March 2014

Published since 1976 Vol 39 March 2014

hong Kong sAR hK$50 china RMb50singapore s$15 Malaysia RM30Thailand bt300Rest of Asia us$10

BREWING UP THE BOTTOM LINERegional coffee sales hit boiling point

MAXIMISING POTENTIALMaking Gen Y work for you

SHOW US THE DOUGHThe rise and rise of Asia’s

bakery industry

PERFECT COFFEE IN ONE TOUCHEgro ONE: the ultimate touch screen technology now with the new Powder Module.

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Welcome to the March issue of AHCT, the most trusted source of information on what is happening

in Asia-Pacific’s hospitality industry.We’re detecting a recurring theme of rising

consumer expectations, in terms of F&B, service and quality generally. The region’s growing middle class is increasingly travelling internationally, developing high standards, which they then want to see duplicated when they return home.

In Michael’s Taylor’s China market report

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HONG KONGThomson Press Hong Kong Limited/Media Transasia LimitedRoom 1205, 12/F, Hollywood Centre,233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong KongTel: +(852) 2851 7068, 2815 9111 Fax: +(852) 2851 1933, 2581 9531Email: [email protected]: Mr Daniel Creffield

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Marston Webb International60 Madison Avenue, Suite 1011,New York, NY 10010, USATel: +1 212 684 6601 Fax: +1 212 725 4708Telex: (023) 420773 BRANINTContact: Ms Madlene Olson

ITALYEdiconsult Internazionale s.r.l.Piazza Fontane Marose, 3-16123 GenovaTel: +39 010 583684 Fax: +39 010 566578Email: [email protected]: Mr Vittorio Negrone

JAPANEcho Japan CorporationGrande Maison Rm 303, 2-2 Kudan-kita 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0073Tel: +81 3 3234 2064 Fax: +81 3 3263 5065Email: [email protected]: Mr Ted Asoshina

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on page 22, he explains how rising expectations are becoming the norm in in the country. “As Chinese travel more frequently and more widely, their tastes broaden and their demand for quality increases,” says Simon Bridle of Rosewood Hotel Group.

This is also reflected in our bakery story on page 34, with chef Michele Senigaglia of DiVino Group explaining how Asian consumers are gradually educating themselves about new food and demanding more authentic tastes.

EDITORDaniel Creffield

DESIGN ByKoon Ming Tang

CONTRIBUTORSMichelle Cheng

Zara HornerDonald Gasper

Rebecca LoJane Ram

Michael Taylor

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERSharon Knowler

[email protected]

CIRCULATION EXECUTIvEBecky Chau

[email protected]

CHAIRMANJS Uberoi

DIRECTORGaurav Kumar

endoRseMenTs

Check out this and other fascinating s to r i e s in the magaz ine and a l so on our recently relaunched website, at www.asianhotelandcateringtimes.com

We need to hear from hospitality professionals about the constant developments in the industry, good or bad, so please send your comments and suggestions in to [email protected]

E d i t o r ’ s M E s s a g E

AHCT March 2014 3


MANAGEMENT14 Taming the Twitter generation

MARKET REPORT22 China acquires a taste for quality

NEWS INDUSTRy6 What’s trending on the US restaurant scene; Insights into the Asian industry; Falling stars in China

PRODUCT53 Oenological eyecatchers; If the pot fits; Perfect for packing

CULINARy54 New from Nespresso; Getting juiced up; Rosé on the runway

CONTENTSV o l um e 3 9 Ma rc h 2 0 1 4

TECHNOLOGy26 A mobile revolution

DESIGN20 Just like starting over

FOOD34 Show us the dough

New-look Asian Hotel & Catering Times website!


Coverpicture:LanshuChen,chefofLeMoûtrestaurantinTaiwan,hasbeennamedVeuveClicquotAsia’sBestFemaleCheffor2014 Making the

connection

4 AHCT March 2014


April• Recruitment• Singapore• Security• Resorts• Dairy• Jam• Beer• In-room safes• Outdoor furniture• Bakery

DRINK38 Beans means bucks

EQUIPMENT42 Shine and shimmer

48 King of the kitchen

Advertisers’ IndexADA 25Alpha International 55Andy Mannhart AG 45Athena Tableware 43Barry Callebaut OBCBeech Ovens 51Boncafe 23Build4Asia 61Food & Hotel Myanmar 67Franke 39GLION 17Global Search International 9Hong Kong Jockey Club 29HORECA 65Hotelex 59La San Marco IBCLactalis 37Lamb Weston 11Laureate Higher Education Group 19M.Schaerer 41Meiko 33Ming Fai 13Pevonia 20 & 21Rancilio IFCRestaurant & Bar 63Rivolta Carmignan 47Santos 35Thaifex 69Vinexpo 57Zieher 27

56 Events calendar

58 FHA previewed60 HORECA previewed62 HOSFAIR previewed64 HOTELEX previewed66 SIAL previewed

14

34

May• Housekeeping• Japan• CRM• Restaurant/bar design• Salmon• Wine• Minibars• Uniforms

Let them eat cake

AHCT March 2014 5


i n d u s t r y n E w s

6 AHCT March 2014

Top trends for US restaurantsThe five F&B items regarded as most likely to trend in 2014 include ‘nose-to-tail’/‘root-to-stalk’ cooking, pickling, ramen, dark greens and Southeast Asian cuisine. Other trends that have gained in importance are hybrid desserts, kale salads and natural sweeteners.

That’s according to ‘What’s Hot in 2014’, a pointer towards what will be trending in the US and beyond over the next 12 months. It is compiled on the basis of a National Restaurant Association survey of nearly 1,300 professional chefs who are members of the American Culinary Federation. With US restaurant industry sales reaching US$1.8 billion on a typical day in 2013, the US market often originates innovations, trends and technologies.

When it comes to technology, chefs ranked menus on tablet computers as the top trend, followed by smartphone apps for consumers (ordering, reservations, daily deals, etc), smartphone apps for chefs (recipes, table management, POS tracking, etc.), mobile

Insights on Asia-Pacific Horwath HTL, the hotel, tourism and leisure consultant, has written 12 country reports on the Asia-Pacific and Indian regions for the 2014 Hotel Yearbook. The yearbook, in its eighth edition, is made up of exclusive editorial contributions from more than two-dozen opinion leaders. The publication focuses on the future of the hotel industry and upcoming trends and innovations that will have an impact on its development.

The 12 countries covered are: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea.

Each country report gives a brief snapshot of the hotel business landscape in 2013, followed by an insider’s perspective on the outlook for 2014 and beyond. Included are key developments anticipated, changes in the regulatory environment and expected moves by the market’s most important players, etc.

Motorino is joining the ‘food explosion’ on Ship Street in Hong Kong’s Wanchai district, opening its second location since it first brought its signature Neapolitan pizza to Soho district in March 2013.

Lauded as “the best of a new generation of pizzas” by Frank Bruni, former restaurant critic for The New York Times, Motorino is the result of Chef Mathieu Palombino’s untiring obsession for Neapolitan pizza. Palombino crafts his version just as they do in Naples: oven-baked in a custom-made Stefano Ferrara brick oven and topped with high quality artisanal ingredients.

Motorino Wanchai is the latest concept from Black Sheep Restaurants, and will serve lunch and dinner daily, from noon to midnight.

payment and social media marketing.Compared with five years ago, items

that remained in the top 20 food trends include locally grown produce, healthy children’s meals, gluten-free cuisine, sustainable seafood and health/nutrition. These have transcended the US market and reached global centre stage.

The five items with the highest ranking as a waning trend for 2014 were foam/froth/air, bacon-flavoured chocolate, fish offal, gazpacho and fun-shaped children’s items.

The five items with the largest drop in

‘hot trend’ rating were Greek yoghurt, sweet potato fries, new cuts of meat, grass-fed beef and organic coffee. Items that have dropped substantially down the list from the top 20 food trends in 2009 include gelato, micro-greens, flatbreads, tapas/meze/dim sum and dessert flights.

The survey predicted that the top five alcohol and cocktail trends for 2014 would be micro-distilled/artisan spirits, locally produced beer/wine/spirits, onsite barrel-aged drinks, culinary cocktails (e.g. savoury, fresh ingredients) and regional signature cocktails.

An authentic slice of Brooklyn for Wanchai

Restaurantindustrytrendswillbeshowcasedatthe2014NationalRestaurantAssociationRestaurant,Hotel-MotelShow,tobeheldonMay17-20atChicago’sMcCormickPlace



AHCT March 2014 7

Fiji beckons The South Pacific island nation of Fiji is doing its best to lure the Asian visitor. Resorts and airlines are eyeing up what they see as a potential growth market.

Within Asia it is primarily known as a honeymoon destination and is famed for its rugby playing. Fiji Tourism is now courting the adult and family leisure traveller. “We’re really looking at China and India now,” Ken Freer, director, global marketing, at Tourism Fiji told AHCT.

From December 2013, accessibility via Hong Kong increased when rebranded Fiji Airways added an extra direct flight, adding up now to three times a week. Hong Kong traffic includes a number of passengers from mainland China, as there are as yet no direct flights from there on this carrier. This despite China’s investment growth in Fiji.

“We have a pristine and friendly environment,” said minister of tourism, attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. “Japanese tourists have been drawn to Fiji for these reasons for several years. Now the China market is growing rapidly – in 2012 it numbered around 40,000 visitors and we expect this to be more for 2013.”

Fiji’s first casino is under development and it is thought the Asian visitor fond of gaming will also find this appealing. “It may not be a significant attraction

Last year when China’s local governments began prohibiting government officials from spending money at five-star hotels, the nation’s hotels took the only logical step they could think of to preserve government business: dropping at least one star.

“As the Communist Party led by President Xi Jinping continues a campaign against corruption and government extravagance, some top-of-the-line hotels are feeling the pain,” reports Bloomberg Businessweek. Hangzhou-based New Century, an operator of 64 hotels around China, including 40 with five-star ratings, reported a decline in revenue of 18% last year.

“Chairman Chen Miaolin of the New Century Tourism Group based in east China’s Zhejiang Province said he had instructed his five four-star New Century Hotels to table their plans for an upgrade to five stars under pressure from shrinking turnover,” reports People’s Daily Online.

“New Century’s guests have traditionally included a long list of top Chinese officials, from governors to generals to President Xi himself,” Bloomberg continues.

Star reduction attempts have been reported by 56 hotels in China. It has not been confirmed whether or not rates are changing. So far the ban is only aimed at hotel ratings.

AerialviewofWyndhamResortDenarauIsland

in itself,” said Sayed-Khaiyum, “but it’s certainly an additional one.”

Wyndham Resort Denarau Island launched its third phase in October – the result of a 24-month new-build and renovation project. New suites are high-end. “Most are around 4.5-star,” said Barry Robinson, CEO and Manager director of Wyndnam Vacation Resorts Asia-Pacific. “The presidential suites are five-star. And in installing a top Mexican restaurant, and most recently Fiji’s first Karma Bar, we’re bringing unique and sophisticated dining and drinking experiences for the leisure tourist.”

Denarau is a popular base on the main island of Viti Levu, where there is a string of international resorts – including Sofitel, Westin and Sheraton properties. Typically, guests staying more than a few days will try the bars and restaurants of their neighbours that are between five and 20 minutes’ walk away. In the nearby harbour there are more restaurants and bars. Other resorts are quite close at the Coral Coast and across the two main islands, as well as on more remote islands, reachable by boat or seaplane.

Andrew Dembina

Stars falling in China

SongjiangNewCenturyGrandHotel



8 AHCT March 2014

Crisis in Thailand hitshotel industry Thailand’s ongoing political crisis is having an uneven impact on the country’s hotels, according to industry sources.

“Our hotels beyond Bangkok continue to see excellent occupancy and solid results,” said William Heinecke, chairman and CEO of Minor Hotel Group, owner of the Anantara brand, which has seven properties in the capital, part of a folio of 21 Thai properties across five brands.

This is the consensus view throughout the industry: the concern is what is happening in Bangkok. With demonstrators having a number of permanent stages within the city centre, properties near protest sites are faring badly.

“Our Bangkok hotels have seen a drop in bookings and unfortunately occupancy is not as high as we would typically expect for the season,” acknowledged Heinecke.

However, Paul Stevens, director of operations for Accor Thailand, told AHCT:

Pan Pacific pipeline projectsPan Pacific Hotels Group has announced the signings of four management contracts to add three Parkroyal and one Pan Pacific hotels to its portfolio across Asia-Pacific – in Australia, China and Myanmar.

With these additions, the group now owns and/or manages 38 hotels, resorts and serviced suites with close to 12,000 rooms in Asia, Oceania and North America, including those under development.

“With its prevailing global economic and tourism influence, Asia-Pacific is a key growth region for the group and we are delighted to be making headway in our target markets where we have already established iconic hotels,” said Bernold Schroeder, the group’s chief executive officer. “Our four latest management contract signings will complement our existing properties to strengthen the group’s presence across Asia-Pacific.”

Mandarin Oriental to open in BaliMandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced that it will manage a hideaway resort in Bali, Indonesia.

Mandarin Oriental, Bali, which is slated to open at the end of 2016, will be located on Bali’s southern Bukit peninsula and will form part of the Bukit Pandawa development. Perched on a cliffside plateau, the resort will offer dramatic and spectacular 180-degree views with direct access to a secluded

“We are seeing a steady increase of FIT bookings into our hotels in Bangkok, where the average occupancy rate has now reached 55-60% and higher in areas further out of Bangkok’s CBD.”

This is corroborated by Heinecke, who pointed out that Anantara Riverside, on the other side of the Chao Praya River and thus far from the demonstrations, ran at 75% on average during January, sharply down from the usual high nineties hotels in Bangkok hope for at the turn of the year.

While there are concerns about the future, especially if things get violent, there is also optimism

“Business has slowed down as MICE groups have shifted to other destinations,” said Maggie Garcia, Shangri-La’s area director of sales and marketing. “Occupancy is holding up from our traditional FIT markets and we see this pattern continuing through quarter 2.”

Michael Mackey

and protected white-sand beach.Situated on elevated terraces with

commanding views of the Indian Ocean, the 121-key resort comprises 97 villas, each with a private pool, ranging from 10 to 15 metres, and 24 guestrooms.

Designed by architect and interior designer Jean Michel Gathy of Denniston International, all accommodation will be contemporary in style, taking full advantage of the resort’s vistas. Design elements will be influenced by the local area’s culture and the group’s oriental heritage. Villas and suites will also incorporate the group’s guest-centred technology and entertainment systems.

Mandarin Oriental, Bali, is located southwest of Nusa Dua on Bali’s southern Bukit peninsula and will form part of the Bukit Pandawa integrated resort development. The area is predominantly known for its dramatic craggy coastline, white sandy beaches, imposing cliff-tops and varied landscape, making this a striking destination to explore. The hotel is 25 minutes from Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport and 30 minutes from the popular tourist destinations of Seminyak and Sanur.


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AHCT March 2014 9

First Conrad hotel to open in IndiaHilton Worldwide has announced the signing of a management agreement with Palm Grove Beach Hotels, a part of the K. Raheja Constructions Group, to open Conrad Pune, the first Conrad Hotels & Resorts branded hotel in India.

The launch of Conrad Pune in Maharashtra next year will mark the global luxury brand’s entry into the country.

“Pune is a key gateway destination and we are delighted to establish our brand’s presence in India, one of the key strategic growth markets for Hilton Worldwide, starting with this wonderful city,” said John T. A. Vanderslice, global head, luxury and lifestyle brands, Hilton Worldwide.

Conrad Pune will be located within the central business district of Pune, close to the commercial and entertainment hubs in Kalyani Nagar, government institutions in Yerwada and premier residential neighbourhoods of Koregaon Park and Bund Garden. Kharadi and Ganeshkind Road will be within eight kilometres of the hotel and the Pune International Airport six kilometres away.

With its foundation in the Art Deco style, Conrad Pune will offer expansive public spaces with high ceilings of up to 40 feet (12 metres) and dramatic columns. The hotel will feature 310 guestrooms and six-fixture marble baths. Guests will have the choice of six dining outlets. The ballroom, divisible into three, will have a breakaway function room and a pre-function area. Additional conference and event facilities will include four boardrooms and a 24-hour business centre. Recreational options will include an outdoor swimming pool.

New boutique hotel for BangkokSingapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality is adding the Riva Arun in Bangkok to its SilverNeedle Collection of independently owned luxury boutique hotels after securing the contract to manage it.

Located opposite the Wat Arun temple and along the Chao Phraya River in the historic centre of Bangkok, Riva Arun will comprise 25 rooms when construction is complete.

The Riva Arun will incorporate two buildings built in the Sino-Portuguese colonial style, in homage to the design combining Chinese and Portuguese influences popular in Thailand for centuries. The hotel will also boast a rooftop bar where guests can relax by a scenic riverside location with a 360-degree view of Wat Arun and Wat Pho (the Royal Temple). Construction of Riva Arun is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Riva Arun joins three hotels in the SilverNeedle Collection, which comprises Riva Surya, Bangkok, as well as the award-winning 137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai, and Kiridara, Luang Prabang.

Sheraton Macao welcomes two millionth guest The world’s largest Sheraton and Macau’s biggest hotel – Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central – welcomed its two millionth guest on February 5, less than half a year since the one millionth guest arrived in August 2013. Since its grand opening on September 20, 2012, Sheraton Macao has helped to further transform Macau into an all-round travel destination for a variety of visitors, including families, leisure travellers as well as particitants in business conferences and special events.

“It’s just six months since we celebrated our one millionth guest’s arrival last August, so we are thrilled to welcome our two millionth guest so soon,” said Josef Dolp, managing director of the hotel. “We opened our second tower this time last year and since then we have not only been pleased with our rapid occupancy growth, but also with the number of families choosing Sheraton Macao Hotel as their preferred holiday destination. With the variety of cultural, shopping, dining and entertainment experiences now available in Macau and the Cotai Strip Resorts Macao, we are fortunate to be part of one of Asia’s most exciting destinations.“


www.lambweston.com

Made with an ideal blend of authentic savory ingredients, asian moonz™ potato rounds deliver bold, exotic flavor and a crisp, golden texture to stand out in any operation. Satisfy adventurous tastes with Sweet Chili, Indian Style Curry, and Roasted Onion varieties.

Make asian moonz part of your menu or create an LTO today! To order a sample, contact your Lamb Weston sales representative.

©ConAgra Foods, Inc. All rights reserved.

Authentic f lavor. Inspired.


10 AHCT March 2014

Construction begins on Lisboa Palace MacauWork began on the new Lisboa Palace at Cotai in Macau, on February 13. Being built for Macau’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM), the complex will comprise three hotels: the five-star Lisboa Palace with more than 1,450 rooms, the Palazzo Versace Macau with up to 270 rooms and a fashion-branded luxury hotel with the same number of rooms. The built

area of the complex, totalling over half a million square metres and covering nearly seven hectares, will include approximately 27,000 square metres of gaming facilities, 34,000 square metres of retail shops and 36,000 square metres

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has expanded its luxury portfolio in South Korea with the unveiling of the new 170-room JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul. The new hotel is the second JW Marriott to open in Seoul and the first hotel in the city to receive LEED Gold certification.

The property is the first international Luxury business hotel in Dongdaemun. Located in the heart of Seoul’s fashion district and adjacent to the train station and tourist attractions, it boasts views of the historical Dongdaemun or ‘East Gate.’

The hotel’s innovative food and beverage includes BLT Steak from the eponymous New York steakhouse; Tavolo 24 – a casual all-day dining restaurant featuring live cooking stations and The Lounge which specialises in artisan chocolates, martinis and afternoon tea.

With a total of 10,570 square feet of meeting space and a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 750 guests, the hotel is partly aimed at the MICE market. Among its facilities is Seoul’s first ultra-high-definition 98-screen media wall.

JW Marriott opens first LEED gold certified hotel in Seoul

of restaurants and entertainment.But the impressive scale of the Lisboa

Palace is by no means its most intriguing feature. The directors of SJM Holdings had a vision for the Cotai project: a masterpiece inspired by seventeenth and eighteenth-century European royal residences fused with auspicious and positive traditional Chinese motifs. The result is an exuberant celebration of art and architecture stemming from the two-way cultural exchange between Europe and Macau.

“We are delighted to showcase Lisboa Palace, of which the concept and design embodies the rich history of Sino-Western cultural exchange in Macau,” said Ambrose So, SJM Holdings CEO.

TripAdvisor users are choosyTripAdvisor has announced the results of an independent study of more than 12,000 global respondents that underscores how essential online traveller reviews are in the research and booking process.

The commissioned report, conducted by PhoCusWright on behalf of TripAdvisor, was conducted at the end of 2013 and reveals that more than half of global respondents do not want to make a booking commitment until they read reviews and find out what other travellers thought about the property.

The survey also reveals some interesting findings about why travellers write reviews, how they use them when planning a trip and the impact management responses have on their perceptions of properties.

“There is no denying that reviews are a powerful and significant part of the travel planning experience,” commented Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer, TripAdvisor. “The results of this study showcase the vital part reviews play, reinforce the idea that we are becoming more social as travellers and demonstrate the essential nature of reviews to hospitality businesses. Not only are travellers referencing reviews before they book, they are clearly more highly engaged by businesses that respond to reviews.”

And the importance of reviews is not limited to hotels – restaurants need them too. According to the study, 31% of respondents avoid eating at restaurants without them.

www.lambweston.com

Made with an ideal blend of authentic savory ingredients, asian moonz™ potato rounds deliver bold, exotic flavor and a crisp, golden texture to stand out in any operation. Satisfy adventurous tastes with Sweet Chili, Indian Style Curry, and Roasted Onion varieties.

Make asian moonz part of your menu or create an LTO today! To order a sample, contact your Lamb Weston sales representative.

©ConAgra Foods, Inc. All rights reserved.

Authentic f lavor. Inspired.



12 AHCT March 2014

Cirebon opens in West JavaGlobal hospitality management company Swiss-Belhotel International has announced the official opening of Swiss-Belhotel Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia.

This four-star international business hotel represents a step forward for the group, with it enjoying a period of rapid expansion throughout the region.

Swiss-Belhotel International manages resorts ranging from two to five-star across the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with a strong presence in Indonesia.

Located in the central business and commercial district of Cirebon, Swiss-Behotel Cirebon offers an attractive accommodation option to the city’s business, MICE and leisure travellers.

With direct access to a lifestyle mall, the hotel offers variety of dining and shopping options as well as other entertainment and leisure activities.

The hotel features MICE and dining facilities, wi-fi internet access in all rooms and public areas, seven meeting rooms, a ballroom with a capacity of up to 2,000 guests, a bar, lounge, swimming pool,

To celebrate its 1,000th hotel in the world, Accor’s ibis brand recently held simultaneous parties on three continents: at ibis Surabaya Basuki Rahmat in Indonesia; ibis Berlin Kurfürstendamm in Germany; and ibis Rio De Janeiro Botafogo in Brazil.

Celebrations started first in Indonesia, where the hotel arranged for 1,000 food packages to be distributed on the streets of Surabaya, then continued with a party at the hotel around the theme of “with ibis now

spa and massage centre. Swiss-Belhotel International is

committed to expanding its portfolio within Indonesia, with the company currently operating 37 hotels throughout the archipelago and with a further 57 expected to open in the next two years, comprising a total inventory of 94 properties by 2015.

the best place to sleep is everywhere”. The event featured models lazing on the comfortable Sweetbed by ibis, food from around the world, themed zones, including a lush jungle and a winter wonderland, and a welcoming traditional Indonesian dance.

More than 200 people attended the event, including his excellency Sapta Norwander, vice minister for tourism and creative economy, the governor of Java and others. Given the time difference between the three countries, the

New Mandarin for TaipeiThe Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2014, located on Dunhua North Road, Taipei’s main boulevard. The 256 guest rooms and 47 suites, designed with classic inspiration and contemporary touches, are the most spacious in the city, ranging from 55 square metres.

All rooms and suites are equipped

Indonesians had to party until the wee hours to take part in a live cross between the three cities at 1am local time.

with the latest technology, marble bathrooms and walk-in closets. Two presidential suites, including a mandarin suite, are each almost 400 square metres and have their own spa and gymnasium.

The restaurants and bars will showcase innovative concepts and cuisine and are designed by Tony Chi. These include contemporary French Brasserie, COCO, Ya Ge, the Cantonese restaurant and Italian restaurant Bencotto, which will be overseen by Michelin-starred Italian chef Mario Cittadini.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, introduces the group’s signature spa

treatments, while the property will also offer a versatile range of event spaces, including the Grand Ballroom, a 960 square metre space with 7.3 metre high ceiling accommodating up to 1,200 guests, The Mandarin Ballroom, a 500 square metre space for up to 550 guests and five Oriental rooms, which can be configured to accommodate from 10 to 110 guests.

The hotel is close to the Xinyi shopping and business district, Taipei 101, as well as other key city attractions, including Taipei Arena, Songshan International Airport and Taoyuan International Airport.

Ibis celebrates 1,000 hotels


M a n a g E M E n t

14 AHCT March 2014

Opportunities and challengesAnouk Tenten, partnership manager, Glion Online

While Gen Y is different to previous generations I don’t think there is a huge leap between Gen Y and Gen X. The major difference is that technology and that the world itself have changed. As we know, Gen Y is born with a mobile in its hands and uses the computer before knowing how to write.

Gen Y is also eager to travel the world and will jump more easily

into new career adventures. As an employer, you need to keep them satisfied by offering them growth and learning objectives. Gen Y is also the type that likes to work but needs a balance between work and private life. Where previous generations were perhaps more prepared to work long hours with less emphasis on their private lives, Gen Y tends to seek a balance.

Gen Y is also more aware of sustainability, healthy lifestyle issues and environment. This is noticeable both in their own lifestyles and in the type of employer they seek.

They are driven by recognition and growth and a desire to climb the ladder at a quicker pace than the older generations. However, while this is a normal phenomenon – other generations are also required to adapt to the changing world – it is more obvious that Gen Y is the way of the future and accordingly finds the process easier.

The post-80s generation, commonly referred to as ‘Gen Y’, is very different in its lifestyle and life attitude, and hospitality trainees are no different. Hospitality education leaders discuss this new generation of young industry professionals and the need to ensure learning environments and workplaces are conducive for them to thrive

Tweeting ‘bout my generation


M a n a g E M E n t

AHCT March 2014 15

Gen Y adapts quickly to new environments and is eager to learn. Particularly in our field, they may want to become a GM within two years as they think they’ve done a good job and deserve it. Previous generations worked their way up and it took them years to reach this level. In this sense, their strength may also be their weakness. Wisdom comes with age, and while Gen Y is faster, quicker and better in many ways, it has own bugs it needs to overcome.

In an online world, Gen Y is particularly social media savvy. It makes its bookings and review online, checks in online and posts/blogs/twitters/posts on Facebook about its experiences. This needs to be recognised as an opportunity (and as a challenge) for companies in hospitality dealing with guest and customer experience.

At Glion’s modern classrooms, students mostly use their own laptops. We integrate the curriculum with the new ways of learning. Students on campus can also do online modules, which can be useful, particularly when on internships, for example. It is not necessary anymore for the theoretical curriculum to be taught in a traditional class environment. Hence our Glion Online MBA has proven to be successful with a student body of over 50 different nationalities studying together online. To make the modules more lively we incorporate social media and live stream or downloads, Skype and Google+.

We see that most of the corporate clients we work with to place our students for internships or grad positions are adapting their work environment. They are also more modern, offer flexible hours and workplaces and of course work around mobile connections.

An ability to connectDr. Baudouin C. R. Neirynck, assistant professor and academic coordinator (hotel and event management programmes), Institute for Tourism Studies’ Tourism and Hotel School, Macau

Generation Y is different to previous generations due to three main reasons: the education it receives, the technology, and the living and working environments.

It receives less educational guidance at home due to the workload faced by their parents, leaving the schooling system to supplement and sometimes replace the parental role of instilling and re-enforcing the basic education principles. As a result, high school and tertiary education students arrive with a degree of deficiency, leading to a lack of acceptance and sometimes rebellion when faced with a more disciplined environment. Teachers are left with the task of dealing with discipline rather than their vocational and educational mission. Gen Y also craves recognition, something that may be in short supply at home.

HongKongPolytechnicUniversitySchoolofHotel&TourismManagement


M a n a g E M E n t

16 AHCT March 2014

Technology is also completely changing attitudes towards learning. Information is available at the click of a button, most of the time unreliable but nonetheless readily obtainable. Technology also allows Gen Y to be very connected, to the point where it becomes over-connected. Spending even half a day without a smartphone becomes unbearable.

On the other hand, when it needs help, Gen Y knows how to activate its network. Technology has also brought the concept of an ever-changing environment, leading to the same demands in schools and universities. Today, students demand constant changes in classroom activities to keep their attention focused.

The living environment of today is characterised by convenience, whether it is shopping, travelling, eating, sleeping or cooking. This availability of everything at any time instils a mind-set made up of short cuts, bordering on laziness, all in the name of efficiency. There is a lack of challenging situations and no incentive to face difficulties. Instead Gen Y wants an easy way of life.

On the other hand, the working environment has changed, too. Teamwork has become the norm and there Gen Y is able to perform well because of its ability to connect. It is also able to respond to fast-changing environments and is more mobile and adaptable to change than the previous generation.

Teaching Gen Y today is challenging but can be very rewarding if one can make the students design their own curriculum, reward them on good performance and show recognition for innovation and the creativity that is one of the natural traits of that generation. However, from the teaching faculty, this requires utmost interaction, recognition and knowledge of each individual in all classes. In the workplace, the same principles apply.

It may not be so much the skills that are needed to succeed

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in hospitality management at this stage but rather a specific attitude – proactive, positive and very service-oriented – an ability to deal with numbers and technology and creativity, as well as a sense of innovation. This in turn can bring about differentiation in the hospitality products and range of service, leading to better marketability.

The majority of Gen Y students know how to enjoy the internet and social media as end users but they still need to learn how general business principles can be adapted and rendered more efficient through their use and, eventually, future ways of communicating and interacting with customers.

A strong self-identityProfessor Kaye Chon, dean and chair professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

There’s a noticeable difference in Gen Y; its value system is very different. Work-life balance is more important, the balance between career and family orientation. My generation was prepared to sacrifice some family life for the sake of our careers – Gen Y is less willing to make this compromise.

Also noticeable is that its members are very expressive in their behaviour. They want a strong self-identity. The older generations are used to rules and regulations in the workplace. Gen Y, however, wants more flexibility.

An example of this is uniforms. While the industry standard is a dark suit with a white shirt, young people now question this – why does it have to be this way? And of course social connectivity is very important to them – even at work they want to check their Facebook to see what their friends are doing and tell their friends what they are doing, both recreationally and professionally.

But while Gen Y is different, this does not mean inferior. Its members are capable of working towards their organisation’s objectives while also realising their own. Management has to be aware of this and accommodate their changing needs. We need to revamp and adjust our own way of thinking. We can either force them to be one of us, or force ourselves to be one of them! Forcing them is impossible, so we have to compromise.

Some things, however, you cannot compromise on, such as moral principals and ethical standards; we have to insist on this. Other than this, perhaps we have to be more flexible.

For example, I want to have more communication with students. They can come to see me, but they don’t – that’s not the way they communicate! They communicate online, so I have to do this also. This is an example of how we need to adjust to meet their needs, how we need to compromise.

And in terms of creating an environment conducive for them to succeed, we need to engender a supportive as opposed to a controlling culture.


M a n a g E M E n t

18 AHCT March 2014

Open mind, flexible attitudeFrancis Lam – acting principal instructor (rooms division), Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre/Chinese Cuisine Training Institute/International Culinary Institute, Hong Kong

Gen Y students are generally very clear in their objectives and have passion for the industry before they are even admitted to our institutes. They would not join a programme or career because they are told to but only if they really want to do it.

They are very open-minded to new ideas and eager to try new ways to handle things. They are particularly open to social media, internet and the digital world, which they utilise for both academic work and their personal life. They are self-assured, expressive and confident.

Indeed, all the above qualities contribute considerably towards becoming a good hotelier. It is very important for the people in this industry to have passion and be sure about what they want before they start studying. We need to face people from all around the world, all with different needs, so an open mind and flexible attitude is particularly important for hoteliers. It is also a huge advantage for hoteliers to feel good about themselves when handling customers as that can show confidence about the services provided. It is great to see that Gen Y is not as shy as we were when I first joined the

industry as frontline staff. As things always have two sides, we would not consider Gen

Y students to have weaknesses as such, but as their supervisors and teachers, our first challenge is to ensure they enjoy and believe in what they are doing, to ensure their optimum performance. Hence we should not give them an impression that we are ‘teaching’ in the tradition sense, which implies boring, spoon-feeding, talking but not listening. Instead, we are here to share our knowledge and experience with them and ensure they learn through our motivation and our passion in passing on our knowledge.

Gen Y has strong self-assurance and tends to be more attention- craving. It demands instant feedback and guidance as much as praise. Our instructors tend to play the role of mentors rather than traditional teachers. We have to get along with the students and accompany them to go through their learning journey. We do not only coach them the technical skills but also have to offer them advice on their studies and even personal matters. Our students are all our ‘children’ and it is a pleasure to see the alumni grow and succeed in the industry.

As Gen Y needs to enjoy learning, we try to offer a vibrant experience. During their time with HITDC, we offer them a total learning experience, including participating in competitions and meeting renowned chefs and hospitality industry leaders.

Gen Y needs a lot of motivation. Hence we offer platforms for them to directly face customers in the shape of our T Hotel and the training restaurants. We also encourage them to develop leadership skills. For example, as part of our diploma in culinary art, second year students will have the opportunity to coach first year students. The students love to share what they have learnt, which again strengthens their self-assurance.

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Chinese travellers are venturing farther and farther afield, with rising frequency and in ever increasing numbers. As they visit other countries – where service standards are often higher than what they have come to expect at

hotels in China – they return home with heightened expectations.Service with a frown – once a mainstay of China’s “hospitality”

industry – will no longer do.“As Chinese travel more frequently and more widely, their tastes

broaden, demand for quality increases, and their desire for travel grows,” says Symon Bridle, chief operating officer at the Hong Kong based Rosewood Hotel Group, formerly New World Hotels.

“This changing mind-set is probably one of the most important factors behind the sustained expansion of the China hotel industry. But as well, their expectations of hotels in their home country become higher, and they demand the same quality, or even higher, to what they have experienced overseas.”

As a result, magnificent lobbies, spacious guest rooms, and restaurants with multiple private dining rooms (long a mainstay in mainland China, where privacy is highly valued) will no longer suffice.

“Contemporary Chinese travellers are also looking for personalised and inspirational services, those that incorporate or open the door to discovering the destination’s authenticity, and a hotel that is distinctive among the competitive set. We’re trying

to meet these expectations in all our brands among their different target audiences,” adds Bridle.

But other changes are also taking place in the Chinese hospitality market.

Lavish banquets with fine wines and floral displays were long de rigueur at official functions in China, and they have proved a cash cow for hotels. Austerity measures over the last year, however, are having an impact on hotels’ bottom lines. Freestanding restaurants are also becoming increasingly competitive.

“The nature of government entertaining has changed over the last year, so that is encouraging hotels to stimulate additional sections of the market to use their restaurants and facilities, while increasingly the quality from a variety of independent restaurants has also improved dramatically, thus increasing competition for food and beverage patrons,” notes Bridle.

Another interesting trend, according to Blaise Jing, regional director for global sales & development for China at the Preferred Hotel Group, is for domestic hotel operators to “de-flag” from large international chains and develop their own independent brands to compete in the international hospitality arena.

“The advent of rapidly evolving online technology and the mass popularity of social media in China has made this paradigm shift even more attainable in the last two to three years,” Jing says.

As Chinese travellers venture further afield, at-home expectations rise. But government austerity measures could challenge profit-making potential, Michael Taylor reports

Heightened expectations

M a r k E t r E p o r t

22 AHCT March 2014


Since 1978

Focus shiftAlongside this development, both international and local Chinese hotel brands are now shifting their focus from first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to secondary cities such as Wuhan, Qingdao and Chengdu. Tourist destinations such as Hainan and Lijiang are also getting increasing attention.

“These destinations boast unique leisure and business potential and the Chinese government is also in the process of developing designated economic and real estate zones in these areas,” adds Jing.

The industry is currently facing a critical change in the business environment due to the recent implementation of government policies, which may curb general expansion for most operatorsTommy Lai, ONYX Hospitality Group North Asia

Sinceitopenedayearago,around40%ofHotelÉclatBeijing’sguestshavebeenfromMainlandChina,withtheremaindercomingfromtheUS,

HongKong,TaiwanandEurope



Chinese tourism by the numbers• 118.2 million visitors arrived in china in the first 11 months

of 2013 – beijing Tourism development commission• china’s tourism receipts for domestic travellers grew by

more than 50% in 2012 – greater china hotel Report• demand for hotel accommodation in china will continue

to grow rapidly over the next few years – Knight frank

Havingbecomeusedtoahighstandardofaccommodationwhentheytravelabroad,Chinesetravellersincreasinglyexpectasimilarlevelofserviceathome

“Nonetheless, the gateway cities still remain very important key markets for international travellers into China. China is a key focus market for Preferred Hotel Group’s stable of brands.”

Hotel Éclat Beijing is an independent hotel with a sister property in Taipei. It is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels group. Since it opened in March 2013, about 40% of its guests have been from mainland China, with the remainder coming from the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Europe – in that order. So whom does the trendy hotel cater to?

“As a design hotel, it is difficult to define a specific demographic, but easier to define by psychographics,” says Wessel Krauss, the hotel’s general manager. “Our guests are people who love art or are interested in interior design, industrial design or fans of modern architecture. As a hotel which can command premium room rates, our guests tend to be slightly older, but we have also attracted a following among the hip and trendy crowd.”

Contrary to “popular misconceptions”, Krauss says that well-heeled Chinese travellers can be very demanding with it comes to luxury accommodation.

“Chinese travellers are very sophisticated. They have extremely high expectations regarding service and the hardware in their rooms and hotels. They appreciate the opportunity to have exclusive, bespoke experiences.”

The Thai-based ONYX Hospitality Group opened its first serviced apartment in China in 2007 and currently operates four in Shanghai and one in Dalian. It will open a property in Hangzhou this year, properties in Beijing and Chengdu in 2015, and another in Guangzhou in 2016. It will open its first two Chinese hotels in 2016 under the Amari label: one in Yunnan province and another in Shenzhen.

“The industry is currently facing a critical change in the business environment due to the recent implementation of government

HotelÉclatBeijingGMWesselKrauss–contrarytopopularmisconceptions,well-heeledChinesetravellerscanbeverydemandingwithitcomestoluxuryaccommodation

Chairman&CEOofMissionHillsGroup,DrKenChu,believestheChinesehospitalityindustrycontinuestoberobustandgrowrapidly


24 AHCT March 2014

PreferredHotelGroup’sBlaiseJingsaysdomestichoteloperatorsincreasinglywanttobecomeindependentfrominternationalchainsanddeveloptheirownbrands

policies, which may curb general expansion for most operators,” says Tommy Lai, vice president, development, ONYX Hospitality Group North Asia.

“It will be a very challenging market in the next five years for existing properties. Having said that, such an environment does present a good opportunity for new entrants like ONYX Hospitality Group. With an increase in the middle-income population and a maturing consumer demographic, the market is now ready for a wider spectrum of products and brands.”

Opportunities aboundLai sees opportunities in such diverse locales as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces as well as in the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen.

“Consumers are getting more demanding and sophisticated, hence traditional cookie-cutter products will find it increasingly difficult to compete. We are quite confident that our Amari properties in Dali, Yunnan (opening in 2015) and Huidong, Shenzhen (opening in 2016) will be able to deliver the promised product to this changing demographic.”

According to Dr Ken Chu, chairman & CEO of Mission Hills Group, the hospitality industry in China continues to be robust and grow rapidly.

“We have observed even more development in the second and third-tier cities,” he says. “Having said that, it does not mean the first-tier cities are lagging behind, those that have recently opened (or are about to open) are iconic (in terms of architecture and offerings), and the development has been extended to the surrounding suburbs with more premium resort properties. Domestic travel within China is always growing strong, which certainly fuels its development.”

MissionHillsHaikou

The hotel industry is facing technology-driven change once more. The eruption of smartphone and tablet apps, the rise in popularity of online booking engines and the growth of comparison sites and applications

have changed the way we search, book, pay for and rate hotel accommodation.

Just as hoteliers quickly adapted and flourished during the first internet powered revolution, they are now embracing mobile to stay relevant, connected and competitive, says Jeff Edwards, head of global hotel business at Amadeus IT Group.

But how can hoteliers use these new developments to increase efficiency and profitability?

There is no easy answer and there is no one solution that fits all, says Richard Wiegmann, CEO of Trust International. “The truth is that a hotelier or a hotel group needs to find the right strategy for their sales distribution and sell their product offering on the right channels, at the right mix, to the right target audience. So a multi-channel strategy must be set up.”

A hotel central reservation system (CRS), as well as any other technology, should support this strategy and allow the hotelier to choose the channels without the need to maintain a different extranet or updating the information manually. This is where a technologically advanced, worldwide CRS comes into play.

All channels, including mobile, the hotel website via a traditional PC or tablets, travel agencies, Global Distribution System, reservation centres of the hotel group or a third party provider, as well as all OTAs, must carry the same inventory and information, but also tailor-made information, rates or packages highlighted in one specific channel.

The flexibility and last minute decision is a commodity people are already used to, and successful hoteliers who are relying on a secure CRS as their backbone can easily increase their revenue by selling the last rooms at a higher rate but without the risk of overbooking – thus generating additional revenue.

All channels – from the traditional ones to mobile devices –

need up-to-date information. The constant maintenance that is needed, Wiegmann says, can only be handled via a one-stop CRS, such as the yourVoyager CRS, with direct access on hotel level and interfaces/direct connects to all channels.

It allows a secure and immediate control of all systems, the timely upload of information from the property management system (PMS) or revenue management system (RMS), as well as the integration of customer data in a customer relationship management (CRM) system and loyalty program.

“The hallmark of a successful hotel group´s CRS is that it effectively employs the latest technology to provide hoteliers with a competitive advantage in the current environment, as well as staying ahead of the curve on emerging trends via mobile, metasearch engines, social sites or other avenues.”

Social, local and mobileTo understand the future of CRS and hotel management systems is to embrace the concept of ‘SoLoMo’ – social, local and mobile, says Edwards of Amadeus. “SoLoMo defines how CRS can be used to inject a brand personality back into what can be a homogeneous online booking or search experience. Engaged, relevant, access-anywhere content allows hotels to tell their story and engage their customers to build connection and loyalty.”

Incorporating this approach, Amadeus plans to create the industry’s next-generation hospitality community model, one which will take advantage of social and mobile capabilities to deliver hotels with the functionality they need to differentiate, personalise and grow lasting relationships with their customers.

In the same way that emails are not only accessed only on a home computer, hotel rooms no longer have to be viewed, booked and managed from your desktop computer, Edwards points out.

“For hotels, this means increased efficiency, connectedness and collaboration along your customer value chain. Customers and hoteliers can have a real conversation, with the insight gained leading to better, more customised service and the opportunity to

As technology advances and social media expands, more and more travellers are turning towards smartphones and tablets to book hotel rooms, says Donald Gasper. How are central reservation systems harnessing these channels?

Adapting to the mobile revolution

t E c h n o l o g y

26 AHCT March 2014 www.asianhotelandcateringtimes.com

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establish a trusted relationship with the customer. It is a logical and much awaited step forward.”

E-commerce is one of the key channels that will help hoteliers deliver true personalisation. Amadeus is delivering solutions that allow people to search for a hotel experience and to quickly find what they are looking for while tailoring offers based on their known preferences. “Our goal is to take personalisation to the next level,” says Edwards.

The big idea with the community model, he explains, is that it all sits inside the same tent, using the same information to inform a customer’s decision-making process. It is an evolutionary change that will help hoteliers to be more confident in the way they engage their customers online and generate value.

Growing trendAccording to industry statistics, around 7% of all bookings were generated from mobile and tablet devices in 2013, and this trend will grow by another 20% this year, while hotel bookings through mobile devices, it is anticipated, will generate more than US$26 billion in 2014.

Hotels using Pegasus Solutions, which claims to be the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions worldwide, are already ahead of the curve: Mobile and tablet bookings for Pegasus client hotels made using the OpenView internet booking engine amounted to more than 15% of all reservations in 2013, the company revealed recently.

A presentation at FITUR, the International Tourism Trade Fair, which opened on January 22 in the Spanish capital, Madrid,

revealed that clients of its web services division enjoyed a boost from the channel, surpassing the industry-wide 11% for the year.

“A year ago, we suggested hotels were responsible for the prevalence or lack of mobile bookings for their hotels,” said David Millili, Pegasus Solutions’ chief executive officer. “That message resonated with our existing and new clients, and together we worked

Hoteliersareembracingmobiletechnologytostayrelevant,connectedandcompetitive,saysJeffEdwardsofAmadeusITGroup

t E c h n o l o g y

to increase the comfort level for mobile bookers visiting their sites. In addition to the bookings they realised in 2013, these hotels have also now established themselves as mobile-friendly among a valuable – and burgeoning – booking audience.”

Desktop and laptop bookings still accounted for nearly 85% of reservations, the company said, but collectively, mobile devices drove 15% of reservations made through the booking engine.

Pegasus suggested Europe as a whole would reach 15% by the end of 2014.

“Mobile devices are an increasingly important vehicle for travel planning in general and hotel searches in particular,” says Rodrigo Jimenez, COO of Sceptre Hospitality Resources, the provider of the Windsurfer CRS.

“However, given the still somewhat inconvenient mobile payment phase in a smartphone, a growing number of bookings are completed in a cross-context/cross-device environment. For example, a hotel search can be started on a mobile device, continued on a tablet and confirmed on a desktop or with a call to the hotel’s central reservations office.”

Jimenez says that it is important for hotels to respond to this trend and keep in mind that responsive design makes it possible to have a consistent experience that adapts to the size of the screen being used to research or book a hotel stay. This should apply not just to a website, but to the booking engine itself. An added benefit is that this makes unnecessary the maintenance of different booking engines for desktop, tablet, and smartphones, which in turn means savings and efficiency.

The convergence of the hotel website and the booking engine is more important than ever. “Hotels should think of their website as their booking engine and their booking engine as their website,” Jimenez suggests.

“Guests will expect the ability to jump seamlessly between contexts. For example, it should be very easy and intuitive for a mobile phone user to complete the payment process via a desktop or even a call to a phone agent.” This requires that the booking engine be equipped with features such as: a) shopping cart functionality that allows a user to save a cart for later booking, and b) call centre integration, so that one touch connects the user with a reservations agent who has access to the user’s partially completed booking.

This makes it possible to avoid having the guest repeat the

portion of the process he has already completed on the mobile device, which improves conversion and guest satisfaction with the process.

Bernard Ellis, VP industry strategy – hospitality at Infor, agrees, and says the trick is to go even further by blurring the lines between CRS, PMS, and CRM, and engaging the guest in a conversation that continues pre-stay, in-house, and post-stay, on the device of their choosing, that provides the information they want, when they want it.

“Of course, the real payback for hoteliers is to present relevant upsell and cross-sell offers all along the way, across devices, and even using location services. But it’s crucial that these offers be timely and relevant, or people will ignore, or worse, opt out of them.”

Looking aheadThere is no doubt that the traditional hotel distribution landscape has been changing already, says Peter Agel, SVP strategic customer relationships EAME, MICROS-Fidelio.

Apart from traditional IATA travel agency business coming via GDS, all other channels have seen impact from traffic coming from mobile consumer devices (tablets and smartphones), he says.

This digital explosion challenges traditional central hotel reservation systems in terms of traffic load, real time interaction and system operations. Whether a PMS or CRS – those applications have not been designed to cope with digital channels and massive consumer requests. The first reaction is protection, which comes along with caching, load balancing and similar types of streamlining efforts.

The next step is to allow proactive digital interaction with whoever wants to query and place hotel reservations, to allow hoteliers to capture more business from direct and indirect channel sources.

“Channel management middleware assisted in the first instance. In the future, it will be about interacting with all sorts of search and meta search applications and platforms,” Agel predicts.

“It will be about offering rate, availability and pricing services for all sorts of direct and indirect sales platforms and to secure near real-time interaction with the suppliers. This may be the only way for hotels to catch more business, increase efficiency in distribution and thus profitability.”

Ahotelierorahotelgroupneedstofindtherightstrategyfortheirsalesdistributionandselltheirproductofferingontherightchannels,attherightmix,totherighttargetaudience,believesRichardWiegmannofTrustInternational

PeterAgel,MICROS-Fidelio–thereisnodoubtthatthetraditionalhoteldistributionlandscapehasbeenchangingalready

DavidMillili,PegasusSolutions–hotelsareresponsiblefortheprevalenceorlackofmobilebookingsfortheirhotels

t E c h n o l o g y

28 AHCT March 2014 www.asianhotelandcateringtimes.com


LRF explains how an abandoned tobacco factory warehouse was

adapted into a five-star luxury property now the playground of

Istanbul’s elite. By Rebecca Lo

Turkish delights

Photography courtesy shangri-la hotels & Resorts

Like many developing Asian countries, Turkey has made great leaps when it comes to tourism. It boasts an increasingly affluent middle class with the clout to travel domestically. More importantly, its famously strategic

location at the crossroads of Asia and Europe has long attracted intrepid international travellers.

Consequentially, many of the palaces and yalis – wooden mansions – along The Bosphorus are being transformed into high-end hotels for those with a thirst for the exotic. Yet many of them do not realise the amount of creativity, means and effort necessary when transforming a grand derelict into a contemporary hotel. Charles Robertson, managing director of Hong Kong-based LRF (formerly Leese Robertson Freeman), believes that the process is just as important as the end product.

LRF has a long history with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, and has designed numerous properties for the Hong Kong-based hotelier, including those in Suzhou, Guilin and New Delhi. When Shangri-La realised that the Istanbul property it was contracted to manage was not being built to its expected standard, it became 50% owner alongside its Turkish counterpart and brought LRF into the project.

CHI,TheSpa,Shangri-LaBosphorus,Istanbul

d E s i g n

30 AHCT March 2014


The site is situated along an enviable waterfront strip on the European side of The Bosphorus, with Dolmabahce Palace to the immediate west. A pier with commuter ferry to Kadikoy on the Asian side is in front of the building, and the high street shopping and residential districts of Nisantasi and Beyoglu are a short distance up the hill behind.

What was a problem was the building itself: an abandoned tobacco warehouse from the 1930s with insufficient interior space for a five-star hotel’s amenities. Constructing a taller building was out of the question due to the city’s preservation laws for architecture that would disrupt the classic skyline along The Bosphorus. To resolve the issue, the entire building was demolished and reconstructed exactly as before, except with a new four-storey basement to provide the extra space required.

“We came into the project at a very late stage,” recalls Robertson. “It was an unusual project, as it was a conversion building in a country we’ve never worked in before. Dealing with local partners is never easy.

“When we first arrived on site, we saw that the original linkage between the two buildings proposed by the local architect was rather nasty. Our biggest challenge became working with them to fine tune that linkage. We made a model of the atrium and worked out how the stairs should be.

“Another challenge was the Turkish owner’s admiration for Shangri-la Paris. But a warehouse is hardly a palace! It doesn’t have that kind of grandeur. Instead, we put considerable effort into the smallest details. For example, we used two trimmings on cushion fabrics instead of one. To get around the low ceilings due to the

LeBar,Shangri-LaBosphorus

Indoorpool

Façade,Shangri-LaBosphorus

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GardenofPeachBlossom,an18-metreChinesesilkpainting,isthefocalpointoftheupperatrium

PremierBosphorusroom

overall height restriction, we added mirrored coffers above the lobby to give the illusion of volume.”

While Andre Fu of Hong Kong-based AFSO designed all day dining IST TOO and Cantonese Shang Palace restaurants, LRF was responsible for every other aspect of the hotel’s interiors. It included 186 guest rooms and suites, with some facing the internal courtyard and others irregularly shaped due to the preservation of two century-old sycamore trees.

The property was comprised of two existing buildings facing each other at a slight skew, which required connection; the resolution was a new double atrium that facilitated light into the large well. A dome ceiling with a two storey Lasvit chandelier gives the lower atrium some bling, while The Garden of Peach Blossoms, an 18-metre Chinese silk painting reminiscent of the one in Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, is the focal point of the upper atrium.

“We had to keep the retaining wall around the ballroom due to the tree roots, which resulted in an unusual shape,” notes Robertson. “We designed the atrium like an exterior façade, with a signature piece of art from China. Some of the rooms had odd shapes since we had to work around the existing structure; the top floor suites proved to be particularly difficult. And the architectural drawings didn’t correspond to what was on site; in the end, we had to produce our own as-built drawings since none were reliable.

“The local owner is a fabric supplier and many of the textiles we used were their products. He also loves antiques and our job was to limit the number of them used throughout the hotel.”

LRF also had to design a CHI spa with eight treatment rooms for a city hotel with an established hamman culture.

“We started off with a small hamman within the men and women’s change rooms,” Robertson recalls. “Our local partner

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insisted that it needed to be bigger. We asked if they wanted it to look more European or like a traditional CHI spa. They said they wanted both. In the end, we included a bit of everything.”

Colourful Turkish tiles and extensive use of light grey marble cement the hamman’s Ottoman feel, while lattice screens and nubby silks in a royal shade of aubergine add a Chinese flavour.

Robertson consciously gave the guestrooms a feeling of tranquility, with a neutral scheme accented by blues. “We wanted the rooms to reflect calm, away from all the hectic hustle and bustle of the city,” he explains. “The muted colour palette reflects the hotel’s location on the banks of The Bosphorus. We believe that guests would be international travellers; some may already be familiar with the Shangri-La brand. Meanwhile, the function areas and restaurants would be used by locals.” One example of catering to the mixed market is the hotel’s replacement of pork in traditional Cantonese dishes with lamb or beef due to the country’s predominantly Islamic clientele.

“It was very important for us to have people on site to work with the local consultants as drawings can be misinterpreted,” Robertson concludes. “With hindsight, I think this could have been a bigger part of the process. Turkey has a strong tradition of making furniture by hand, with better craftsmanship than what can be produced in China. Their tile making skills are excellent, and they are good engineers. But as they are very CAD–oriented, there is a certain finesse lacking.”

In the end, it was the eager willingness on the part of all the consultants to learn and collaborate with each other that resulted in the project’s success.

Hotellobby


Wheat-based bread and patisserie products are relative newcomers to most of Asia-Pacific, where rice is the traditional staple grain. Nevertheless, new tastes and textures are quickly accepted, by contrast with

regions where people have a long wheat-based tradition and find it difficult to create and accept new products, says chef Kirsten Tibballs, Callebaut brand ambassador in Australia and also director of Savour School in Melbourne.

Like that for cheese and wine, Asia’s appetite for pastry and other baked goods is growing fast, mainly due to a market with specific niche products without many competitors, according to Grégoire Michaud. Long-time baker and patissier at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, he now runs his own artisan baking company, Bread Elements, supplying Hong Kong hotels and independent restaurants.

“The economy in Europe and the US is rather pale and, thus, companies with a certain brand recognition are easily attracted to Hong Kong, or Asia for that matter. You can see single-item shops, such as for macarons or chocolates, opening everywhere with instant success and people queuing at the door. Although the goods are flown in frozen from abroad and sold at an exorbitant price, it’s living proof that marketing always works.

“Artisan breads are coming on strong too. However, to achieve high volume of sales for bread (because with low price you need

volume to be profitable), most bakeries are adapting their recipes to please Asian palates. Most large bakery and pastry industry players are using the words ‘artisan’, ‘local’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘organic’ in every possible way to reinforce their marketing campaigns. However, true artisan sourdough breads are indeed rare, thus much sought after.”

Foreign food, local demandThe proliferation of Western restaurants is fuelling the demand for ‘real’ bread in Hong Kong, says Michaud. At the same time, China’s travel boom is creating an unprecedented demand for innovative bakery products at home and abroad.

Well-heeled domestic tourists make up about 70% of guests at Mission Hills Haikou, Hainan Island, and the resort’s emphasis on healthy lifestyle carries through into restaurant fare, says VP operations, Yum Siew Wah. “We must educate people about food,” he says.

Mainland travellers are keen to experience all sorts of new tastes and they are increasingly well informed when they travel, says Mission Hills baker/chef Pathom Manakul ‘Noise’ who has been working at the Haikou resort for the past four years.

“Over this time I have noticed that Chinese guests are increasingly concerned about what they eat. They are generally inclined to choose savoury flavours. They really like black sesame,

Jane Ram says that Asia’s rising appetite for bakery products means big profits for large bakery and pastry industry players

Show us the dough

ElaboratelydecoratedéclairsfromFauchon,whichhasrecentlyopeneditssecondstoreinHongKong

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which is good for hair, eyes and digestion, so I use that a lot. I have been developing olive ciabatta that takes a long time to make, but everyone appreciates the fragrance of the rosemary and black pepper. Surprisingly, Chinese guests know about ciabatta – they read a lot of magazines about food and wine.”

A newcomer to the Haikou team is Noise’s wife, pastry chef Laied Manakul, famous in Bangkok for her exquisite yet healthy desserts. “Everyone needs healthier food with less sugar and less fat in their diet,” she says, pointing to a display of tempting–looking cream cones based on sweet potato.

“Unfortunately most Thai people have a very sweet tooth. They don’t think about healthy eating. And then they wonder why they have so many health problems when they reach their 50s.”

As might be expected, resort guests everywhere tend to be health-conscious. As opening date approaches for ultra-luxe Bintan resort The Sanchaya, executive chef and culinary artist Peter Marx has been observing a growing general interest in natural, wholesome ingredients as people move away from animal products and sugar-dense food items to a better balanced diet, including wholesome foods and raw products.

Eric Costille, Sofitel Asia-Pacific’s regional executive chef, based in Sofitel Manila, notes a new emphasis on quality over quantity and a trend towards the use of ‘super seeds’ such as buckwheat, quinoa, spelt and chia.

“People are taking time to read the labels and nutritional content of their food. Bakers are going back to their roots by sourcing locally available produce and grains, highlighting freshness and sustainability.”

Tastes evolve fast, says Tibballs. “With the introduction and increased use of social media, the world has become a lot smaller with

ArtisanalbreadsfromHongKong-basedbakerandpatissierGregoireMichaud’sbakingcompany,BreadElements

more about us

VISIT US AT FHA STAND 5G2-07


international trends reaching both us and consumers instantly. Asian pastry chefs and bakers are well known for their dedication and tenacity and are welcomed with opened arms to the top European kitchens for work and training.

“They then come back to their home country with new skill sets and open their own businesses and pass on their knowledge and training to locals. This ensures that as a region we accept new trends quickly.”

Jean-Marc Gaucher had wide exposure to regional tastes before he joined the Mira Hong Kong as baker and pastry chef.

“In Southeast Asia it’s about texture more than taste. Everything should be soft except lavash and grissini. Asia’s bread tradition is sometimes mixed and confused – they try green tea and red bean bread! At the Mira we try to be subtle. We make pineapple buns, going back to soft roll dough and adding pork floss like they do in Thailand.

“Cupcakes lost popularity last year, but now they are back in fashion again. We use a muffin base that stays moist successfully and a French icing method that stays light. In Hong Kong’s humid summers the big challenge is to make French baguettes.”

Eating habits have changed dramatically during his 15 years in Hong Kong, says Michele Senigaglia, corporate chef, DiVino Group. In the early years, when he planned what to include in a bread basket, at least two out of three breads had to be soft. Sour dough and crunchy crusts were regarded as too hard. “Now people travel and discover new foods and learn to appreciate the authentic taste of bread.”

Better breadUntil recently Western-style pastry items at local bakeries and chain stores were often made with low-quality ingredients, says Senigaglia. “Now there is competition from a variety of high-end bread shops and growing appreciation of what good pastry and bread are all about. Although the mainland market is still not ready for this ‘sweet revolution’, cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok

and Taipei already show a mature demand for this kind of product. “This trend is in full expansion mode with tea houses, cake

shops and trendy coffee stores opening in many parts of the city. The success of these shops will bring more European and overseas pastry/bakery chefs to open branches in Hong Kong and in the other big cities in Asia in the year to come.”

The arrival of concept stores featuring international pastry legends has raised standards fast in an increasingly competitive market. Fauchon of Paris opened its second Hong Kong shop just in time for customers to “say it with sugar” on Valentine’s Day. Attractions include six types of éclair and 15 flavours of macarons.

This is the haute couture side of culinary creations, says Claudie Le Souder, communication director of Fauchon Paris. “Pastries are like jewels, flavourful, colourful, amazing designs, infinite range of tastes. They can be creative, traditional or innovative. They require an artistic sense, sharp expertise and express a real savoir-faire. Breads are more and more creative as well, more sophisticated, even if it is in an artisan way.”

Pastry shows two strongly contrasting trends that Le Souder sums up as either “lighter creations” or very “greedy”. Fauchon’s plans for 2014 offer plenty of scope for all tastes, starting with a collection inspired by the exotic world of ‘le douanier’ Rousseau. ‘Fruit Fiction’ is the theme for summer, September will centre around ‘The Éclairs Week’ and the Christmas collection will be inspired by ‘flashes of light’.

Richard Long, executive, pastry chef at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, learned his craft at L’Ecole Lenotre and in the pastry kitchen of Pierre Hermé. He comments that guests are increasingly health-École conscious in their bread preferences.

“We have more varieties of bread tailored to their needs such as gluten and nut-free. We go with a more crusty texture, using natural yeast to give the bread a fuller body and a better taste. Guests are constantly on the lookout for new products. We have recently added a ‘cronut’, a pastry which is a combination of croissant and doughunt.”

Gluten intolerant – or just trendy?As opening date approaches for ultra-luxe bintan resort The sanchaya, executive chef and culinary artist Peter Marx has been perfecting his artisan gluten-free bread using buckwheat, yoghurt, honey and seeds.

Michele senigaglia, corporate chef, diVino group, says a surprising number of customers – about one in 30 caucasians, but a much lower ratio among Asians – claim gluten intolerance, and the rate is increasing exponentially every year, so far diVino does not serve gluten-free bread, although the group’s restaurants do offer gluten-free pasta and Kamut pasta (which is tolerated by many celiac sufferers).

“i don’t make gluten-free bread. i understand that a few coeliac sufferers are truly allergic to gluten, but 90% of those who claim to be gluten-intolerant are just being trendy,” says Jean-Marc gaucher, baker and pastry chef at the Mira hong Kong.

“in any case, it is very difficult to guarantee truly gluten-free bread unless you have a separate, dedicated kitchen.”

MissionHillspastrychefLaiedManakulwithsomeofherlow-sugar,low-fathealthytreats

TheMiraHongKong’sJean-MarcGaucher–inSoutheastAsiait’sabouttexturemorethantaste

DiVinoGroupcorporatechef

MicheleSenigagliasayseatinghabits

havechangeddramaticallyduringhis15yearsinHongKong

FauchonéclairsHokusai

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Asia’s discerning consumers have become used to quality products from the West. The same is true of coffee and coffee equipment – being good is no longer good enough. Quality now has to be excellent and the products fresh,

perfect and delivered fast – every time.“We see a general trend in the market, demanding both higher

quality and more convenience,” agrees Franke Coffee Systems’ VP sales and marketing APAC, Federico Paterno. “Everybody wants their favourite cup prepared easily and to be consistently good. In the consumer market this trend is underscored, for example, by the boom of coffee capsules.”

Franke Coffee Systems, with its headquarters in Aarburg, Switzerland, was founded 30 years ago and has evolved into one of world’s leading companies for professional coffee system solutions, offering traditional semi-automatic devices and filter coffee machines.

“In our range of fully automatic machines for professional use, the best selling products in Asia-Pacific countries are those of smaller capacity,” adds Paterno. “The reason is that although appreciation for good, freshly brewed coffee has grown spectacularly in recent years, still the per capita consumption is limited compared to the West. Hence many of our customers do not require high-output machines to satisfy demand. However we have also noted a strong growth at the top end of our range, driven by large chains getting very serious about their coffee offer.”

He makes the point that across the region, the pattern of sales is not the same, as different countries have different consumption levels and habits.

Coffee continues its remorseless assault on Asia, with consumers entranced as much by its flavour as by its sophisticated image. Daniel Creffield reports on the new equipment and latest trends in this competitive market

A rich tradition

Melitta’sCafinaXT6hasacapacityofupto170cupsperhour

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FoamMaster™ FM800The new FM800 is the professional and sleek all-rounder in the new premium-class from Franke Coffee Systems. The intuitive and customizable 10.4" touchscreen makes it easy to use: at the touch of a button you can produce a perfect coffee classic or a delicious hot/cold milk foam beverage. Perfect milk foam in the desired consistency. A fully automatic coffee solution that appeals to all of the senses. Upsell to new product offerings through mouthwatering visuals. fm.franke.com

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“Overall in Asia typical customers for our fully automatic machines are businesses that want to ensure a very consistent output in time and across different locations, regardless of who is operating the machine: food chains, hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, corporate offices and other work places with self-service coffee, all fall in this category.”

Franke’s new-generation machines boast a user-friendly, iPad-like interface, raising the bar when it comes to milk foaming quality (hot and cold) as well as flexibility of use, largely expanding the options of available drinks a machine can produce. This includes up to three coffee blends, two milk types, chocolate and various syrup flavours in any combination to prepare over 100 hot and cold recipes.

The first representative of this new generation is the FM800 machine, with the same technology to be subsequently applied to all new generation machines, providing a superior quality and higher variety product.

Carrie Shum, senior brand manager, Nespresso Hong Kong, says customers increasingly appreciate, select and demand quality coffees and coffee recipes both at home and in out-of-home venues.

“With this trend in coffee consumption, restaurants and hotels are increasingly demanding higher standards from the coffee that they serve to their clientele, combined with prompt service, consistent coffee quality and choice,” she suggests.

Nespresso operates in almost 60 countries, has more than 8,000 employees and operates a global retail network of over 300 exclusive boutiques.

Rancilio’sfullyautomaticcoffeemachineEgroONEhasbecomeabenchmarkinitsclass


“In terms of trends or innovations in the industry, in Asia we have noticed a definite move towards gourmet coffee, with consumers regarding it in much the same way sommeliers view wine. We are seeing a trend towards a more sophisticated coffee palate.

“Speed and convenience of coffee preparation is also increasingly important for time-poor business customers, and these are key benefits of Nespresso machines, which are completely automated, with multiple functions and very simple to use.”

In addition to its in-room machines from the consumer range, Nespresso offers various ranges for professionals including Zenius, a revolutionary system compact enough to suit any business size, and Aguila, a new professional machine designed to combine the best of traditional coffee-making methods with the latest advances from Nespresso for high-volume establishments.

Home and awayA dynamic and growing company, Rancilio Group combines its strong Italian roots with a growing international presence. Since 1999 the firm has opened five branch companies, in Chicago, Barcelona, Lisbon/Porto, Dottikon in Switzerland and Weikersheim in Germany, and is well established in more than 100 countries, with a network of over 1,000 distributors and after-sales centres.

Its fully automatic coffee machine Egro ONE has become the new benchmark in its class thanks to an easy user interface, consistent quality, outstanding performance, compact dimensions, excellent design and advanced ergonomics.

Its touchscreen graphic display version offers the option of uploading and customising screensavers, running promotions to boost business, showing images or videos as drinks are served and teaching baristas with educational videos.

In addition, it helps the user to constantly monitor the machine’s status by displaying which beverages are being served, the pre-selected drinks, serving progress and brewing status.

The company recently introduced a simple and practical new milk system for its fully automatic machines. The innovative frother heads are functional and easy to remove. Maximum hygiene is guaranteed by a single detachable piece, which itself can be disassembled into two components for thorough cleaning.

Software configuration of various characteristics helps achieve superior quality in the cup, such as the texture of the cream and the temperature of the selected beverage.

Inga Schäper, head of marketing & coffee competence centre at Schaerer Ltd, says that the reliability, ROI possibilities and quality of the dispensed products have made the company’s fully automatic Coffee Art Plus with one-step fully automatic milk system its best seller.

“As our machines dispense hot coffee beverages at the press of a button, the operation is as easy as it gets, suitable for self-service situations or club lounges in five-star hotels. Meanwhile, the integrated, fully automated cleaning systems (coffee and milk systems) ensure food safety.”

Schaerer sells fully automatic coffee machines worldwide to restaurants, vending facilities, takeaways, coffee shops, quick-service restaurants, hotels, chain restaurants, convenience stores, offices, cafés, universities, bistros, hospitals, bars, sports centres and others.

“The creation of a perfect cup of coffee is the result of far more than just the coffee itself. To set yourself apart, you need a diverse and creative menu and to maximise the potential of fresh milk and syrup. To ensure consistently high-quality beverage standards, extensive knowledge of all of the processes used during preparation process is required, whether this be freshly ground and brewed coffee, texturing milk, dissolving and mixing powder or dosing of syrup.”

Diversity was also the development goal of the new Flavour Point syrup system for Schaerer Coffee Art, which simultaneously and automatically processes up to four different flavour varieties and thus extends the available selection of aromatic creations. The particular mixture of syrup, milk and coffee can be programmed for each beverage and stored on a button on the display.

Foam’s in fashionMelitta’s business development manager Asia-Pacific, Justin Rejske, says an emerging and growing trend is the technological advancement in cold milk foaming.

“Not so long ago our customers were looking for the best speciality coffee machines to dispense cappuccino and latte. Now we are seeing a growing demand to also dispense cold milk and cold milk foam to satisfy the consumer’s evolving needs for cold speciality beverages.”

Rejske says that the company’s recently launched Melitta Cafina XT6 was developed with these growing demands in mind. This high performance speciality coffee machine is only 30cm wide, with a capacity of up to 170 cups per hour.

“An espresso top with cold milk foam is a delight to the taste buds and offers something a little bit different in the warm summer temperatures,” he adds.

The company’s best selling coffee machine throughout Asia over the past few years has been the Melitta c35 1 step automatic coffee machine, popular in QSR chains, hotels, restaurants, cafes – “and we are now seeing growth through speciality retail shops such as bakery chains and convenience outlets who want to offer their customers a consistent, high-quality speciality coffee that can be prepared with

ThefullyautomaticCoffeeArtPluswithone-stepfullyautomaticmilksystemisSchaerer’sbestseller

Franke’sFM800generationmachinesofferauserfriendly,iPad-likeinterface

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Flavour ArtFlavour your premium quality coffee based hot and cold beverages

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minimal time and impact to their operations.”Marco Casasola, export manager at La San Marco, says that

coffee grinders “on demand” for fresh ground coffee have been very trendy since last year. “We particularly increased sales of these models in the Far East,” he emphasises.

Beside coffee grinders, the company has had success with its electronic and semi-automatic espresso machines, with 10 and 12-litre boiler. Its best market in Asia is China, Casasola says, where it has several distributors.

La San Marco’s 100 Touch series provides a touch technology display that permits a very ergonomic use. Information available to the user includes boiler water temperature and temperature regulation, a timer for every coffee selection, water quantity programming, number of coffees selected in every group and a lighting bar indicating that coffee brewing is taking place.

One different trend Eric Daniel, of L’Ami Café HK, has

observed, is that more environmentally friendly machines are becoming popular.

“Having imported coffee machines from Italy for more than ten years in Hong Kong and Macau, we have seen an explosion in new coffee equipment recently, much of it offering new technology and interesting features.

“In our efforts toward more environmentally friendly products, we have introduced in Hong Kong the Green Line Fiorenzato range of professional coffee machines from Italy.”

Murano, the top of the line machine, is equipped with the new Energy+ technology which allows significant electricity savings both when the machine is in use (26%) and when it is in stand-by mode (up to 86%).

“The use of the stand-by function together with heat recovery and reduction of heat loss can minimise the impact on the environment – and electricity bills,” adds Daniel.

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What’s new in the world of glassware? Zara Horner finds out

A touch of glass

DecanterfromRiedel

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The devil, as they say, is in the detail, perhaps more than ever in this age where finishing touches and design aesthetics can make or break a brand, and cost millions.

Getting glassware right is just one of those details, but one which has become increasingly important in the hospitality industry.

It used to be that a bar stocked with wine, beer, short, shot and snifter glasses was enough. But, with today’s ever-increasing popularity of cocktails mixologists are looking for striking glassware in which to display their creative work.

And manufacturers are answering that demand with many changes both in form and function.

From retro to contemporary, classic to funky, coloured, contoured and hand-blown, the choice has never been larger.

Technical innovation“The idea for the [range] was born during a stroll across the peaks of Southern France where perfumes of resin wood, chestnut, hyacinth and pine subtly intermingle,” Guillaume Gallet poetically explains when talking about Arnaud Baratte’s new Helicium glassware range.

The region’s wind turbines apparently caught the attention of the hiking designer and, “the first sketches for Helicium were born,” Gallet, director of Singapore-based sourcing and distribution company, Lomig, says.

The windmill domes and blades would be an integral part of Baratte’s design, the movements inspiring him to “create a glass which would reveal the fullness of a drink’s aromas”.

Asymmetric internal ‘blades’, which are equidistant, allow a homogeneous mixture and exchange of the beverage.

“The central dome is convex, allowing the drink to adhere perfectly to the internal wall of the glass,” Gallet explains.

“When the glass is moved in circles by hand the blades and

A touch of glass

DancingPARTYtumblerfromSchottZwiesel,atitanium-infusedcrystalglasswitharoundedbasethatmakesittiltback-and-forthand‘dance’withouttippingover


dome ensure an optimal fluidity and oxygenation of the drink.

“These elements integrated within the glass allow an aromatic enhancement. The dome lets the wine stick perfectly to the internal wall of the glass. The turbulence created by the three distinct and asymmetric blades highlight the exchange and homogeneity of the three aromatic layers of wine.”

This major innovation means there is now no need to decant wine into a carafe, Gallet says.

“The full expression of the three aromatic layers of wine is more intense and rapid when presented in

the Helicium glasses.”Light floral aromas will be particularly diffused in

the Helicium 11 to 18 ounce and nine ounce glasses, with “volatile aromas” in wines with high alcohol content working best in the 12 ounce glasses, which allow all the aromatic layers “to be sublimated and melted,” Gallet adds.

“21st century ‘table artistry’ would have no meaning if it were not for the presence of the proud,

upright glass,” designer Baratte contends, adding that his range of Helicium glasses “embodies the art of French living”.

An environmentally friendly product, designed and manufactured in France, the Helicium range “combines elegance and technical expertise,” Gallet adds.

“The collection is both innovative and functional, which is what today’s clients are demanding.”

The Helicium glassware range is made of a resistant,

Previously price points would have

been unobtainable in this range, but

with advances in machine glass

making we have been able to bring

the price points down to levels

where they can be used at a bar level

Ravi Gidumal, Townhouse

Lomig’sHeliciumlineincludestwostillwineglasses,onesparklingwineglassandonetumbler,eachdesignedtoenhancethearomaofitscontents

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environmentally friendly, lead oxide-free material called Kwarx which is “almost indestructible,” Gallet says.

“Without lead oxide and using minerals without an impact on the environment, this material gives total brilliance to the glass, promoting its contents.”

The range comprises four universal glasses: two for wines, one for sparkling wines, which all have thin lengthened seamless stems for easy holding, and a goblet.

Making it workAustrian glassware company Riedel has been working with many of the region’s top mixologists who want “to get the best out of their creations”, says Ravi Gidumal, managing director of Townhouse, a Hong Kong-based wholesale and retail purveyor of luxury table ware, including Riedel ranges.

“We recently sat down with a group of them to do a masterclass on vodka, for example. What was surprising to them as we went through six different glass designs is that the Riedel single malt glass was their unanimous choice of what they felt they wanted the customer to experience.

“Mixologists are now also interested in the aroma of a drink and its delivery to the senses of the drinker – it is one part of the overall experience. While in its infancy we expect this trend will develop over 2014.”

Riedel’s range of heavier cut crystal-look glasses has already proven popular this year in the region.

“Previously price points would have been unobtainable in this range, but with advances in machine glass making we have been able to bring the price points down to levels where they can be used at a bar level,” says Gidumal.

Athenaproducesawiderangeofglasswareforeveryoccasion


Riedel has “a few items” coming up this year for the on-premise and off-premise range.

The company is constantly evolving new products and ranges and this year will be releasing the ‘Big O’ range in celebration of 10 years of Riedel’s iconic stemless Riedel O wine glasses.

“This Big O series would make a great cocktail glass and will be available later this year,” Gidumal says.

The new generation of the now almost iconic ‘O’ wine tumbler series, “brings fresh excitement to this popular range which was originally designed by Maximilian J Riedel in 2004,” Gidumal says.

The Big O range features three grape varietal specific glasses – Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

The company is also going to introduce a soda specific glass. “Inspired by the iconic curves of the original Coca-Cola

contour bottle, this glass is designed to enhance the soda drinking experience,” he adds.

“Shaped by trial and error by a panel of industry experts and soda lovers, the form captures the distinct spices, aroma and taste of the famous soft drink.

“A unique glass to deliver a taste like no other. Just as glasses should be.”

“Before these would have had to be hand cut for the finish, which made them more expensive and, therefore ordered sparingly, but not now.”

This supports the idea that cost and maintenance are still very much at the forefront of the decision-making process.

Will the glasses wash well, wear well and do the job well?“Yes, these are very much questions clients want answers to,”

agrees Gidumal. “Clients are demanding more durable and easy-care glasses that

fit into their budgets. Both Riedel and Nachtmann have specific on-premise ranges that stratify these requirements of durability and price. All glassware is dishwasher safe.”

However, Gidumal contends it is not the case glasses are expected to fulfill multi-function purposes.

“No, we find our customers have specific glassware for different areas of the bar and restaurant. The Riedel O series could cater for both but we find customers will use different styles for food and serving wines.”

And regional differences are still discernible. “In Europe and the US stemless glasses have been accepted for over a decade whereas in Asia they are only starting to be more accepted.”

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Rooted in 150 years of technical expertise and experience, Rivolta Carmignani continues to offer the world’s best hotels and restaurants the finest style and quality in bed, bath, and table linens.

Since 1867, the company has been the epitome of quality Italian linens thanks to its exclusive mix of luxury and tradition, innovation and

perfectionism, superior raw materials and workforce, and incomparable expertise and aesthetic approach. Under the supervision of the fifth generation of Rivolta’s family, the brand still stands tall in Macherio, Italy, equipped with its own department of design, warping, weaving, quality control, bleaching and finishing, cutting and hemming, embroidery and packaging.

Even after 150 years of success, Rivolta Carmignani continues to improve its production cycle, ensuring that products meet superior standards while giving importance also to its environment and society. At present, it is the very first company in Italy to be granted the OEKO-TEX 1000 certificate for operating an eco-friendly factory.

Its product range is vast, covering every linen need for bed, bath, spa, and table and banqueting. And in order to offer its clients the best and exclusive solutions in terms of style, quality, and price, the company continues to reinvent its products with new patterns, textures and trendy colours, with bed throws and runners being

150 years of luxurious Italian linen

produced in materials such as cashmere, baby alpaca, cotton and acrylic.

As for clients who desire the highest exclusivity of design, Rivolta Carmignani provides a team under their “Atelier Service” who works with the customer’s chief designer in creating exclusive solutions even at very low minimum quantities. Additionally, the company can also offer fast reorder service with no minimum quantity for most of the items in its collections thanks to its massive and continuous investment in inventory.

Today, Rivolta Carmignani’s reputation in Italian manufacturing remains strong and unrivalled, exceeding customer’s expectations with their Italian style, unquestionable quality and service as they cater to over 10,000 customers in more than 63 countries around the globe.

Visit Rivolta Carmignani’s booth (No: 4J4-01) at the upcoming Food Hotel Asia 2014 in Singapore from 8-11 April 2014 and learn more about their humble beginnings and success in their very first book “150 years Story of our Company” available in bookstores around the world soon.

For any reference and further information, please visit us at: www.rivoltacarmignani.it

Pacific Rim Trading Limited Sole Agent: Hong Kong/MacauFor more information, email: [email protected]: (852) 2838 8977 Website: www.prt.com.hk

AHCT March 2014 47

s p o n s o r E d F E a t u r E


As pizza becomes increasingly popular

across Asia, high-end restaurants are striving

to deliver a more authentic product. This

has seen increasing numbers investing in

large, high-quality pizza ovens, writes

Michelle Cheng

As China is the world’s biggest market for red wine, seafood and indeed F&B generally, is it any surprise the region is rapidly becoming the biggest market for professional pizza ovens?

“Hong Kong and Macau are certainly some of the fastest growing markets in the world and we are enjoying success with many of the top hotel and restaurant chains in these regions,” says Kelly Mudford, marketing manager of Beech Ovens.

Similar regions are the sales targets for Wood Stone Corporation too.

“Our biggest market is China. Some recent installs have been in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand,” says Tamra Nelson, the company’s marketing director.

However, the popularity of pizza ovens is growing worldwide.

“Saudi Arabia is probably our best market, although we’re active in about 76 countries, including in the East,” says Mansour Rashidi, sales director of BakePartner.

At Hong Kong’s Motorino restaurant, a Stefano Ferrara oven, handmade in Naples, Italy, is used. The group has the same model in its other restaurants in Hong Kong and in Brooklyn and the East Village in NYC. The tradition of this oven goes back thousands of years, with the combination of Santa Maria bricks from the Campania region of Italy and intense heat creating the perfect conditions for Neapolitan pizza, which cooks in 60 - 90 seconds: lightly charred on the outside, soft and malleable on the inside.

But what are some of the other popular ovens being sold in Asia, and why are

sellersHot

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AHCT March 201448


they such hot items? The best seller for BakePartner is its PM732ED model. “It is simple to use, is space efficient, has very high capacity and most importantly – easy to clean!” Rashidi enthuses.

According to Wood Stone, flexibility and space efficiency are the key to the Mountain Series five-foot stone hearth oven becoming their most popular model.

“It is of a traditional shape which most chefs are used to; this is clearly challenged by the Fire Deck Stone hearth ovens which offer more installation flexibility as they are rectangular and fit easily into kitchen lines. They are also easier to use due to the size of the opening, which allows two people to use it during peak periods. These also have our underfloor burner to aid in sustained production periods,” Nelson explains.

Versatility and practicalityBeech Ovens finds that clients not only demand practicality of products, but also their design must fit with the restaurant. The company says that (with its ability to roast, cook, bake, steam and fry), restaurants are seeing the benefits in a high-quality stone hearth oven. A major additional factor is the visual element which the oven brings to the dining experience.

“A large percentage of what we do is customisation and we find our clients are always looking for a point of difference. We excel at working with them to design something unique and bespoke to suit the kitchen concept,” explains Mudford.

All Beech Ovens are supplied in two sections for ease of installation and can fit through a standard doorway and in elevators. BeechOvensequipmentatParkHyatt

SaadiyatIslandinAbuDhabi

VersatilepizzaovensfromBakePartner

HongKong’sMotorinorestaurantboastsa

StefanoFerraraoven,handmadeinNaples,Italy

AHCT March 2014 49

E q u i p M E n t

49


which results in a long period to amortise the equipment, and low running costs,” Mudford reveals.

The message is that restaurants should weigh up the cost of purchasing a cheaper or inferior product with the real risk and expense of potential downtime, high running cost and eventual replacement.

However, Chef Palombino of Motorino restaurant claims that money is not an issue. “We take pride in using the highest quality ingredients and equipment to make our pizza, so price is not a factor.”

As well as cooking pizzas, Motorino uses its oven for a lot of its antipasti, such as roasted mortadella and roasted peppers. Palombino is creative with his pizza oven usage. “It’s great for seasonal vegetables as well. I especially love summer squash. We also make a quick bread with pizza dough to complement our charcuterie plate, which is a new addition to the menu in Hong Kong.”

While ovens are becoming more multifunctional, many operators are moving away from using conveyors, which have less aesthetic appeal. Wood Stone also

Hong Kong and Macau are certainly some of the fastest growing markets in the world and we are enjoying success with many of the

top hotel and restaurant chains in these regionsKelly Mudford, Beech Ovens

manufactures a range of charcoal and gas grills and rotisseries.

“The trends are going back to traditional charcoal and wood burning for the restaurants which want that point of difference,” says Nelson. “Some are producing traditional Asian favourites [in these ovens] and are looking to expand the concept.“

“Pizza is a nice, healthy, nutritious food. Everyone loves it, whether you are three years old or 99 years old!” laughs Rashidi. BakePartner’s market is large in Asia as people are beginning to see that their products are cheaper to run than gas ovens, he says, adding that they are also smooth, stylish and easy to handle.

Another element to the ovens is that theatre/live cooking is well established throughout Asia and continues to offer diners a unique and memorable experience.

“Beech Ovens’ Stone hearth ovens offer a fantastic visual effect to any kitchen/restaurant environment, especially with a wood fire or flame feature to attract attention,” Mudford adds.

Ovens are assembled on site. A range of standard accessories, such as viewing windows, spotlights, grills, and extra doors are also offered, so ovens in any shape or size can be produced.

All manufacturers insist that the higher costs of this professional equipment are offset by its quality and durability, and it pays for itself in the long run.

“The first pizza ovens we constructed were 21 years ago,” says Rashidi. “They are still on the market and function perfectly. Considering how long they have lasted, the cost is actually very cheap!”

For Wood Stone Corporation, hotels and restaurant chains are the major players. “It [cost] does weigh as a factor, of course, as we are at the high end, but over their life they more than pay their way – lower costs to repair and replace.”

Beech Ovens also sees its equipment as a long-term investment. “We have seen many instances where the restaurant will refurbish around the Beech oven because it continues to perform. Superior build quality means longevity and extremely high performance,

WoodStonesaysthatwhileitsovensarehigh-end,overtheirlifetimethey“morethanpaytheirway–lowercoststorepairandreplace”

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AHCT March 201450

Custom DesignedStone Hearth Ovens

Char GrillsParillas & ChurrascosCustom Designed Grills

Duck Ovens

Pizza Ovens

Tandoor Ovens

Rotisseries

www.beechovens.com

*Ratings do not apply to all ranges


p r o d u c t n E w s

AHCT March 201452

Friedrich Dick offers a complete range of knives, sharpening steels and tools for chefs and butchers as well as butcher’s machines and sharpening machines. Now it is launching its versatile DICK Academy backpack – not just for professional chefs but for anyone wishing to carry their tools around safely and conveniently. The advantage of the backpack is that your hands are free and the weight of the tools and books is dispersed evenly over your shoulders and hips.

The backpack carrying system has a padded and ventilated back for greater comfort. The fit is enhanced by an ergonomically contoured back panel. Adjustable reinforced shoulder straps add to its comfort.

It’s also simple to maintain: The backpack is made from washable

Superior warewashing technology is visible at first glance: With their unique, elegant design, the new flight-type dishwashers Premax and Profi by Hobart immediately catch the eye. Hobart is presenting the 2014 generation of its high-volume machines to the public at three international trade shows - in Germany at the Intergastra in Stuttgart and the Internorga in Hamburg and in Singapore at the FHA.

In keeping with the clear-cut exterior design of the new Premax and Profi, a number of efficient, innovative features have been implemented inside the machine: Hobart optimised the organisation procedures, made operation easier and developed innovations in machine cleaning.

The new flight-type dishwashers set new standards in terms of

cost effectiveness. The company, headquartered in Offenburg, stays true to its vision of “Wash without Water”.

Operating the world’s most economical flight-type dishwashers has never been so easy. The control is self-explanatory and provides a wide selection of additional functions for safe handling and effective monitoring. With a number of new programmes, the Sensotronic Washing Intelligence of the generation 2014 has become even more intelligent.

The new, innovative flight-type dishwashers are economical, efficient and ecological, meeting all demands of today’s commercial warewashing.

Formoreinformation:www.hobart-export.com

New generation of dishwashers

synthetic material and is therefore hygienic and easy to clean. The material is robust and durable. The base is reinforced with a rubber profile.

The all-around zipper provides easy access right into the bottom of the backpack and makes it easier to find what you are looking for. The backpack stands unsupported thanks to the rubber coating on the base and the flap is secured by two straps.

The backpack is ideally suited for a roll-up tool pouch range thanks to its dimensions (length 38cm, depth 19cm, height 48cm) and 35 litre volume and can be combined with other bags.

The DICK Academy backpack will be available from specialist retailers from June 2014.

Formoreinformation:www.dick.de

Perfect if you’re packing


p r o d u c t n E w s

AHCT March 2014 53

For over 140 years Zwiesel Kristallglas has been a market leader in the manufacture of glass receptacles. At the Ambiente fair held in Frankfurt in February it presented its novelties for 2014.

The Zwiesel 1872 Gourmet Collection shows the combination of elegant design and optimum functionality. Each glass is unique and stands for perfect wine enjoyment. The decanters are aesthetically balanced and real oenological eyecatchers.

The clear shapes of the Saiku and Saiku Classic XXL vases and lanterns are one of the highlights, inspired by Far Eastern design: of transparent ruby, turquoise and violet, they create a smooth, spring-like light effect. The perfectly colour-coordinated Loom vases and lanterns are another highlight, prime examples of timeless, elegant shape that conjure up atmospheric moments by candlelight.

Franke Coffee Systems, with its headquarters in Aarburg, Switzerland, was founded 30 years ago and has evolved into one of world’s leading companies for professional coffee system solutions. By extending its product selection with traditional semi-automatic devices and filter coffee machines, the company has enhanced its expertise in the world of professional coffee making.

From fully automatic machines to traditional semi-automatic and filter coffee machines, the Swiss company has expanded its product assortment to offer caterers the right instrument for any coffee requirement.

These classic speciality coffee machines from Franke are featured in the ‘Originals’ product line. The fully automatic machines from this family deliver coffee, milk and chocolate

creations in the cup at the press of a button. Their design is timeless – straightforward, functional, precise with emphasis on enjoyment.

The Franke FoamMaster FM800 fully automatic coffee machines can be used to quickly and easily create trendy mixed beverages, both hot and cold, ranging from flavoured milk and coffee specialties to fruity frappés, latte macchiato and a classic espresso. Equipped with a milk preparation system for warm and cold milk foam, a powder dosing unit for chocolate beverages and a Flavour Station with up to three different aromas, the FM800 masters the full range of preparation methods. Its entire beverage programme can be conveniently called up on its innovative and individually adjustable 10.4” touchscreen.

The art of coffee making

Formoreinformation:www.franke.com

If the pot fits ...Athena has recently launched the Messina range of tea/coffee pots. Neither tall like a coffee pot or short like a teapot, the aim of the range was to create a fusion shape so restaurants can purchase one for both uses. The Messina has a slim design yet sturdy construction, made with fine 18/10 stainless steel in high mirror polish, perfect for breakfast and all day dining.

Formoreinformation:www.athena-tableware.com

Oenological eyecatchers

Formoreinformation:www.zwiesel-kristallglas.com


Getting juiced upUK juice brand Frobishers is set to burst onto the global on-trade market as it rolls out a campaign for international expansion.

The company is actively searching for further partners to facilitate expansion into Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East and is looking for new distributors to help it identify key emerging territories for the premium juice sector and secure its slice of the international market.

Frobishers will be exhibiting at two leading global food and drinks events in 2014 – Tavola in Belgium on March 17 and World Travel Catering & On-board Services in Hamburg on April 8 to 10.

Formoreinformation:www.frobishers.com

Champagne house Krug has just brought out its latest vintage, Krug 2003, to which it has given the name Vivacité Solaire – Vivacious Radiance.

“We decided to call Krug Vintage 2003 Vivacious Radiance because it reminds us of the intense sun and heat of the year while possessing a vivacious energy and infinite finesse,” says Eric

Nespresso adds to its grand cru rangeNespresso has announced an addition to its range of permanent grand cru coffees. Bukeela ka Ethiopia is part of the Nespresso Pure Origin range – split-roasted, this pure Arabica blend gives off a distinctive and delicately fresh floral aroma, with notes of jasmine, white lily, bergamot and orange blossom.

Bukeela ka Ethiopia is sealed in a copper tinted capsule, which draws on the tones of the African earth. The new unique and artistic design of the capsule sleeve features the Acacia tree.

Formoreinformation:www.nespresso.com

Rosé on the runwayVeuve Clicquot has introduced its latest rosé creation, tailor-made and fashion-ready, with its Rosé Couture Collection. Dressing the finest of champagne in the pinkest of packaging, couture has never been so effervescent.

The collection dresses a single bottle of non-vintage rosé champagne or a bottle with two flutes. Unfolding like the pleats of a dress, the nomadic gift box twists open to reveal the creation inside. Keeping the bottle cool for up to two hours, the hand-stitched design of the packaging provides an elegant accompaniment to any occasion: A fashion cocktail, a dinner party, or the catwalk show…

Formoreinformation:www.veuve-clicquot.com/en/champagne/rose

Lebel, Krug’s Chef de Caves.Each House of Krug vintage is crafted

to reveal the expression of a year’s specific character, captured uniquely by the champagne house.

“At Krug we are storytellers and with a Krug Vintage we tell the story of an interesting year,” says Olivier Krug, sixth generation of the Krug family.

Latest vintage from the House of Krug

Formoreinformation:www.krug.com/en

c u l i n a r y n E w s

54 AHCT March 2014

ShowcaveMade in France

For a free brochure containing full detail,please contact:

Alpha International Food Services909, Chai Wan Industrial City, Phase 2,70 Wing Tai Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong.Tel: (852) 2889 2123 Fax: (852) 2889 1757http://www.eurocave-alpha.comEmail: [email protected]

Combining high quality, luxury materials, ShowCave has given the wine cabinet a facelift. Innovative, with a capacity for 180 bottles, it boasts high-tech features and a bold design.

Designed to showcase your best vintages, ShowCave will appeal to both wine professionals and connoisseurs.

Solutions for merchandising & the service of wineSolutions for merchandising & the service of wine


DATe eVeNT DeTAILS ORGANISeR

As the main part of HDD Hotelex, Deco & Design, it contains seven differently themed sectors including catering equipment & supply, bakery & ice cream, tableware, textile, appliance & amenities, IT & security, fitness & leisure.

Food&HotelAsia2014 (FHA2014) is the largest and most comprehensive international trade show for the food and hospitality industry in Asia. The upcoming edition presents a wide array of products and services by more than 2,800 exhibitors from 70 countries/regions over an exhibition area of 95,000 square metres.

Established in 1993, HORECA is the Middle East’s largest annual meeting place for the hospitality and F&B service industries. The show includes The International Trade Show for the Hospitality & Foodservice Industry; the International Trade Show for the Food Industry; and the Beirut International Wine & Drinks Fair.

SIAL China is the leading Asian meeting point for the food and beverage industry. The 2014 edition will boast 2,400+ exhibitors, 45,000+ visitors and 100,000+ square metres of space in eight halls.

World of FoodService is an international trade exhibition for the food service, catering and hospitality industry in Asia.

THAIFEX World of Food Asia is an international trade exhibition for the food and beverage, food technology and retail and franchise industry in Asia.

HOSFAIR Guangzhou is a platform for Chinese and foreign hotel suppliers, manufacturers and agents.

The International Exhibition for Food & Drink, Hotel, Restaurant, Bakery & Food Service Equipment, Supplies & Services.

Organised by VINEXPO, the world leader in its sector, VINEXPO ASIA-PACIFIC, for its 8th edition in Asia will bring together about 1,300 producers and spirits exhibitors from 30 countries and 18,000 professional visitors.

The 5th Seafood Expo Asia is an annual, seafood-only expo that connects retail, foodservice, and distribution buyers with suppliers of live, fresh, frozen and packaged seafood products and services worldwide, showcasing a wide selection of premium seafood products and complementary services.

Celebrating 15 successful years in 2014, The Hotel Show is the largest dedicated hotel and hospitality exhibition for the Middle East region. Including investment, build, design and fit-out, refurbishing, operating and management, it is for everyone involved at every touchpoint of the industry.

International Hotel Expo is the longest-running exhibition for the hospitality industry in Macau. Combining exhibition, conference and awarding activities, it is a multi-dimensional platform supported and attended by increasing numbers of executives from hotels and related associations from China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Philippines and more.

Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong is the fastest growing exhibition for the hospitality sector in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently in its 12th year, it has a growing reputation as the biggest and best niche gourmet hospitality event in the region. It focuses on presenting excellent products and services to inspire and create ideas.

Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co. Ltd 8/F, Xian Dai Mansion, 218 Xiang Yang Road(S), Shanghai 200031, China Tel: +86 21 3339 2242 Fax: +86 21 6115 [email protected] www.hotelex.cn

Singapore Exhibition Services Pte LtdTel: +65 6233 6651Fax: +65 6233 [email protected]

Hospitality Services s.a.r.l. Dekwaneh, Main Road, Borghol Bldg, 2nd FloorP.O Box 90155, Jdeidet-El-Metn 1202, 2020 Beirut, LebanonTel: +961 1480081 [email protected]

Comexposium Shanghai20/F, No 118 Qinghai Road, 200041 Shanghai, ChinaTel: +86 21 6217 0505 Fax: +86 21 6218 1650www.sialchina.com

Koelnmesse Pte LtdTel: +65 6500 [email protected]

Koelnmesse Pte LtdTel: +65 6500 [email protected]

Guangzhou Huazhan Exhibition Co., Ltd.9H, Jinsui Tower, No.900 Guangzhou Ave MidGuangzhou, 510620, China Tel: +86 20 3891 0875 / 3886 6965 Fax: +86 20 2222 [email protected] www.hosfair.com

Bangkok Exhibition Services Ltd.Tel: +66 2 615 1255 Fax: +66 2 615 [email protected] www.foodandhotelmyanmar.com

Sopexa France Tel: + 33 5 56 56 00 [email protected]://asiapacific.vinexpo.comSopexa Hong Kong Tel: + 852 2866 7163 Contact: Elodie Niatel, [email protected]

Diversified Communications Hong KongUnit B, 32/F, @Convoy 169 Electric Road, North Point , Hong Kong Tel: +852 3105 3970 Fax: +852 3105 3974 [email protected]/asia

DMG EventsPO Box 33817, 5th Floor, The Palladium, Cluster C, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, UAETel: +971 4 445 3749 Fax: +971 4 438 0358 [email protected]

Coastal International Exhibition Co., Ltd.Room B, 16/F, Times Tower391-407 Jaffe Road, Wanchai, Hong KongTel: 852-2827 6766 / 3187 7226 Fax: 852-2827 [email protected] [email protected] www.hotel-exhibition.com

Diversified Communications Hong KongUnit B, 32/F, @Convoy 169 Electric Road, North Point, Hong Kong Tel: +852 3105 3970 Fax: +852 3105 [email protected]

Mar 31 – Apr 3 HOTELEX Shanghai 2014 Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China

April 1 – 4 HORECA, 21st Edition, Biel-Beirut

Apr 8 – 11 Food&HotelAsia2014 Singapore Expo 1 Expo Dr Singapore 486150

May 13 – 15 SIAL China 2014 Hall N1-N5, E5-E7 Shanghai New International Expo Centre Shanghai, China

May 21 – 25 World of FoodService 2014 IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand

May 21 – 25 THAIFEX – World of Food Asia 2014 IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand

May 27 – 29 The International Wine and Spirits exhibition for Asia-Pacific Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Wan Chai, Hong Kong

June 18 – 20 Food & Hotel Myanmar 2014, Myanmar Convention Centre Yangon

Jun 26 – 28 The 12th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair China Import and Export Fair Area A, Guangzhou, China

Sep 2 – 4 Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong 2014 Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Wan Chai Hong Kong

Sep 2 – 4 Seafood Expo Asia Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Wan Chai Hong Kong

Sep 28 – 30 The Hotel Show Dubai World Trade Centre Dubai

Nov 26 – 28 The 10th International Hotel Expo Cotai Strip CotaiExpo (The Venetian Macao) Macau

28-30 SEPTEMBER 2014DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE

E v E n t s

56 AHCT March 2014

vinexpoasiapacifi c.com

THE INTERNATIONAL WINE AND SPIRITS EXHIBITION FOR ASIA-PACIFIC

The largest wine and spirits exhibition in

Asia-Pacifi c welcomes you in the centre

of Hong Kong. This is a unique

opportunity to browse through an unparalleled

range of products and a perfect venue to meet

major decision-makers in the industry. Vinexpo

Asia-Pacifi c, defi nitely the place to be for the success

of your business.

Sopexa Hong Kong I Tel: 2866 7163 I [email protected]

ONLY FOR THE ASIAN PACIFIC TRADE

VINEXPO ASIA_14 AP Asian Hotel 210x297 01-14.indd 1 21/01/14 10:17


FHA and WSA max out Singapore’s largest exhibition venue

COMING NEXTFood & Hotel AsiaWine & Spirits AsiaSingaore ExpoApril 8 – 11

www.foodnhotelasia.com www.winespiritsasia.com

Food&HotelAsia (FHA) and Wine&SpiritsAsia (WSA), the region’s most established and comprehensive food and hospitality trade show, has made its mark to become the first event to max out the Singapore

Expo. Occupying all 10 exhibition halls and Max Atria, the 2014 edition of the show will be held from April 8 to 11 this year.

Spanning a total of 100,000 square metres, an 8% increase in size from 2012, it is the largest edition in the event’s 37-year history. FHA had humble beginnings at the Hyatt hotel’s basement car park, where 213 exhibitors from 13 countries/regions took up 4,000 square metres. Since then, the event, which includes WSA launched in 2010, has rapidly grown more than 25 times in size and witnessed a 13-fold increase in exhibitors. This year, industry buyers can expect to source from a gathering of 2,800 exhibitors from 70 countries/regions and 54 group pavilions at FHA. Offerings span across all aspects of the food and beverage and hotel industry, such as food products, bar and kitchen equipment and supplies, food processing equipment, hotel amenities, tableware and hospitality technology, among many others.

“As industry pioneers we wanted to create a platform where local and regional food and hospitality businesses could benefit from what was available in the global market place, as it was not easily accessible back then,” says Stephen Tan, chief executive of show organiser SES, who has nurtured the show over the last 30 years. Over the years, FHA has grown with the development of the region’s hotel and F&B industry to become its top sourcing platform, and pinnacle trade event. This year is a milestone for FHA and WSA as it has maximised the available exhibition space of Singapore’s largest exhibition venue. Moving forward, the event will only continue to grow as new markets in the region become more developed, and demand increases.”

The 19th edition of FHA will see the launch of SpecialityCoffee&Tea, bringing the total number of speciality shows to six. The other five are FoodAsia, HotelAsia, Bakery&Pastry, HospitalityStyleAsia and HospitalityTechnology.

WSA, meanwhile, has grown into a premium trade exhibition of spirits and wines for regional buyers. Spread over 5,000 square metres, the show has 200 exhibitors from 20 countries/regions and seven group pavilions. This year’s show has the greatest number of group pavilions, representing the world’s top producing wine regions, with Spain leading the charge with the biggest pavilion. Adding to the buzz on the show floor is a series of talks and master classes highlighting wines from countries including Austria, France, Italy and Spain.

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Unprecedented attendance expected for HORECA 2014

COMING NEXTHOReCA 2014BIEL, LebanonApril 1 – 4

www.horecashow.com

HORECA is heating up. The regional tradeshow taking place from April 1 to 4 at BIEL continues to keep industry professionals at the forefront of the latest trends and insights. The event is expected to provide nearly 15,000 square metres of product offerings, in addition to inspirational

culinary, business and innovation activities. Hospitality Services has confirmed that the tradeshow is almost fully booked.

The exhibition proved its popularity yet again with a staggering 80% booking three months before the show. Exhibitors from Lebanon, as well as Poland, Italy, France, Holland, Jordan, Iran and Turkey, are expected to round out the number in the coming months.

The show will include the industry’s benchmark competitions, as well as an extensive array of live demonstrations:• The Hospitality Salon Culinaire: +200 participants and 12 international judges• The Art of Service Competition: + 100 participants and 10 judges from hospitality

universities and five-star hotel food & beverage managers.• The National Extra Virgin Oil Competition: 50 olive oil producers and eight

international olive oil expert judges• The Atelier Gourmand by celebrity chefs

There will also be a variety of activities, special pavilions and events, including:• New – bed-making competition: hotel management students and housekeepers

go head to head for bed-making glory• New – Lebanese barista competition: Lebanese baristas battle for the coveted

title of the best in the country• Wine and beverage lab: daily workshops and wine tasting sessions by leading

experts• Floral symphonies: florists showcase their works of art using flowers• Librairie Gourmande: latest book releases and an array of culinary references will

be displayed and launched• Best product of the year: innovations and new ideas introduced throughout

2012 and early 2013 will be voted best product of the year• Tech novation: latest hospitality industry technological innovations and trends

will be introduced • An expert corner, where trade professionals can benefit from free advice from

top renowned experts and consultants and the best way to run their business• Chairmania: galleries and designers reveal their unique chair model• Annual hospitality forum: hospitality and foodservice leaders will gather for a

series of conferences and workshops to discuss hot topics

The show is expected to surpass expectations as the definitive point of convergence for the region’s food and hospitality sector.

HORECA 2014 will feature in three exhibition halls and will include:Catering equipment, packaging & labeling, interiors, hygiene, techzone, pastry

& bakery, food, beverage, coffee & tea, consultancy, recruitment & franchise, education and the international pavilions.

The growth in attendance and exhibits year-after-year and the realisation of the newest offerings proves that HORECA is a one-of-a kind event, gathering industry leaders together to advance interests and build on past successes.


AHCT March 201460


HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014 to celebrate 12th anniversary

COMING NEXTHOSFAIR GuangzhouChina Import and Export Fair ComplexJune 26 – 28

www.hosfair.com

The largest national hospitality show of the mid year, the Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment and Supplies Fair, is rapidly becoming one of the best-known events of its kind in the region.

This year’s event, to be held from June 26-28, 2014, at China Import and Export Fair Complex, will mark the event’s 12th anniversary, and the annual show will again display leading industry players’ latest products and innovations.

A comprehensive product catalogue will include sectors including hotel equipment and supplies – food service, kitchen equipment, hotel furniture, freezing equipment, tableware and accessories, cleaning and laundry, interior supplies, intelligence and POS systems, hotel lighting and hotel textiles; food & beverage – wine and spirits, ice-cream, canned and processed foods, coffee and tea, bakery products and dairy food.

Attracting attention and enriching the show are a series of concurrent events including Guangzhou International Coffee Carnival and (Barista) Latte Art Championship, 2014 Cocktail Open Bar Operation and Champion Bartenders Show and more, which will entertain and keep visitors up to date with key trends across hospitality in Asia.

The fastest developing hospitality show in China, last year’s event attracted top hospitality industry suppliers and purchasers from around the world. Boasting 63,000 square metres of exhibiting space, there were 1,308 exhibitors. During the three-day show, 61,088 trade professionals gathered from more than 70 countries and regions.

Guided by the spirit of innovation, cooperation and internationalisation, HOSFAIR Guangzhou is aiming to become a premier meeting place for manufacturers and traders to introduce their brands into the home and international markets.


AHCT March 201462


HOTELEX 23rd edition bigger and better than ever

COMING NEXTHOTeLeX Shanghai 2014Shanghai New International Expo CenterMarch 31 – April 3

www.hotelex.cnwww.expofinefood.com

As one of the largest, most effective and highest level exhibitions in the hospitality industry, HOTELEX Shanghai has been leading hospitality trends for 22 years and will continue to provide a one-stop purchasing and information platform for industry

professionals.To be held from March 31 to April 3 at Shanghai New International Expo

Center, the main part of HDD (HOTELEX, Deco and Design), will contain ten themed sectors including catering equipment and supply, bakery and ice-cream, tableware, textile, appliance and amenities and IT and security, fitness and leisure, F&B, coffee and tea and wine and spirits.

The exhibition area of HOTELEX Shanghai 2014 will reach over 140,000 square metres, covering 12 indoor halls and two temporary outdoor halls at Shanghai New International Expo Center. The overseas exhibition area has reached a record breaking 10,000 square metres with an increase of 42% over the 2013 edition. More than 90% of the exhibition space has been sold out with an increase of 10,000 square metres over the 2013 edition.

As a purchasing platform under one roof, HOTELEX has transitioned into focusing on elevating all-round experience of both exhibitors and visitors through a series of world-level on-site events, business oriented match-making opportunities and tailor-made programmes.

Attracting many world famous brands, HOTELEX Shanghai has strived to expand into new territory by launching two new sectors – Bakery and Ice Cream and That’s Spirits Live Show.

Over 100,000 professional buyers are expected to join the annual get-together of this hospitality event. International visitor delegations from Southeast Asia, India, the USA, Russia, Korea, Taiwan will be among the invitation list.

Exciting events act as the perfect platform for new concept launches and product showcasing. HOTELEX Shanghai showcases five world-level professional competitions.

These include: China Barista Championship; the 2nd China Latte Art Championship; the 3rd China Master Bartender Competition; the 2nd China Gelato Championship; Shanghai Pizza Master Competition; Hotel Uniform Show Competition; Expo Appliance & Amenities, 2014 Hotel Uniforms Show Competition.

The 2nd Star Hotel Breakfast Buffet Display Competition, which is held by Shanghai Tourism Industry Association Hotels Branch and Shanghai UBM International Exhibition Co. and the 3rd Star Hotel Breakfast Buffet Display Competition will also take place.

As an annual gathering of the industry influential voices, Foodservice in the 21st Century Forum will again focus on the pressing issues aiming at growing and informing the foodservice industry in China.


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SIAL CHINA 2014 – the growth continues into the year of the horse

COMING NEXTSIAL CHINA 2014May 13 – 15Shanghai New International Expo Centre

www.sialchina.com

In the year of the horse, SIAL CHINA 2014 will be a winning event that any F&B industry professional can bet on! Asia’s leading F&B exhibition will occupy eight halls over 100,000 square metres of exhibition area. It will attract more than 45,000 visitors and 2,400

exhibitors. Co-located with SIAL Wine World and Bakery China, the show highlights fast-growing trends.

Booths are already almost fully booked. With exhibitors from more than 90 countries, confirmed pavilions include Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Peru, Korea, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Holland and many more. France will present as the guest country of honour.

China is the second biggest confectionery market in the world. Sweets & Snacks has become a highlight of SIAL CHINA. Elite exhibitors at the 2013 show, including Chocmod SA, Dan-D Foods, PDO-PGI Products, Binggrae Co., Ltd & Caffarel have since shown tremendous growth.

SIAL CHINA 2014 will launch the third edition of Chocolate World. The event features both high-end industrialised chocolate corporations and handmade chocolate companies. Visitors will discover sponsors’ premium products and exclusive industrial information in this event area.

SIAL CHINA 2014 visitor online pre-registration is now open (www.sialchina.com).

2014 events taking place will include La Cuisine by SIAL, providing a unique platform to promote products during cooking demonstrations featured by international chefs and Retail & Hospitality Forum - SIAL TV which offers a meeting point to express opinions, share ideas and gather information. SIAL TV joins with Retail & Hospitality Forum to offer onsite interviews with exhibitors, visitors and show reports.

SIAL Innovation offers the opportunity to showcase new products and highlight innovations for the 2014 Awards, while SIAL Business Meetings, in partnership with Socialwalk, provides the opportunity to take part in B2B matching meetings with major China retailers and distributors.

Meanwhile SIAL Networking Night (by invitation only) is a premium networking event in a prestigious location.


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Times website!

New lookAsian Hotel & Catering

www. a s i a n h o t e l a n d c a t e r i n g t im e s . c om

NETWORK WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS IN MAY 2014!For visitor registration, visit www.worldoffoodasia.com

www.world-of-food-service.com

SERVEIN ASIA THE BEST

Powered by

THAIFEX – World of Food Asia

Jointly organized by

The Thai Chamberof Commerce

Asia/International

Ms. Lynn How

Tel: +65 6500 6712

[email protected]

201421 - 25 May

IMPACT Exhibition &Convention CenterBangkok, Thailand

International Trade Exhibition forthe Food Service, Catering andHospitality Industry in Asia

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ElMabrouk

TomMeyer MarkusIseli

SerdarKutucu

WayneBuckingham

PhilipMorris

AyukoSuzuki

MurrayMazerShelleyPerkins

ChristineLiu

ArnoSchwalie

SaschaWolff

FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI), the parent company of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, has appointed Wayne Buckingham as senior vice president, Asia Pacific. He will oversee FRHI’s Asia-Pacific portfolio of 23 hotels. He was previously senior executive vice president for TCC Hotels Group, Thai Charoen Corporation, Bangkok.

FRHI has also recruited Foued El Mabrouk as vice president, operations, China. el Mabrouk will oversee the operations of FRHI’s portfolio of hotels in China and will be based in the company’s Shanghai regional office. He joins FRHI Hotels & Resorts from Hyatt Hotels Corporation where he held the position of area director, East China.

Tom Meyer has also joined FRHI as regional vice president, Asia-Pacific and managing director, Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford. Meyer has 30 years of hospitality experience and was most recently managing director for Raffles Makati and Fairmont Makati.

FRHI has also announced Shelley Perkins as vice president, human resources, Asia-Pacific. She joins the company with more than 20 years of global luxury hospitality experience, most recently as group director of human resources for Shangri-La International Hotel Management.

TSA Solutions has appointed Christine Liu as regional director of business development for China. Liu joins TSA Solutions from revenue management systems vendor EasyRMS, where she spent seven years as a revenue management consultant and the country manager for China. She will be based in Beijing.

Arno Schwalie has been named chief operating officer by Design Hotels AG. Schwalie has a background in strategy, marketing and sales and in his new role will be responsible for all operational business units, including business development, global sales and brand, marketing & communications.

Sascha Wolff has been appointed vice-president and chief financial officer at Design Hotels AG. He joined Design Hotels in 2000 and is responsible for the business unit finance and administration and manages all financial and legal affairs, as well as investor relations at its Berlin-based headquarters.

Design Hotels AG has appointed Serdar Kutucu as vice-president, brand marketing and communications. Kutucu was previously head of strategic development at Design Hotels and oversaw all account management activities and membership services in EMEA. In his new role, he will be responsible for brand management, creative services, digital marketing and PR & communications.

Markus Iseli has succeeded York Brandes as The Chedi Muscat’s second GM. Iseli most recently managed the pre-opening and soft opening of the Palazzo Parigi, a Leading Hotels of the World member in Milan, Italy. The Muscat posting marks the Swiss native’s third stint in the Middle East. Iseli replaces York Brandes, who is moving to Singapore with GHM in the second half of the year.

Amadeus, a leading technology provider for the global travel industry, has announced that Dr Murray Mazer, recently vice president of software engineering and distributed development at Endeca Technologies, will become head of innovation and research. Reporting to the head of R&D, Mazer assumes responsibility for defining and implementing the company’s framework for innovation.

Philip Morris has been appointed director of revenue at Dorchester Collection with a responsibility for aligning brand revenue and online strategy. Having worked in revenue management for over 15 years, Morris joins Dorchester Collection from his previous position at the Waldorf Astoria & Towers, New York, where he has worked as director of revenue management since 2011.

Ayuko Suzuki has recently been appointed director of spa and fitness at The Ritz-Carlton Spa. In this position, she will manage and lead the operational, strategic and financial performance of the 17,000 square-foot spa, one of the largest in Bangalore. Suzuki has 11 years of experience in the spa and hospitality industry and has worked across eight countries.

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Release pure intensity

www.purityfromnature.comVisit us at Booth No: 1B1 - 01 (Hall 1), Food Hotel Asia 2014 @ Singapore Expo from 8 - 11 April 2014.

For product enquiries, contact: DKSH Hong-Kong at +852 2963 6870 and for the rest of Asia, contact Barry Callebaut AP Customer Service at +603 3169 3387

Discover the next generationchocolate couvertures with pure intensity

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March 2014

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