SINGAPORE - Park Hotel Group has lost its third management contract - this time, for Park Hotel Farrer Park, following the winding up of a firm that used to own the Singapore-based hospitality group.
The 300-room hotel in Little India, owned by RB Capital, is now managed by IHG Hotels & Resorts and rebranded to Holiday Inn Singapore Little India on Sept 7 ahead of a renovation for its relaunch.
IHG now manages three of RB Capital's Singapore hotels and nearly 1,000 rooms here - Holiday Inn Singapore Little India, Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay and InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay.
Executive director of the Park Hotel Group Tan Shin Hui told The Straits Times that the company "had a good run managing Park Hotel Farrer Park since 2012, and the time has come to move on to other projects".
"This recent development involving Park Hotel Farrer Park was the result of a difference in contractual interpretation, not the result of any breakdown of the relationship with RB Capital or any unhappiness with our management," she said.
"We left Park Hotel Farrer Park in excellent shape, with a great support staff to manage operations. No employee was laid off or retrenched as a result of the termination of our relationship with RB Capital."
She noted that the group has not laid off or retrenched a single employee since the Covid-19 pandemic. "We are proud of the work that went in to build the hotel up to where it is today, and wish RB Capital and the new management all the best," Ms Tan said.
"In 2012, the Park Hotel Group started out managing one hotel in Hong Kong, and is now a key player in the management, ownership and development in nearly 30 hotels across the Asia-Pacific," she added.
Mr Kishin RK, founder and chief executive of RB Capital, said: "I am confident that the hospitality industry will bounce back strongly.
"It's the perfect time to relaunch this hotel with a new brand, new positioning and a design-led renovation so we are poised for recovery... as the country reopens. New attractions and infrastructure projects planned for 2021 to 2030 bode well for the future demand of tourism in Singapore," he added.
Mr Rajit Sukumaran, IHG's managing director for South East Asia and Korea, said: "We're delighted to extend our partnership with RB Capital to a new brand and new location in Singapore."
Park Hotel Group had lost its management contracts for Park Hotel Clarke Quay and Destination Singapore Beach Road in the past two months.
On Aug 28, landlord Ascendas Hospitality Reit terminated a master lease agreement and took possession of the 336-room hotel because tenant Park Hotel CQ failed to pay $5.92 million in debt by June 30.
Renamed the Riverside Hotel Robertson Quay, it is now managed by Ascott International Management, a wholly owned unit of CapitaLand, under a short-term management agreement for six months.
In July, the owner of another hotel, Destination Singapore Beach Road, terminated a 15-year hotel management agreement with PHM and took over management of the 300-room hotel at 700 Beach Road.
Both management contracts were terminated in the wake of the winding up of Park Hotel Management, a firm that until recently owned Park Hotel Group.
The dispute in relation to Park Hotel Clarke Quay was brewing when another landlord, New Park Property, in June sought to wind up PHM over $5.2 million of debt owed in relation to the 308-room Grand Park Orchard, another hotel run by Park Hotel Group. PHM was wound up on July 2.
Prior to PHM's winding up, Park Hotel Group, a sole proprietorship, had its ownership changed from PHM to Park Hotel Group Management on March 8. The new owner is wholly owned by a British Virgin Islands company called Good Movement Holdings. It has only one director, Ms Tan Shin Hui, also executive director of Park Hotel Group, who was appointed on March 1.
Other hotels run by Park Hotel Group here include Grand Park City Hall and Park Hotel Alexandra.
There are 1,234 properties under the Holiday Inn brand worldwide, with another 250 in the pipeline. Holiday Inn Singapore Little India will be the first in Singapore to introduce a new dining and workspace concept with a globally recognised F&B partner, IHG said.
Holiday Inn Singapore Little India is located near Farrer Park Hospital and next to shopping mall Mustafa Centre and City Square Mall - providing direct access to Farrer Park MRT station through its lobby.
In the first half of 2021, the Holiday Inn brand accounted for 66 per cent of IHG's total openings, and has more than 900 new properties under development.
IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates 11 hotels in Singapore under brands including Regent, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. The company will also open voco Orchard Singapore in early 2022 along Orchard Road at what used to be Hilton Singapore hotel.
