CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), continues to extend its global footprint as it kicks off its 30th anniversary celebrations with special promotions for its customers that include discounted rates and free nights.
Ascott, which pioneered Asia-Pacific’s first international-class serviced residence in 1984, has secured a contract to manage its first property in Myanmar, Somerset Kabar Aye Yangon, and its third property in Wuhan, Somerset Zhuankou Wuhan. In addition, Ascott has opened its first property in Frankfurt, Citadines City Centre Frankfurt and will open Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur on 21 March 2014 and Ascott Midtown Suzhou in April 2014.
Starting from one property each in Singapore (The Ascott Singapore on Scotts Road) and France (Citadines La Défense Paris), Ascott has grown to become the world’s largest international owner-operator of serviced residences, with more than 34,000 apartment units in 231 properties. Voted the ‘World’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’ at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2013, Ascott’s three award-winning brands of serviced residences – Ascott The Residence, Citadines Apart’hotel and Somerset Serviced Residence, provide a home away from home for expatriates and travellers in 83 cities across 23 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region.
Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “As Ascott celebrates 30 years of successful business, we would like to thank all our customers for their unwavering support. In 2013 alone, we had over 1 million stays, of which a significant percentage was from repeat guests. To enable our guests to enjoy the comforts of home in more destinations, we plan to open 58 properties across 12 countries by 2018, of which about 20 properties are scheduled to open this year.”
He said: “Our focus this year is to seek investment opportunities in key markets where we have presence like Singapore, China, India, and capital cities in Southeast Asia, Paris, London and key cities in Germany. We will also expand through management contracts and strategic alliances to achieve our target of 40,000 apartment units globally by 2015 and to strengthen Ascott’s position as the global serviced residence leader.”
Mr. Lee added: “At Ascott, we are committed to continuous innovation and going the extra mile to provide our customers the best experience. Since our refurbishment programmer started in 2010, we have invested close to S$100 million to renovate 20 properties. Ascott will spend another S$200 million to enhance 29 more properties by 2016. To celebrate Ascott’s 30th anniversary, we would like to reward our customers, thank our employees for their dedication and continue to give back to the communities as we look forward to the next 30 years and more.”
