Frasers Hospitality promotes a “hotel with space”

Capri by Fraser, Frasers Hospitality’s newest addition to its brand portfolio, is aiming at the growing niche of travellers staying for shorter periods but still at frequent intervals. “You know that we specialise in long stays,” Choe Peng Sum, the Singapore-based operator’s chief executive officer, told Business Traveller. “But we are finding that quite a number of guests are with us between five to seven days now. Of course, they can use a hotel but when you’re there that long, you need a bit more room to move around. So we’ve come up with Capri by Fraser – a ‘hotel with space’.” To cater to this highly mobile sector, 80 per cent of Capri by Fraser’s units will be either studio and one bedroom, and the other 20 per cent are two-bedroom types. This is in contrast to most Frasers properties where one- two- and three-bedroom units outnumber the studio categories. Modena, the chain's four-star tier, may have studios and one-bedroom units like Capri, but their rooms are lightly larger, and the two differ in their amenities and shared areas. This latest Frasers product goes further by having a hotel license, allowing properties to take in customers on a daily basis. Cutting-edge technology will inform much of this latest Fraser’s operations, from iPad check-in to the free wifi access and interactive e-concierge service, and from the ability to print out documents from selected areas in the public areas and charge all digital devices in a “data box”. A laundrette even provides Wii and Xbox Kinect gaming devices as well as boardgames to liven up the waiting-for-the-wash-cycle experience. Choe observed: “The atmosphere will be really relaxed, and there will be ofuro (Japanese-style baths) in the spa and hammocks in the gardens.” He went on to describe the flexibility of various facilities, with the bar, all-day cafe and deli serving as places not only to have a meal or knock back a drink, but also to socialise, and food and drink available round the clock. The gym will likewise be accessible no matter what time. The game plan for Capri by Fraser will kick off with Capri by Fraser@Changi City, Singapore in September, followed next year by Capri by Fraser@Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur and Capri by Fraser@District7-HCMC, Vietnam. Locations represent emerging urban hubs such as Changi City (near the airport), Bangsar South and Phu My Hung (the southern portion of Saigon), all boasting booming commercial and retail development. Explaining the choice of “Capri” – a famous holiday island in Italy – for the brand's name, Choe said: "Most of the people we interviewed said that they wanted things to move quickly, but they also wanted to rest and relax. So when Capri was suggested, we thought it summed up very well the desire for a place where people could come back to recharge." Frasers' strategy reflects the increased mobility of the world's workforce, which fuels the region's serviced apartment boom, particularly in rapidly expanding Asian economies. For more on the topic, read "Moving homes" in the latest issue of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, available for subscription here. For more details, visit www.frasershospitality.com Margie T Logarta