So, still never give up hope in believing the Shitty Press, the positive spins by the government mouthpiece ?
In fact, these hoteliers have no choice but to face the reality. They thought the government spin about F1 would bring huge $$ to the tourism industry. Now, hotels have to lower their rates and minimum stay period to get these tourists. Worst, some check in into Malaysia hotels to save some hotel fees, some in backpackers' lodge, and F1 die hard fans ? They fly in on the day the race starts and fly back immediately after the race !! So, the government really believe in the boost in the tourist industry ? The government also believes that most tourists are moronic enough to ride the flyer ? It will be a big f88king white elephant......... like CRAZY HORSE Singapore!!
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,176580,00.html?
The Electric New Paper :
GREAT F1 HOTEL ROOM SALE
Big hotel discounts draw F1 fans in big way
CALL it the Great Formula One hotel room sale.
By Crystal Chan
14 September 2008
CALL it the Great Formula One hotel room sale.
When the first F1 night race in Singapore was announced, many hotels, anticipating high demand, pushed up their rates for the race period.
But, with just two weeks to go, some are struggling to fill all their rooms.
So they have gone on overdrive to boost demand, with several resorting to price-slashing.
From a high of $1,000-plus, many hotels are now giving hefty discounts of up to 60 per cent to cash in on the F1 fever.
Leading the pack in the discount race is Hotel Rendezvous, which has reduced its rate from $1,000 to just $430.
Thanks to the big discount, its room occupancy has shot up from 40 per cent to 60 per cent in just a week for the F1 weekend from 26 to 28 Sep.
The four-star hotel's general manager, Mr Kellvin Ong, couldn't be happier.
He said he had to react to market conditions, because 'several competitors are bringing down their rates'.
Renovated
The 298-room hotel, a 10-minute walk from the race circuit, is spending about $7 million to refurbish several rooms and its in-house restaurant, Straits Cafe.
On the rooms yet to be filled, Mr Ong said: 'It's not possible for every hotel to be fully booked for the F1. So if I can fill at least 70 per cent of my rooms, I'll be happy.'
He added: 'My hotel's usual rate is $480 a night. But we timed the renovations to be completed for the F1 and with our promotional rate, we hope to attract more guests.'
He added that the renovated rooms come with LCD televisions, self-heating toilet seats and Chopard toiletries.
Also seeing better business is the 206-room Pan Pacific Orchard, which cut its daily rate from $800++ to $650++.
The five-star hotel's general manager, Ms Linda Wee, told The New Paper that since the prices were modified a few months ago, occupancy has gone up from 50 to 80 per cent.
She said: 'We need to stay competitive. Reducing our rates will affect our profits, but there has to be a balance.
'You can't be running an empty hotel. It's still better to reduce our rates and enjoy higher occupancy than to keep prices unchanged and make a loss.'
The 778-room Pan Pacific Singapore has also cut its nightly rate from $1,500 to about $850, and has so far received bookings at a good pace.
The five-star trackside hotel has also reduced the minimum stay period from five to three nights.
Declining to reveal the number of reservations, Pan Pacific's spokesman said: 'We expect high demand for trackside accommodation as visitors will want to stay close to the action.'
Other hotels such as Carlton, Peninsula-Excelsior and York have also slashed their rates. But they declined comment when contacted.
Some hotels, among them Novotel Clarke Quay and Conrad Centennial, are fully booked for the race weekend without having to cut their rates.
Solid business
Novotel Clarke Quay's general manager, Mr Heinz Javier Colby, said that his 401-room establishment was already 70 per cent full six months ago.
Declining to reveal his room rates, he said: 'We contacted our sister hotels in other F1 host cities to find out how much they charged. We didn't impose abnormal fees so we attracted solid business well in advance.'
He added that his four-star hotel never had to slash its rates.
Some hotels have maintained their rates but reduced the minimum number of nights that guests have to book.
This strategy has worked for the five-star Royal Plaza on Scotts, which has sold 92 per cent of its 511 rooms for the race weekend.
Just two weeks ago, its occupancy was at 75 per cent.
The hotel kept its nightly rate of $960, but two weeks ago, removed the minimum stay period of two nights.
Royal Plaza's general manager, Mr Patrick Fiat, said: 'We removed the minimum period as we had already sold 75 per cent of the rooms and we were looking to sell out the remaining rooms.'
But there is a catch to some of the low rates - the packages may exclude breakfast and transport to the race track.
S'PORE HOTELS SLASH PRICES
HOTEL
BEFORE
AFTER
Hotel Rendezvous Singapore
$1,000
$430
York Hotel
$450 to $500
$260 to $400
Carlton Hotel
$790
$490
Peninsula-Excelsior Hotel
$737
$420
Pan Pacific Singapore
$1,500
About $850
Pan Pacific Orchard
$800
$650
Copthorne Orchid
About $600
From $335
InterCon-tinental Hotel
From $1,000
$980
Grand Plaza Park Hotel CityHall
$800
$600
Park Hotel Orchard
$500
$380
# The rates are for a night's stay and exclude taxes and service charge
In fact, these hoteliers have no choice but to face the reality. They thought the government spin about F1 would bring huge $$ to the tourism industry. Now, hotels have to lower their rates and minimum stay period to get these tourists. Worst, some check in into Malaysia hotels to save some hotel fees, some in backpackers' lodge, and F1 die hard fans ? They fly in on the day the race starts and fly back immediately after the race !! So, the government really believe in the boost in the tourist industry ? The government also believes that most tourists are moronic enough to ride the flyer ? It will be a big f88king white elephant......... like CRAZY HORSE Singapore!!
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,176580,00.html?
The Electric New Paper :
GREAT F1 HOTEL ROOM SALE
Big hotel discounts draw F1 fans in big way
CALL it the Great Formula One hotel room sale.
By Crystal Chan
14 September 2008
CALL it the Great Formula One hotel room sale.
When the first F1 night race in Singapore was announced, many hotels, anticipating high demand, pushed up their rates for the race period.
But, with just two weeks to go, some are struggling to fill all their rooms.
So they have gone on overdrive to boost demand, with several resorting to price-slashing.
From a high of $1,000-plus, many hotels are now giving hefty discounts of up to 60 per cent to cash in on the F1 fever.
Leading the pack in the discount race is Hotel Rendezvous, which has reduced its rate from $1,000 to just $430.
Thanks to the big discount, its room occupancy has shot up from 40 per cent to 60 per cent in just a week for the F1 weekend from 26 to 28 Sep.
The four-star hotel's general manager, Mr Kellvin Ong, couldn't be happier.
He said he had to react to market conditions, because 'several competitors are bringing down their rates'.
Renovated
The 298-room hotel, a 10-minute walk from the race circuit, is spending about $7 million to refurbish several rooms and its in-house restaurant, Straits Cafe.
On the rooms yet to be filled, Mr Ong said: 'It's not possible for every hotel to be fully booked for the F1. So if I can fill at least 70 per cent of my rooms, I'll be happy.'
He added: 'My hotel's usual rate is $480 a night. But we timed the renovations to be completed for the F1 and with our promotional rate, we hope to attract more guests.'
He added that the renovated rooms come with LCD televisions, self-heating toilet seats and Chopard toiletries.
Also seeing better business is the 206-room Pan Pacific Orchard, which cut its daily rate from $800++ to $650++.
The five-star hotel's general manager, Ms Linda Wee, told The New Paper that since the prices were modified a few months ago, occupancy has gone up from 50 to 80 per cent.
She said: 'We need to stay competitive. Reducing our rates will affect our profits, but there has to be a balance.
'You can't be running an empty hotel. It's still better to reduce our rates and enjoy higher occupancy than to keep prices unchanged and make a loss.'
The 778-room Pan Pacific Singapore has also cut its nightly rate from $1,500 to about $850, and has so far received bookings at a good pace.
The five-star trackside hotel has also reduced the minimum stay period from five to three nights.
Declining to reveal the number of reservations, Pan Pacific's spokesman said: 'We expect high demand for trackside accommodation as visitors will want to stay close to the action.'
Other hotels such as Carlton, Peninsula-Excelsior and York have also slashed their rates. But they declined comment when contacted.
Some hotels, among them Novotel Clarke Quay and Conrad Centennial, are fully booked for the race weekend without having to cut their rates.
Solid business
Novotel Clarke Quay's general manager, Mr Heinz Javier Colby, said that his 401-room establishment was already 70 per cent full six months ago.
Declining to reveal his room rates, he said: 'We contacted our sister hotels in other F1 host cities to find out how much they charged. We didn't impose abnormal fees so we attracted solid business well in advance.'
He added that his four-star hotel never had to slash its rates.
Some hotels have maintained their rates but reduced the minimum number of nights that guests have to book.
This strategy has worked for the five-star Royal Plaza on Scotts, which has sold 92 per cent of its 511 rooms for the race weekend.
Just two weeks ago, its occupancy was at 75 per cent.
The hotel kept its nightly rate of $960, but two weeks ago, removed the minimum stay period of two nights.
Royal Plaza's general manager, Mr Patrick Fiat, said: 'We removed the minimum period as we had already sold 75 per cent of the rooms and we were looking to sell out the remaining rooms.'
But there is a catch to some of the low rates - the packages may exclude breakfast and transport to the race track.
S'PORE HOTELS SLASH PRICES
HOTEL
BEFORE
AFTER
Hotel Rendezvous Singapore
$1,000
$430
York Hotel
$450 to $500
$260 to $400
Carlton Hotel
$790
$490
Peninsula-Excelsior Hotel
$737
$420
Pan Pacific Singapore
$1,500
About $850
Pan Pacific Orchard
$800
$650
Copthorne Orchid
About $600
From $335
InterCon-tinental Hotel
From $1,000
$980
Grand Plaza Park Hotel CityHall
$800
$600
Park Hotel Orchard
$500
$380
# The rates are for a night's stay and exclude taxes and service charge
