Swire edges into mid-market travel sector

SWIRE HOTELS   WWWINS   HOSPITALITY

Hong Kong - Swire has launched a second brand under its sprawling hotel division called East, a mid-range property targeting savvy business travellers.

The business lifestyle hotel, located at Swire Properties' Island East, decided to endorse its surrounding area and thus its name - East.  

Brian Williams, MD for Swire Properties Hotel, said it was one of those extraordinary clear moments of thinking where the group had eight million square feet of space within Taikoo Shing and they could create a brand around its clientele. 

A detailed survey was conducted on its office tenants to find out the demographics of the customers from their age, nationality, budget, the books they read to the particular brands they like.

From the results, Williams said the group has created a very affordable hotel that includes an all day restaurant, Feast and a rooftop harbour view  bar called Sugar.  

Unlike Swire's House collection of hotels such as The Opposite House in Beijing and The Upper House in Hong Kong, which are premium hotels for business leisure travellers, East targets working professionals in their early 30s.

He said visitors to East would predominantly be Asians who are tech savvy yet fairly casual in their attire and work at advertising agencies or media companies.

To match the customer profile, Williams said East's service would be efficient yet friendly and the hotel will keep the price point keen so customers do not feel ripped off.

The campaign rolled out yesterday but Williams want to keep the opening of East a 'local story' and to up publicity focused around Taikoo Shing via billboards, MTR stations and local media to promote awareness. 

To support the launch, Swire has tapped wwwins Consulting to create its website. 

Williams said the hotel website is an important marketing tool and it had to be easy to navigate and allow visitors to book and check best available rates at a glance.

While there are third party providers that offer hotel accommodation, he said they might not live and breathe your brand.   

East's website aims to drive sales but the brand cannot just be about practicality, it has to be aspirational and Williams is confident that 30% of bookings will come through from its site in the near future.

On the topic of social media, Williams said the group is exploring how relevant it is for customers as direct selling, direct marketing and eDM have served them well.

He is still unconvinced that the time and effort required in social media is currently worth the 'reward' which translates to room bookings. 

He said Facebook, Twitter and blogging have become more important in the current landscape but is careful about how to allocate resources effectively.

Williams said he does not exclude outsourcing social media marketing to an agency if it works out to be more cost effective. _______________________________________________________________________________________

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