Shangri-La says bye to Traders and hello to Jen

Hong Kong's Shangri-La International Hotel Management has commenced the gradual but total phase-out of its 25-year-old Traders Hotel brand, replacing it with the four-star Hotel Jen targeted at younger travellers.

The two-pronged approach includes the debut of 500-room Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore on September 15, followed by the rebranding of the Traders Hotel, Singapore.

Lothar W Nessmann, COO, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “The timing is right, given research findings showing the travel patterns and needs of this new-generation traveller who is tech-savvy, not just with a Millennial mindset but also young at heart. The Hotel Jen brand is inspired by the virtual persona Jen, a professional hotelier who loves life, travel and the adventure of discovering new places.”

Guests are conceptualised as “friends of Jen”, and staff act as the guest’s own personal local lifestyle guide. Free Wi-Fi and mobile charging stations will be available throughout the hotel.

Shangri-La will be converting nine existing Traders properties in phase one namely, Singapore (September 25), Hong Kong (October 8), Brisbane (October 2), Penang (November 5), Johor Bahru (November 19), Manila (December 3), Male (January 14, 2015), Upper East Beijing (March 4, 2015) and Shenyang (March 11, 2015).

Shangri-La’s regional sales office will roll out a marketing campaign for Hotel Jen within the next 10 days, followed by trade seminar and roadshows in China, Australia and Singapore soon. A new website with Mandarin and Japanese language options is available and it is building a B2B platform.

Nessman said China is the main focus for Hotel Jen’s expansion in Asia but Shangri-La is also looking at Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and Thailand.

-TTG Asia.