(File pix) A property under the Citadines brand.
- Published in NST Property, April 25, 2019
CapitaLand Ltd’s lodging business unit, The Ascott Ltd, has won a contract to manage 14 properties with over 2,000 units in eight countries, including Malaysia.
Three of the 14 new properties are under its co-living“lyf” brand located in Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka in Japan and Shanghai in China.
The property here is called lyf Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur and is slated to open in 2020.
Ascott is also targeting to open the 131-unit lyf property, nestled within Fukuoka’s major retail and recreational centre in Japan in 2020.
The160-unit lyf Hongqiao Shanghai in the Central Business District of Hongqiao is expected to open in 2022.
Ascott chief executive officer Kevin Goh said the lyf properties in Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka and Shanghai are likely to enjoy a ready catchment of corporate and leisure travelers, given its prime locations in the cities’ major commercial and recreational hubs and proximity to tech unicorn companies.
With these three new additions, Ascott has eight lyf properties with over 1,600 units under development in Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Ascott is also gearing up for the opening of its first lyf property, lyf Funan Singapore, in the heart of the city-state’s Civic & Cultural District, in the fourth quarter this year.
Goh said demand for the lyf-branded co-living properties is gaining ground.
“We are bringing lyf to Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka and Shanghai as the buzzing start-up ecosystems in these cities have given rise to a popular culture of living and co-creating as a community among the millennial,” he said.
Goh said the lyf properties, with their flexible communal spaces and social programmes, will cater to the lifestyle aspirations of creative professionals, technopreneurs, trendsetters and millennial
travelers who seek collaborative and networking opportunities in the community.
According to Goh, millennial already account for a quarter of Ascott’s customer base.
He said with the lyf brand, Ascott can seize opportunities presented by the booming millennial generation, who are set to become the largest spending travel demographic in the near future.
Besides Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines, Ascott is also looking to bring the brand to other potential markets, including Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.
“We have continued to build on our strong growth momentum in the first quarter this year and accelerated Ascott’s growth across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East,” said Goh.
He said besides management contracts, Ascott’s strategic alliances with market leaders, such as NTT
Urban Development Corporation in Japan, Huazhu Hotels Group in China and Ananda Development in Thailand, continue to provide the company with a strong pipeline of properties.
In addition to the 14 new properties, Ascott secured its first property in Australia under the
recently-launched Citadines Connect brand of select-service business hotels.
“With our serviced residences and apartments for corporate leasing targeting the long stay segment, to the middle-class business hotels under TAUZIA’s brands and Citadines Connect select service
business hotels for shorter stays, we will fast-track Ascott’s expansion to achieve our global target of 160,000 units by 2023,” Goh said.
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