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The Straits Trading Company Limited has formed
a wholly-owned subsidiary, the Rendezvous Hospitality Group (RHG).
RHG has been formed to combine the hospitality assets of The
Straits Trading Company, together with its hospitality management
arm, Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts International. This will result
in a net asset base for RHG in excess of Sin$300 million (A$237
million), with 13 hotels currently under management and 4
additional properties under development.
Mr Iqbal
Jumabhoy, who was brought on board in March 2009 to restructure
the hospitality business of Straits Trading, will be responsible
for driving growth plans and expanding RHG’s footprint beyond its
current Australia and New Zealand base. He is supported by a
senior management team comprising executives from RHI together
with globally experienced new talent. The primary regions
scheduled for development are Australia and New Zealand, South
East Asia, East Asia, and India and the Middle East.
With its Corporate Headquarters based in Singapore, Mr.
Jumabhoy said, “RHG intends to become the leading regional player
in the business hotel segment in Asia Pacific. There are very few
players who both own and manage hotel assets that are Asian based.
We intend to firmly establish ourselves as the regional leader by
growing to over 12,000 rooms in the region by 2020.”
As a first step in this process, Mr. Jumabhoy and his team
have repositioned both the Rendezvous and The Marque brands as
business hotels. “We have taken considerable care to properly
understand what the business traveller is looking for in a hotel,”
said Mr. Jumabhoy. “We will be introducing a number of unique
initiatives to address both the hardware and the services that the
sophisticated business traveller is seeking. These exciting
initiatives will be announced over the coming months.”
RHG has redefined its product standards and will be investing
over Sin$190 million (A$147 million) in its owned and leased
properties to refurbish them to meet the new standards. The new
look and feel to both the Rendezvous Hotel and The Marque Hotel
brands will help provide a new base for development into
new markets. RHG is also looking to make strategic investments in
hotels/projects in gateway cities in its key markets.
Ms Chew Gek Khim, Executive Chairman of The Straits Trading
Company Limited, said the launch of RHG signified a new direction
in the way the diversified group would be managed, with strategic
business units being “engines of profit and growth.”
She added: “I am delighted that Iqbal has agreed to take on
the challenge of restructuring and building RHG. His successful
track record in corporate, hospitality and property management
will be an asset.”
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