Tag: Singapore

Singapore – The Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore is going on a temporary closure in line with efforts to renovate and upgrade its facilities, the hotel announced on its website. 

Grand Hyatt in the Lion City has already jumpstarted its upgrading efforts in a number of its amenities, and thus, has closed them down ahead of the complete closure on 19 September. These are the swimming pool, Damai Spa & Fitness Centre, Oasis restaurant, Pete’s Place, and mezza9. 

Even ahead of its newly revamped facilities, the hotel aims to ensure it’s able to retain some kind of branding and personality. Preparatory work for the renovation of the Grand Wing has commenced and hoarding has already been installed in some of the public areas, including the lobby. For the hoardings, Grand Hyatt has partnered with local artist duo Ripple Root to create two original artwork concepts to represent the hotel as a “vibrant melting pot of cultures and iconic moments, and as a lush hidden oasis in the city.” 

The hotel’s renovation will be running for four months and is scheduled for reopening in Q1 2023. In the meantime, the hotel will be accepting room reservations until 15 September 2022.

Singapore – As reopening of borders have now allowed more travellers to visit choice locations, a large majority of Singaporean travellers want to have their hotel stay offer some tech-related service for reasons of accessibility and low-frequency contact with other people, according to the latest study conducted by Oracle Hospitality and Skift.

The research notes that 80% of people in Singapore want hotels to offer tech that minimises contact with staff and other guests, and 86% are interested in hotels using AI to deliver more relevant offers.

Meanwhile, 52% want to order room service from their phone or a chatbot, 52% are also looking for contactless payments with only 5% wanting to pay in crypto, and 46% wanting a fully self-service model, with staff only available upon request.

In terms of travellers’ perspective of a contactless hotel experience, 46% said they want a fully contactless experience for all basic hotel transactions, and 38% said a staff shortage, and resulting slow service, would be their first deterrent to rebooking a hotel. However, just 20% noted that a lack of daily room cleaning is an issue, showing consumers have accepted that this pre-pandemic mainstay is never coming back.

Staff-wise, 72% of Singapore’s hoteliers said incorporating new technologies for staff best describes their strategy to weather labour shortages and attract new talent. Meanwhile, 62% added that their highest priority is to adopt tech that improves or eliminates the need for the front desk experience between now and 2025. 

Patrick Andres, regional vice president for hotels and food & beverage in JAPAC at Oracle, said, “We have seen how technology has reshaped and enriched guest experiences in new ways. Guests have now come to expect highly digital, self-service experiences across all aspects of their lives, including travel, and the hospitality industry must move at the same pace by adopting and integrating new systems in order to better serve the modern traveller.”

Over the next few years, travellers are also looking to personalise their journey even more by picking their exact room and floor and paying for only the amenities they want – and even wanting to pre-screen properties in the metaverse (76%). Moreover, 86% are interested in hotels using AI to better tailor services and offers, such as room pricing or food suggestions and discounts. Around 52% of hotel executives in Singapore see this ‘unbundled’ model as the future of hotel revenue management. 

Whether ordering room service or signing onto Netflix, Singapore travellers want the ease and convenience of home while travelling, with 51% saying on-demand entertainment access that seamlessly connects to their personal streaming or gaming accounts is their #1 must-have during their stay. Likewise, 48% of hotel executives said this in-room entertainment set-up is what they’re most likely to implement by 2025.

Meanwhile, 87% of travellers are interested in using automated messaging or chatbots for customer service requests at hotels, 41% want voice-activated controls for all amenities in their rooms, and 37% want room controls that auto-adjust temperature, lighting, and even digital art based on pre-shared preferences. 

Singapore – Following Singapore’s move to decriminalise sex between men, Pink Dot’s first LGBTQ+ art exhibition ‘Words of Change’ will launch on 1 September. Pink Dot is Singapore’s non-profit movement dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. 

As part of a collaboration with Virtue, VICE’s creative agency, the nationwide exhibition will also include an immersive AR filter to build greater interaction with the inspirational artworks.

Pink Dot SG held its 14th rally at Hong Lim Park in June. Following the event, 40 artists and illustrators were invited to transform heartfelt messages written by attendees of the annual event into art pieces. To drive awareness and discourse around LGBTQ+ issues through wider community engagement, the artwork will be displayed at galleries, restaurants and cafes at 30 participating locations across the island. 

‘Words of Change’ follows this week’s landmark decision by the Government of Singapore to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code which criminalises sex between men. 

“While the government’s announcement that it intends to repeal Section 377A is certainly a step in the right direction, many barriers to equality still exist,” said Clement Tan, Pink Dot SG spokesperson.

“Participants at this year’s rally spoke up resoundingly about the changes they wish to see in Singapore society beyond just Section 377A. While there has now been a positive move towards equality and inclusion, the road to true equality is a long one, which is why Words of Change is as important as ever. We’re proud to shine a spotlight on some of these powerful messages, and to let them ring loud beyond the confines of Hong Lim Park,” Tan added.

Virtue also collaborated with Leah Zhao, an undergraduate at Lasalle College of the Arts, to develop an AR filter allowing people to immersively experience the art. Visitors to the exhibited pieces will be encouraged to create their own rendition of the pieces with interactive filters to carry on the conversation across social media platforms. 

In addition, partnering with local auction house, HotLotz, the art will be auctioned at the end of the exhibition with proceeds going back to the artists and LGBTQ+ community. 

Isabel Ong, senior account manager of Virtue APAC, added, “The recent announcement, while welcomed, does not mean the journey for equality is finished. Pink Dot SG’s annual event is an institution in Singapore, but it’s just one day during Pride month in June. There remains much to be done in order to change minds and end discrimination once and for all. Virtue wanted to extend the conversation around LGBTQ+ inclusion and turn the messages of hope written on placards during the event into art that connects with the wider community for longer.

“The artists and illustrators who joined the project have created inspirational, [thought-provoking] pieces and our AR filters mean greater accessibility and enhanced viewing experience for Singaporeans and continue to focus attention on this important issue and move it beyond tokenism,” she added. 

The Words of Change exhibition runs until 30 September, with the results of the auction announced at a closing celebration at Park Bench Deli.

Singapore – Global automobile brand Audi in Singapore has appointed DDB Group Singapore as its agency of record for three years.

The agency is tasked with bolstering customer loyalty and awareness of the German car brand’s product range across all marketing channels, with a specific focus on social media.

With electrification underscoring the future of Audi in Singapore, DDB Singapore will also support the communication roll-out of the car manufacturer’s road map in the country. 

Rudi Venter, head of marketing at Audi Singapore said, “We are very pleased to forge this new partnership with DDB Singapore. The DDB team has shown that they understand the spirit of Audi, or as we call it ‘Living Progress’. We are confident of our choice of partner and look forward to the exciting journey ahead.”

Meanwhile, Neel Chhaya, managing partner at DDB Singapore, commented, “It is an honour to be able to work on one of the most leading and desirable car brands in Singapore. Throughout the process, our goal was to align the brand locally without losing sight of the big picture globally. Above all else, we set out to prove our team’s tenacity, commitment, and complete understanding of the brand’s DNA.”

Chhaya added, “The DDB team’s hunger, passion and devotion are testament to our belief that creativity is still the most powerful force in our business. We look forward to getting our engines started with Audi.”

Singapore – Domino’s Pizza Singapore is set to be part of Australian-based Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DPE) group, the largest international Domino’s group outside of the United States, via a proposed acquisition. DPE operates 3,400 Domino’s stores in ten markets globally.

Through the proposed acquisition, DPE entered into a binding agreement with Impress Foods–which owns full ownership of Domino’s Pizza Singapore and 65% of Domino’s Pizza Cambodia; Mikenwill (M), as well as with minority shareholders in Cambodia for the remaining 35% stake in the market. Mikenwill owns full control of Dommal Food Services Sdn Bhd, the master franchise holder in Malaysia.

DPE will fully acquire Domino’s Pizza businesses in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, comprising 287 corporate stores across these markets. The binding agreement entails acquisition of the corporate stores and franchise rights held by Mikenwill (M) and Impress Foods. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Within Southeast Asia, Impress Foods manages the Singapore and Cambodia markets with 38 and 9 stores respectively, while Dommal Food Services manages 240 stores in Malaysia. DPE aims to achieve a store count of 3,000 stores in Asia by 2033.

Ba U Shan-Ting, group chief executive officer at Domino’s Pizza Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, said, “We are excited for the next phase of evolution for Domino’s Pizza in Singapore and the region. In tandem with this, we aim to expand the number of stores to more than 600 over the long term, setting us on the path to becoming the largest pizza chain in the three countries.”

Meanwhile, Michael Chick, Chief Executive Officer for Singapore & Cambodia, will continue to lead his team in serving the Singapore market.

“Our team will become part of the largest Domino’s network outside of the USA, giving us access to new technology and operational innovations that will propel our services to new heights as we deliver customers a more rewarding ordering experience, for hot, freshly prepared meals delivered to their door,” Chick said. 

He added, “Leveraging on our in-depth understanding of our local market segment and driven by our commitment to our customers, we aim to elevate an enhanced end-to-end experience with new global capabilities including marketing and menu innovation, to efficiently serve the most delicious meals to our customers.”

Lastly, DPE Group CEO & Managing Director Don Meij said, “We have seen fantastic growth in the Singapore market and we admire the commitment, agility and drive of the local team, spearheaded by its leadership team. Their love for the brand and equally important, their pledge to their customers, are key contributing factors to their success in growing the business and serving customers, especially during the challenging times of the pandemic.”

Singapore – In an aim to bring innovation and knowledge sharing to a new level in the finance space, the Asia-focused fintech company ValueChampion will be launching a new immersive Metaverse finance world with HSBC, Allianz Insurance Singapore/Allianz Partners, and Advisors Alliance Group (Representing AIA Financial Advisers Pte Ltd), as well as Funding Societies, and IG.

To enrich and gamify the learning process, ValueChampion has partnered up with Our World Is Flat (OWF) to build an entirely new virtual world for people to explore. OWF is creating a new Web 3.0 experience with the use of immersive technologies through ValueChampion’s platform.

Called the ‘#VCWorld’, the new Metaverse virtual world is developed to engage and connect with personal finance enthusiasts. It aims to bring all players’ financial wellness to the next level, with the goal to make financial knowledge accessible and inclusive.

Official brands will embed their own virtual characters and brand experiences into the Metaverse to interact with the players, guiding them along the road to financial success and safety. Players will get to learn about the six verticals of financial products in a bite-sized and fun manner in the game.

According to ValueChampion, this is an exciting next step for them who is always on the lookout for different ways to provide more creative and effective content for its audience.

“Financial literacy is essential to everyone, especially in these uncertain economic times with unprecedented inflation and price hikes in daily necessities. People are increasingly aware of investing and growing their money, protecting themselves financially from unanticipated situations and educating themselves on financial products. While the internet is a treasure trove of information, consumers have to be cautious about the accuracy of the information they obtain online,” said the fintech company.

Singapore – Deel, a global compliance and payroll solution that helps businesses hire anyone, anywhere, has launched its first outdoor campaign in APAC, which deems to have the second-highest rate of global hiring talent from abroad, just behind LATAM.

The new outdoor campaign aims to help Singapore businesses hire quality talent from anywhere and alleviate the stresses arising from complicated compliance and different legal processes around the world. Singapore-based creative agency SixmoreDays, together with Deel’s in-house design and copywriting team, were responsible for the campaign creative. Meanwhile, GroupM managed the media buying responsibilities.

Located at Tanjong Pagar and Raffles Place MRT in Singapore, the campaign will primarily be targeted at professionals who might want to take up remote working opportunities or businesses facing the challenge of the new global hiring movement.

Catherine Chien, Deel’s head of growth marketing for APAC, shared that talent shortages in Singapore are at their highest in 16 years, with more than eight in ten (84%) of employers reporting finding difficulties in filling roles.

“The remote workforce movement is moving full steam ahead, and so it is the perfect opportunity for businesses to tap into a more global network. Deel makes onboarding and paying global teams much less complex,” said Chien.

Singapore – ‘Revenge’, by all means, is a belligerent word that doesn’t necessarily carry a positive connotation. But when the world saw the pandemic easing down through this year, the term is being used loosely, together with a spark of hope and rejuvenation. That is–we’re referring to the ‘revenge’ of travel.

After years of being shackled by social distancing, we are now coming back with a deeper bite by the travel bug together with a beefed-up buying power. We’re wondering then, how are individuals from different countries faring when it comes to wanderlust? A new YouGov study recently finds this out amongst Singaporeans–in particular–the Gen Z cohort in the country.

In a macro view, the April 2022 study reveals that 45% of Singaporean Gen Zs are planning to travel in the next 12 months. The younger generation though is becoming more conscious of their spending habits, where 43% of this demographic in Singapore cite ‘overall value for money’ as the top factor for their choice of destination.

Infographic from YouGov

In addition, amongst the Singaporean Gen Zs that stated they’re eyeing to travel, international holiday has slightly been more preferred (22%) than a domestic holiday (18%).

The current report by YouGov also probed into the cohort’s consumer journey when it comes to making this holiday trips a reality. 37% of Singaporean Gen Zs opt for travel website aggregators such as Booking.com and Traveloka when securing their itineraries, while 40% would go for online accommodation websites such as Airbnb. Meanwhile, a more muted 25% say they’d choose booking directly on the official hotel website.

Infographic from YouGov

When it comes to discovering ‘products’ and ‘experiences’ to jump into, Gen Z travellers from Singapore get their information the most from online random searches (46%), followed by information from friends and family (43%), while info from travel blogs (37%) come at the latter of their choices.

Most importantly, the report found the exact destination Singaporean Gen Zs would love to go to at this point – and that is none other than Japan. Specifically, how do youngsters from the Lion City plan to spend their holidays away? YouGov says it’s through combined relaxing and sightseeing and/or activity holidays (41%), going on a shopping holiday(35%), and visiting friends and family (29%).

Singapore – Tech giant Google, through Google Cloud, has announced partnership with Singapore’s Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) to strengthen AI cooperation in Singapore, including co-creating solutions, deepen AI capabilities in public service, and shape AI governance and ethics.

Google’s parent company Alphabet and its other subsidiaries will work closely with SNDGG’s National AI Office and other government agencies to co-create, test-bed, and scale AI solutions in key sectors like finance, sustainability, and healthcare.

In addition, Google Cloud will provide dedicated training resources and certification programs to cultivate deep AI and machine learning proficiency for identified public sector officers. These programs reinforce Google Cloud’s commitment to bridging the AI talent gap, and will build on Google’s Skills Ignition SG training program in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Lastly, Google Cloud will support the Singapore government’s efforts to shape AI governance and ethics in key sectors like finance. These efforts complement Google’s involvement in Singapore’s Advisory Council of the Ethical Use of AI.

Sherie Ng, country director for Singapore and Malaysia at Google Cloud, said, “Already recognized as a leading smart city, Singapore has continued to grow in stature as a global center of AI innovation and real-world application. It is a privilege to be the first technology company to enter into a partnership with SNDGG’s National AI Office to co-develop and deploy new AI solutions of value and relevance to Singaporeans and the future economy.” 

She added, “Through this public-private collaboration in the field of AI, we aim to advance the technology’s ability to deliver greater societal benefit in areas like financial inclusion, carbon footprint reduction, and personalised healthcare, while ensuring equity, privacy, transparency, and accountability.”

Meanwhile, Chng Zhenzhi, director of the National AI Office at SNDGG, commented, “This MOU is a win-win collaboration. Singapore will benefit from Google’s deep technical expertise and investments, while Google can tap on our rich innovation ecosystem. Singapore can also be a test-bed for Google’s efforts to trial new solutions safely, before introducing them to the region and beyond.” 

She added, “With the MOU, we can look forward to novel AI solutions that will make an impact on the way Singaporeans – and people around the world – live and work. This is one of the many examples of how the public service and private sector can come together to undertake innovative projects for the greater good.”

Singapore – Changi Airport Group has extended its partnership with global professional services Accenture for the next three years to further transform operations and enhance the experience for travellers visiting Changi Airport in Singapore. This partnership began in 2019 with the establishment of a digital factory, known as DIVA — for digital, innovation, ventures, and analytics — designed to enable CAG to develop, experiment and launch new digital products and services.

Through the extended partnership, the two organisations will be leveraging innovative technologies such as extended reality, machine learning, Internet of Things, and edge computing to enable Changi to seamlessly engage travellers at various touchpoints, from before they arrive at the airport to after they leave. There will also be knowledge and skills transfer to the CAG team.

Adopting a customer-centric approach based on rapid prototyping, both organisations will be jointly designing and rolling out new digital products across Changi, which includes a new loyalty platform that will enable customers to earn points for both spending and travelling, redeem loyalty points across channels in one place and provide more redemption choices, encouraging customers to stay engaged and connected. By integrating data from various sources, the platform will allow Changi to understand its customers better, as well as enable the company to provide them with highly personalised communications, experiences, and offers.

Moreover, Accenture will be implementing a centralised identity and access management solution to help improve data security and privacy. This will eliminate the need for customers to sign in through multiple accounts to access different applications.

Jean Hung, group senior vice president for Enterprise Digital Ecosystem & Business at CAG, shared that in this next phase of their digital transformation journey, how they deliver the unique Changi experience, whether offline or online, to their customers remains key. 

“Our vision is to build deeper relationships with our customers and strive to serve them even better through innovative and interactive digital solutions. We are happy to extend our collaboration with Accenture, who has proven to be a valuable partner with the ability to combine innovative design capabilities with technology and industry expertise,” said Hung.

Meanwhile, Wee Wei Ng, Accenture’s country managing director for Singapore, said they have been working closely with CAG to implement digital enhancements and infuse a culture of experimentation. 

“As the line between the physical and digital continues to blur, organisations have the opportunity to address issues like trust, sustainability, safety, responsible access and use, diversity and more, helping set the stage for the future. We see many new possibilities to bring even more immersive collaborative, personalised and meaningful experiences to CAG’s customers,” she added.

Divyesh Vithlani, senior managing director and SEA market unit lead at Accenture, commented, “We aim to leverage emerging technologies such as Web3 to help Changi connect its customers, partners and their workforce to give everyone greater choice and control over how they work, live, play and learn while building a greater sense of community and culture. Facilitating knowledge and skills transfer to Changi’s employees will also enable Changi to be more self-sufficient to achieve better business outcomes.”