a key word that plays a vital role in the grand scheme of things. “The decisions corporations and individuals make today affect the sustainability of the future. That is why we consciously implemented various sustainable solutions for our properties.”

At Grand Park City Hall, sustainability efforts include the installation of solar panels on the rooftop, the building façade designed to minimize solar heat transmission, smart thermal-motion sensor system to reduce energy wastage, and harvesting rainwater to be used in air conditioning and irrigation systems to reduce the usage of potable. In addition, the mobile app also sends critical data to the building management system in order to better control energy consumption.

“Today, we are already reaping the benefits of these decisions with lower utilities consumption and costs. To this effect, we have also received various recognitions for our efforts, which include the BCA Green Mark Awards and Singapore Green Hotel Awards.” 

More To Be Done

While it may seem that Mr. Law and the Park Hotel Group have achieved monumental feats with Grand Park City Hall — a modern day landmark that has harnessed the power of technology, all while staying true to its heritage and ensuring that sustainability is at the forefront of everything it does — it is merely scratching the surface.

“Following Grand Park City Hall, we look forward to the opening of Park Hotel Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. Following this launch will mark our debut in Australia and Malaysia in the next 18 to 24 months. And with the recent addition of Maldives and Bali in our portfolio, we are currently looking for more opportunities in key resort destinations as we speak.”

At the end of the photo shoot and interview, I overheard Mr. Law clarify details about his overnight trip to Bangkok the following day. I couldn’t help but mention to one of his marketing colleagues that, “surprisingly, I haven’t come across any Park Hotel Group properties” in the Thai capital.

With a knowing grin, Mr. Law turned my way and said, “Well, maybe that will all change after this trip.”