The first in the line of affordable co-living hotels is fully operational in Chinatown, conveniently located in the heart of one of Singapore’s most famous heritage areas.
Singapore — Katrina Group Ltd (SYMBOL: 1A0) today announced the launch of the first affordable line of co-living hotels in Singapore. Launched through their hospitality arm ST Hospitality Group, the Chinatown co-living hotel will be closely followed by a wide roll-out in Singapore and the APAC region.
This marks Katrina Group Ltd’s first major expansion after the acquisition of Straits Organization Pte. Ltd. With the business travel market expected to grow to US$1.7 trillion by 2023 from about US$1.3 trillion in 2017, and Asia-Pacific being the largest business travel market (42%) in the world, this new affordable luxury line of co-living hotels puts the Group at the forefront of a growing industry.
Alan Goh Keng Chian, Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO, of Katrina Group Ltd, said, “The launch of ST Signature Chinatown is part of our growth strategy to create a strong hospitality brand in the region. We see great opportunity in the industry and strongly believe that the co-living concept will continue to grow within the region. With strong growth expected in the global business travel segment and Asia Pacific is a major growth region for hospitality, the future looks bright for ST Signature.”
The potential of the co-living market
Driven by the millennial demographic, there is strong growth in the co-living market in Asia. According to a recent report by real estate consultancy JLL co-living is gaining traction in Asia, especially in markets with high or rising real estate costs. While flat-sharing or shared housing has been popular among students and young professionals, what differentiates co-living spaces is that they are professionally managed, often offering benefits and services beyond accommodation.
Co-living hotels bring that concept into the hospitality and tourism industry to leverage on a growing travel industry as well. By integrating high-quality aspects into an affordable travel bracket, the co-living hotel segment has strong potential to capture market share as the industry continues to grow.
With Singapore (4th) and Hong Kong (1st) in the top five most expensive Asian countries for business travel costing businesses US$468 and US$515 per day respectively, there is a growing demand for affordable quality options. Beyond the business travel market, there is strong growth expected for the whole industry in the region. The tourism industry for the ASEAN region is expected to show strong growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.72% from 129.2 million travellers in 2018 to 155.4 million in 2022.
Rapid expansion on the cards
Identifying the growing opportunity, Straits Organization Pte Ltd (subsidiary of Katrina Group Ltd) now has a growing portfolio of over 600 serviced apartment units in Singapore and Hong Kong, and four additional co-living hotels in the pipeline for Singapore.
The Group will be rolling out the rest of the ST Signature line in Singapore within the next 12 months.
Offering a unique blend of technology and heritage
The first in the line of affordable co-living hotels is fully operational in Chinatown, conveniently located in the heart of one of Singapore’s most famous heritage areas. The hotel incorporates a unique blend of custom-built technology such as the smart Chat-In™ technology. Guests checking into the hotel, will be amongst the first here in Singapore, to experience this unique hospitality check-in solution that uses a virtual host, a feature that was innovated by ST Signature. This unique self check-in technology, ST Signature being the first to implement this technology in Singapore, enables guests to check in and check out of the hotel quickly and efficiently.
Chief Host Ng Xin Fang, who is in charge of running the ST Signature line of co-living hotels said, “ST Signature Chinatown offers a truly local experience that marries luxury with smart business and convenience for travellers from all over the world. The location and easy access, makes it an ideal choice for regular business travellers who want both convenience and luxury at an affordable price.”
The hotel also incorporates an intelligent design that circumvents a traditional room layout. This allows the 40 rooms to be spacious enough to be comfortable and compact enough to reduce their carbon footprint.
Soon to be launched will be their flagship co-living hotel at Tanjong Pagar which will be open for business towards the later part of October this year.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
