Published since 1976 Vol 38 August 2013

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

GET WITH THE PROGRAMSEmbracing social media

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMEDDesigning private kitchen restaurants

RICH PICKINGSCoffee and tea's

Asian success story

AsiAn Hotel & CAtering times is publisHed montHly by tHomson press Hong Kong ltd (tpHK)

The opinions expressed in Asian Hotel & Catering Times do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or the publication. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher, editors and staff, agents and contributors for omissions, typographical or printers errors, inaccuracies or changes howsoever caused. The editors reserve the right to edit any material submitted at their discretion. All materials published remain the property of TPHK. Reproduction without permission by any means is strictly prohibited. Correspondence should be addressed to The Editor, Asian Hotel & Catering Times, Room 1205-6, 12/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 9111 Fax: (852) 2851 1933. Fantasy Printing Ltd. 1/F, Tin Fung Industial Mansion, 63 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong.

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

in Asia-Pacific’s hospitality industry.Last issue we touched on how, as with

other industries, hospitality must constantly evolve in order to remain competitive. This issue we highlight two key areas where such forward thinking is not an option but an imperative.

Environmental and sustainability issues are here to stay. While it makes business sense to reduce water and carbon dependency as much as possible, it is as essential to show

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singAPoRechefs AssociATion

hong Kong bAKeRy & confecTioneRy

AssociATion

singAPoRehoTel AssociATion

hong Kong bARTendeRs AssociATion

hong Kong MAiTRe d’hoTel AssociATion

shAnghAi chefs AssociATion

MyAnMAR chefsAssociATion

MAlAysiAn AssociATionof hoTels

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your customers and the wider world that you care. We look at latest thinking on the subject on page 12.

One way to tell the world about your shiny CSR initiatives is via social media, another huge area under the spotlight this issue. An increasingly vital communication tool, not only do sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Weibo and YouTube present marketing opportunities in their own right, they are also perfect vehicles for keeping in touch with customers, finding out what they think and what they want.

Asian Hotel and Catering Times is itself moving with the times – we have

EDITORDaniel Creffield

DESIGN BYKoon Ming Tang

production@thomsonpress.com.hk

CONTRIBUTORSMichelle Cheng

Zara HornerRebecca LoJane Ram

Michael Taylor

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERSharon Knowler

sharon@thomsonpress.com.hk

CIRCULATION ExECUTIvEBecky Chau

enquiries@thomsonpress.com.hk

CHAIRMANJS Uberoi

DIRECTORGaurav Kumar

endoRseMenTs

relaunched our website, which is at www.asianhotelandcateringtimes.com

Please do check it out and let us know what you think.

We need to hear from hospitality professionals about the constant developments in the industry, good or bad, so please do send your comments and suggestions in to: daniel@thomsonpress.com.hk

www.ranciliogroup.com

classe

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The new patented technology for controlling and profiling the brewing temperatureThe Xcelsius system enables the temperature of the brew water to be set dynamically, with an increase ordecrease of up to 5°C (9°F) during the 25-30 seconds it takes for each individual delivery. This technology brings out distinctive flavor characteristics of each blend or single origin.Qualified by World Coffee Events WCE 2011.

E d i t o r ’ s M E s s a g E

AHCT August 2013 3

MANAGEMENT12 The race for carbon neutrality

MARKET REPORT14 Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos – what does the future hold?

NEWS INDUSTRY6 David Beckham; a hotel school with a difference; and why the future could be grim for Hong Kong hotels

PRODUCT42 News from Hobart, Pevonia and Meiko

CULINARY44 Apple smoothies; divine chocolate and healthy olive oil

September• Recruitment• Malaysia• Revenue/yield management• Guestrooms• Olive oil• Cocktails• Laundry• Induction cookers

October• Spas• Macau• Security• Dairy• Jam• Wine• Spa amenities• Tabletops

CONTENTSVo l ume 3 8 Augus t 2 013

TECHNOLOGY18 Harnessing the social revolution

DESIGN22 Hong Kong’s private kitchens uncovered

FOOD26 The ice cream market heat up

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DRINK30 Coffee and tea – hot and getting hotter

EQUIPMENT34 Cool ice machines

40 Hygiene: keeping it clean

Eco-paradisesNew-look Asian Hotel & Catering Times website!

Advertisers’ IndexAlpha International 43Boncafe 25Bravilor Bonamat 33EBLEX 21Follett Corporation 37Food Hotel China 50Food Hotel Malaysia 49Franke 31Global Search International 9Grohe IBCHICAP 52HKTDC Food Expo 38 & 39International Wine & Spirits Fair 53M.Schaerer 35Nespresso OBCPevonia 16 & 17Primo Limited 29Rancilio IFCRestaurant & Bar 51Taywell Ice Cream Limited 27The Hotel Show 45Tiger Company Limited 11

Ice cream wars

EvENTS AND ExHIBITIONS46 Events calendar

47 FHM previewed

48 HOSFAIR reviewed

APPOINTMENTS54 Who’s moving where

ParesaResortPhuket

www.asianhotelandcateringtimes.com

4 AHCT August 2013 AHCT August 2013 5

Sheraton Grande Taipei Hotel general manager Will Chen is a social media convert. Quoting recent statistics, he suggests there will be an expected 3.4 billion internet users by the end of 2015.

“The growing trend of internet mobility is unstoppable,” says Malaysia-born Chen. “Online involvement has become increasingly important in recent years, and it is crucial to integrate online with offline branding and marketing efforts to maximise convergence.”

Chen, who was appointed GM in September 2012 and has 17 years experience in the hotel industry, says that unlike traditional marketing channels such as newspapers, whose subscribers have been dwindling over the past 10 years, social networks and the internet are “incredibly efficient” when it comes to spreading news.

“A posting on Facebook can reach 8,000+ users in a matter of seconds, whereas a positive TripAdvisor guest review can generate more bookings and drive greater customer satisfaction for the hotel,” he enthuses.

“A guest engaged in social networks is 20% more likely to book a hotel according to the likes or recommendation of their peers. The internet is a proactive and cost efficient way to get your word out and be noticed by viewers around the globe, and gather key insights on guest needs and behaviour. We are putting more and more attention on this evolving channel to leverage customer service and brand loyalty.”

Another area where the property is hoping to achieve maximum leverage is through the extensive renovation work

that has recently taken place.As part of the Sheraton global

revitalisation programme, Grande Taipei underwent a nearly NT$2 billion (US$67 million) renovation to refurbish the iconic property, reflecting a luxurious new look amid numerous facility enhancements.

“The large-scale refresh was aimed to meet the increased demand for high quality accommodation, especially as business and leisure travel to the bustling Taiwanese capital continues to grow,” says Chen.

“It also helps the hotel reaffirm a leading role in a highly competitive luxury hospitality industry.”

Sheraton Grande Taipei Hotel’s many upgrades are reflected in its new identity; with the addition of the word ‘Grande’ to its name to reflect a new standard of luxury in the country.

The comprehensive renovation, reflecting a blend of classical elegance and contemporary aesthetics, extends to every aspect of the hotel’s 688 guestrooms and suites, including bathrooms, work spaces, entertainment units, carpeting, furniture and upgraded in-room amenities.

Two-MichelinstarchefPhilippeLeveilleofL’altrorestaurantinHongKongrecentlypresentedhissummermenu.L’altrowasopenedinSeptember2012byLeveille,whoalsohelmsaMichelintwo-starredrestaurant,Miramontil’altro,inBrescia,Italy

Fresh approach, traditional values

Rhombus International Hotels Group has announced the opening of Rhombus Jukoupu Zhen Gaojiaao Primary School, Hunan, China.

Since January 2012, Rhombus International Hotels Group has worked alongside Origin Charity Foundation by implementing two initiatives at its hotels and food and beverage outlets in Hong Kong, providing financial support to aid F&Baccountsfor55%of

GrandeTaipei’stotalrevenueGMWillChenledtherecentNT$2billionrenovationoftheSheratonGrandeTaipeiHotel

A room with a viewChef Paco Roncero has launched Paco Roncero Catering at VIEW 62 by Paco Roncero – Hong Kong’s only revolving restaurant.

The concept showcases chef Roncero’s Spanish nouvelle cuisine, and the spacious, contemporary VIEW 62, with its breathtaking vistas.

The aim is for clients and their guests attending a Paco Roncero catering event – be it a wedding, corporate happening, or MICE incentive – to have a truly bespoke experience.

Together with the Hong Kong culinary team, Chef Roncero aims to set new benchmarks for creative and culinary excellence at corporate events, product launches, cocktail parties, team building, or VIP functions.

A team of culinary experts and a professional events coordinator will work closely with guests.

Myanmar’s newest boutique resort, Bagan Lodge, soft opens this month in the ancient Buddhist capital.

With stylised tenting and furnishings, Bagan Lodge’s 85 rooms and suites skirt the boundary of the shrine-studded plains of the Bagan Archaeological Zone. More than 2,000 historic temples and ruins rise from the landscape east of the resort, many dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries at the height of the Kingdom of Bagan.

Conceptualised by French designer Brigitte Dumont de Chassart, the

interiors and grounds of Bagan Lodge are a melding of traditional Burmese design, colonial-era trappings and contemporary decor. Three classes of accommodation range in size from 50 square metre deluxe rooms to the 196 square metre Queen Victoria suite, which includes four bedrooms, a living room and private garden.

As part of its soft opening, Bagan Lodge will also be cutting the ribbon on its open air restaurant, Tiffin Box, as well as a spa with eight private treatment rooms and a swimming pool.

Bagan boutique

Reading, writing, arithmetic and Rhombus

the underprivileged in China. When guests dine at any of Rhombus’ restaurants, a HK$1 donation is added to each guest bill and a HK$5 donation is added to each accommodation folio when guests stay at any Rhombus hotel. All funds are donated to Origin Charity Foundation, enabling them to develop and provide educational facilities and infrastructure to those in rural villages in China.

On the food and beverage side, each restaurant venue will also be remodeled and enhanced. As for staffing, a series of professionalism boosting and service quality improvement programmes are being formulated, including an overseas staff exchange, in order to further enhance the guest experience.

This is important, as F&B accounts for 55% of Sheraton Grande Taipei’s total revenue, thus playing a major role in the hotel’s development. Nine restaurants are available within the hotel, each featuring different styles of fine cuisine from both East and West.

The hotel is also making great efforts to attract MICE business. Hundreds of millions of Taiwan dollars was spent constructing the property’s banquet hall. Spanning more than 2,500 square meters and with a roof reaching 4.8 meters decorated with Preciosa handmade chandeliers, it is one of the largest ballrooms in Taipei, accommodating up to 1,800 guests. Grande Taipei also boasts 18 meeting spaces.

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AHCT August 2013 7

Minor gets biggerMinor Hotel Group (MHG), a hotel owner, operator and investor, has announced a US$4 million investment in the luxury boutique hotel brand Per Aquum Retreats Resorts Residences, equating to a 50% stake in the lifestyle brand. As part of this strategic partnership with Universal Enterprises Ltd, Maldives, MHG and Universal plan to jointly develop the brand to encompass at least five additional properties within the next five years.

Per Aquum currently runs three award-winning properties – Huvafen Fushi and Niyama in the Maldives and Desert Palm in Dubai.

MHG and Universal will further invest in the brand over coming years and the planned expansion will mirror MHG’s current footprint across Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Africa. The addition of the three Per Aquum resorts takes MHG’s overall portfolio to 91 properties in operation across 12 countries.

Too many rooms at Hong Kong’s innsHong Kong hotels are facing a serious problem of overcapacity that is likely to become more severe over the coming years, according to Dr Henry Tsai of Hong Kong School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM).

Although there is consistently high demand for hotels in the city, according to Dr Tsai, demand forecasts indicate a significant shortfall in likely booking when compared to the rooms available. The failure to implement strategies to improve this situation will decrease the profitability of Hong Kong’s hotels, and significantly increase their operational risks.

Hong Kong’s hotels are renowned for providing high-quality services to both business travellers and tourists,

Spanish brunchCatalunya resturant in Hong Kong has launched a new Sunday brunch concept – “Catalunya Sundays, brunch with passion’ – featuring weekly changing off-menu dishes, its most popular signature dishes and a dedicated playroom for children.

The concept is based around Barcelona’s Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, offering a true Spanish feast with different food stations representing the market stalls offering many of Spain’s favourite dishes.

Ovolo goes maritimeThis August, Ovolo Hotels will launch 100 Shek Pai Wan Road in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, a sleek new lifestyle hotel whose rooms put a contemporary twist on the rich maritime heritage of Hong Kong’s southside waterfront community.

Featuring 85 guestrooms with sweeping sea views, a spacious Lo Lounge, 24/7 gym and Ovolo’s signature detail-driven design and all-inclusive services, 100 SPW will also feature a new citywide wi-fi hotspot service, giving Ovolo hotel guests free access to over 8,500 hotspots across Hong Kong including the airport, malls, restaurants and even remote areas.

The hotel was designed by award-winning Hong Kong firm and long-term Ovolo partners KplusK Associates.

Comes in handyThe Mira Hong Kong has become the first hotel in Asia-Pacific to provide guests with Handy, a complimentary mobile solution.

The service includes unlimited international and local calls, city guide, as well as 3G data and wi-fi tethering capabilities.

The new scheme launches in all 492 rooms this month. Each handy phone is available for guests as soon as they enter their room, giving them instant access to free unlimited local and international phone calls (currently to 25 popular destinations) and free, high-speed data connectivity.

The unlimited 3G internet connectivity also allows for easy wi-fi tethering to other mobile devices such as laptops and tablets.

David Beckham visited Marina Bay Sands in the lead up to the Sands for Singapore Festival.

Beckham’s visit is a Sands for Singapore initiative to give back to the community as 60 local children from The Guardian Academy and students from Singapore Association for the Deaf affiliated schools were given an opportunity to meet and be inspired by the football legend.

“I have great memories of this city as it was it here that London won the 2012

Olympic bid. Coming back and seeing these kids today has been an inspiration to me,” said Beckham.

The British football star also showed his support for the inaugural Sands for Singapore Festival, which takes place August 16-18, by signing a jersey that will form the centrepiece of ‘The Art of Shopping’ component to be held at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. The public will be able to view and bid for the signed jersey during the festival with all proceeds to benefit local charity, Art Outreach.

Becks on the Bay

but they currently face a number of challenges and opportunities. The SHTM report points to “the rapid growth of counterparts both in Macau and Guangdong province” as one of the challenges currently facing the Hong Kong hotel industry. For example, the number of star-rated hotels in Guangdong has increased at a rate of 15.2% per year over the past decade, presenting increasingly fierce competition for Hong Kong.

At the same time, however, policies such as the introduction of the Individual Visitor Scheme for mainland Chinese tourists in 2003 and the anticipated completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in 2015-16 should increase the number of visitors from mainland China. This will “help facilitate economic activity and tourism development in Hong Kong.”

To support this promising growth and overcome the challenges from neighbouring regions, Dr Tsai argues that “a healthy Hong Kong hotel industry,

in terms of room capacity, is immensely important”. A situation of either under- or over-supply of hotel rooms is detrimental to hotel owners. Although hotels could lose out if they have insufficient rooms, “a blind expansion of hotels could result in wasted resources” and financial hardship for hotel owners.

The over-construction of hotels in the US during the 1980s led to serious overcapacity, and two thirds of the hotels built subsequently went bankrupt.

To avoid such a situation in Hong Kong, the hotel industry “needs to plan its capacity carefully based on demand”. It is predicted that Hong Kong will have almost 70,000 hotel rooms by 2013, an increase of more than 17% over four years. Yet despite that increase, Dr Tsai notes that the occupancy rate “has not shown a similar promising upward trend” and has remained relatively steady at around 85% over the past decade. Hence, it is important to determine whether Hong Kong is likely to face the problems of over- or under-capacity in the coming years.

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AHCT August 2013 9

Modular Buffet System

Small WaresRoll Top Chafing Dishes

Buffet Displays

AccessoriesInduction Chafing Dishes

Coffee & Tea Pots

Urns & dispensers

Trolleys

New face, new products and even more commitment to quality.

Designing Tiger products is a global affair that starts with our Italian designers and finishes with Korean dedication to quality.

Our commitment to developing new and innovative designs translates into quality, reliability and functional style.

TIGER, NO COMPROMISE IN QUALITY

HeadquarterTiger Company Ltd.240-20 Ssangdong-ri, Choweol-eup,gwangju-si, gyeonggi-do, Korea, 464-861

ph. +82 31 766 5888Fax +82 31 766 0451www.tigerhotel.co.kr

Factory & China Salesmyungjin TabLeware Co Ltd.06. Hongsheng road jinnan beizhakou industrial park Tianjin China China

ph. +86 22 8851 6661 Fax +86 22 8851 6663 www.tigerhotel.co.kr

European Officeyegam s.r.l.www.yegam.it

American OfficeSmarT buFFeTware LLCwww.smartbuffetware.com

www.tigerhotel.co.kr

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Cleaning up in ChinaThe 14th China International Laundry and Dyeing Industry Exhibition will take place in Beijing this month.

Organisers state the show will be a chance to understand the latest leading laundry technology, grasp the trend of development for the industry globally and exchange technology with experts and senior management from famous enterprises at home and abroad.

Participants include Sailstar, Sea-Lion, Weishi, Primus, Speed Queen and LG.

A new look for WesleyOZO Wesley Hong Kong has opened its doors in Wanchai. OZO is a new hotel brand created around a core concept of less frills and more control.

OZO Wesley’s Snooze Zone consists of 251 guestrooms and suites and has been designed to create a haven of comfort and convenience.

Up-to-date amenities to keep guests connected include IPTV, a multimedia connectivity panel and free wi-fi internet access throughout.

In a city that thrives on business,

Callebaut closes sweet dealZurich-based Barry Callebaut, which manufactures high quality cocoa and chocolate products, successfully completed the acquisition of the Cocoa Ingredients Division from Singapore-based Petra Foods Ltd in June, following approval from the regulatory authorities.

The combination of the two businesses makes Barry Callebaut the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate manufacturer, fully integrated from bean sourcing to the manufacture of the finest chocolate products.

It creates an organisation with over 8,000 employees, an estimated annual sales volume of 1.6 million tons and US$6.4 billion in sales revenue, as well as further diversifying Barry Callebaut’s global footprint to 50 factories on four continents.

From Isaan to Sheung WanChachawan Isaan Thai and Bar has opened in Hong Kong’s hip Sheung Wan neighbourhood, at 206 Hollywood Road. The concept is a creation of entrepreneur Yenn Wong, founder of the JIA group of hotels and restaurants which, in Hong Kong, includes 208 Duecento Otto and 22 Ships, in a collaboration with seasoned Thai cuisine chef Adam Cliff – a protégé of the renowned chef David Thompson.

Adam worked at Nahm London and Bangkok, and Bo.Lan Bangkok before heading up the kitchens at Kha Singapore.

Chachawan serves Isaan cuisine, which originates from northern Thailand and has a raw, down-to-earthiness about it that is rarely found in other regions.

Focusing on grilled meats, and salads the predominant flavours are sour, hot and salty while still maintaining a common balance.

At the bar, a selection of bottled beers and Thai cocktails pair perfectly with the intense flavours of the food.

Make mine a quintupleBritaway WB will sponsor the fifth bartenders competition, organised by the Hong Kong Cocktail School, taking place in Hong Kong on August 11.

Fifteen bartenders will be competing for the championship slot, and the winner will be given a free trip to the Dominican Republic to attend the annual Desalia Party, which attracts around 5,000 guests from around the world.

OZO Wesley Hong Kong features an aptly named meeting space, Talk, offering a wide variety of configuration options to accommodate a range of meeting or event types and capacities, from small boardroom of up to 12, to classroom or theatre seating up to 40, or cocktail setups that can host up to 60 guests.

Spices to IndiaDWP Next has partnered with KA Hospitality, the owners of the Michelin-star Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Otto Infinito restaurants in India, to create a Thai restaurant brand concept for rollout across India and beyond.

“DWP Next prides itself on working with prestigious companies, who are recognised among the best in their respective fields of expertise,” said CEO Russell Paine.

“In India, KA Hospitality is one of the finest examples of such a brand, achieving international standards of excellence in hospitality. We are excited to be working with KA Hospitality, to bring world-class Thai cuisine dining experience concepts to India.”

The 14th Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend, together with the TATA Motors International Indian Film Academy Awards, took place recently at The Venetian Macao.

The weekend showcased film briefings, press conferences, music and fashion music and acting workshops, culminating in the finale – the TATA Motors IIFA Awards, featuring stars from the Indian film industry including Abhishek Bachchan and Shahid Kapoor.

As the 2013 Official IIFA Host Destination Partner, The Venetian Macao is now one of the few destinations to have twice hosted the IIFA Awards. The Indian market is becoming increasingly important to Macau, with over 100,000 visitors arriving on its shores since 2009 when IIFA first came to town, and

growing each year. The awards night saw performances

by the biggest names in the industry: Deepika Padukone, who showcased some of her signature moves from the recent hit songs in her most successful films, and one of Bollywood’s most iconic leading ladies, Madhuri Dixit, made her IIFA debut.

Bollywood in Macau

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In today’s hospitality industry, energy saving light bulbs, smart air conditioning/heating systems, environmentally friendly laundry

and cleaning products are almost taken for granted, along with sustainable seafood and the growing ‘locavore’ emphasis in restaurants.

“Our next target is a fully carbon neutral property,” says Hiran Cooray, chairman of Sri Lankan-based hospitality group, Jetwing. Sustainable practice was unknown back in 1973 when the company was founded. But Jetwing soon grasped that Sri Lanka “has a resource that provides immense potential for industry growth, country development, and international exposure,” says Cooray.

All Jetwing’s new projects incorporate the highest measures of sustainability – biomass boilers, LED lighting, solar power and waste recycling, he adds. The group’s engineering team has developed a solar-powered mobile water filtration and bottling plant.

“Jetwing Lagoon featured a first for us – air conditioning requirements provided by absorption chillers which run off steam generated by biomass boilers.”

Natural essenceCoco Collection has won a number of local and international awards for its commitment to preserving the natural essence of the Maldives, says Lisa Brightwell, VP of sales & marketing. The company “upholds numerous environmental values and initiatives, so guests as well as the local community may enjoy the Maldives today and for many generations to come,” she says.

Coco Collection offers associates and guests the opportunity to take part in eco activities such as beach clean ups, lagoon and reef cleaning, building of coral nurseries, planting of trees around the eroding areas of the resorts as well as the provision of water tanks to assist with water shortages.

Singapore. Grand finale for the three-day celebrations will be a partnership with the Community Chest for the ComChest Heartstrings Walk 2013, including a vertical marathon up the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to Sands Skypark, a fundraiser that will benefit over 80 charities.

Renaissance hotels across Asia-Pacific took a very different tack back in June when guests were encouraged to celebrate a global day of discovery. Renaissance Harbour View Hotel Hong Kong hosted a local heritage tour followed by a night at the local racetrack.

Meanwhile Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong and Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa welcomed the world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues, entitled ‘The Elephant Parade’, with the brightly-coloured, jewel-encrusted art pieces set to attract support for Asian elephant conservation.

Green fingersKirimaya and Muthi Maya golf-spa resorts have gone several steps further in their 800-acre site bordering a UNESCO World Heritage National Park in Khao Yai, Thailand. Since last year the resorts’ five-acre farm has been producing virtually all

vegetables, herbs and fruits for guests. Under the supervision of hands-on

culinary director and passionate foodie, David Bedinghaus, the project has expanded to include a worm farm and a compost project to produce natural fertiliser to improve plant yield. This enables the farm to become self-sustaining while reducing by 75% the waste dumped into landfill. Fermented fruit and vegetable peelings are the basis for an environmentally-friendly insecticide.

“Environmental issues are top of the agenda in China and Worldhotel Grand Juna Wuxi is determined to establish credentials from its launch as a responsible and concerned corporate citizen,” says Worldhotel’s executive vice president Asia-Pacific, Roland Jegge. This new convention and exhibition hotel occupies a unique location on the shore of Shangxian River Wetlands at the heart of Taihu New City.

The 370-room property is committed to being an environmental ambassador for green issues from recycling and organic farming to forestry preservation and wetland conservation. The resident environment protection ambassador introduces guests to local wetland ecology.

On a more modest scale, Yangshuo

Mountain Retreat, established in 2000, has consistently been dedicated to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A 5% green tax is levied on all rooms and meals to help implement the property’s many green initiatives.

The retreat began as a simple eco-lodge and has contributed to Yangshuo’s prosperity by creating employment opportunities for local people and a deeper appreciation for their culture and history among all who visit. Furniture is all locally made from local materials, food is mostly grown in the hotel’s own garden or locally sourced and the place is managed by local residents with the exception of the training manager.

Reducing carbon footprints“Hong Kong has the second highest carbon footprint per capita of any country in the world,” says Carmen Ng, sustainability manager of Langham Hospitality Group. This is why the group’s three Hong Kong hotels actively participate in the growing ‘Green Monday’ movement by offering vegetarian menus at all F&B outlets as part of a move dedicated to improving health while reducing the diner’s carbon footprint.

Hong Kong’s newly opened Hotel Indigo in Wanchai has many green architectural features, explains Max Connop, board member of Aedas International, the property’s architectural consultants. The orientation of the building takes advantage of the shade provided by neighbouring buildings, this unique external shading device used only where it is most needed. The resulting pattern creates a distinct sweep around the building and Aedas expressed this through the application of burnished bronze solar fins to the outside of the crisp glazed facade.

Double glazed Low-e glass is used for the curtain wall to minimise solar heat gain and reduce energy consumed for air-cooling. Natural ventilation can be used during spring and autumn by opening lobby and guestroom windows, thus reducing the need for airconditioning. Renewable bamboo flooring has been used in superior and deluxe rooms.

“Our resident marine biologist oversees all of our eco initiatives and ensures preservation and sustainability guidelines are followed in all day to day activities on our resorts. In addition, our biologist holds weekly educational sessions to enable guests to learn about the marine life of the Maldives, the environmental issues the region is facing as well as how they may help counteract negative environmental factors both on holiday and back home,” says Brightwell.

At the other end of the spectrum, mega-size integrated resort Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, is the island’s largest single building to be certified with the Green Mark Gold Award by the local Building and Construction Authority. This year sees the 2,561-room resort breaking new ground with its first large-scale charity festival to benefit Singaporeans as part of its corporate social responsibility programme. During the three-day event in August the resort will leverage the unique aspects of its property to raise funds for its designated charities and other local non-profit organisations.

“As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Marina Bay Sands is dedicated to positively impact the community. For the very first time, all parts of our integrated resort, in their individual ways, will work together to give back to our designated charities and beyond during this three-day festival. We want to champion the spirit of giving and we hope to inspire others to come forward to do their part to help those in need,” says George Tanasijevich, chief executive officer and president of Marina Bay Sands.

Activit ies include sponsoring a performance by 80 young dancers and a fund-raising dinner in aid of the Singapore Association for the Deaf. All restaurants owned by Marina Bay Sands will donate at least S$10 from each dish to Make-A-Wish Foundation. The resort’s fashion retailers are joining an auction in aid of Art Outreach

HongKong’sHotelIndigofeaturesgreenarchitecturewhichenablesthebuildingtotakeadvantageoftheshadeprovidedbyneighbouringbuildings

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As far as hotels are concerned, it seems Kermit the Frog got it wrong with his signature lament, “It’s not easy being green!“ Exclusive island hideaways and mega-size integrated resorts from Sri Lanka to Singapore are all finding new ways of going green. Jane Ram reports

Taking the

green initiative

JetwingchairmanHiranCooray–nexttargetisafullycarbonneutralproperty

KirimayaandMuthiMayagolf-sparesortsfarmvegetables,herbsandfruitsforguests

CocoCollectionCocoBoduHithi

CocoCollectionintheMaldivesoffersassociatesandgueststheopportunitytotakepartinecoactivitiesincludingbeachcleanups,lagoonandreefcleaning,buildingofcoralnurseries,plantingoftreesandmore

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Savoir-faire

yet adapted to or become intoxicated by the tourist dollar. It’s still very possible to visit locations which are unaffected by outside influence.”

But Cambodia is also seeing a flurry of new hotel openings, many of them in Siem Reap, which is close to Ankor Wat, one of the world’s most revered heritage sites. According to Rida Khun, managing director of The Sothea, a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts, more than 360 hotels and guesthouses have opened in Siem Reap, and more are on the way.

“Tourism has increased from year to year, with about 19% growth in the first five months of 2013 compared to the same period last year,” Khun says. “Foreign investors are generally welcome in Cambodia, and the government encourages these investment activities with corporate incentives. The hotel, garment, real estate, and financial services sectors, as well as embassy officials of foreign governments and managers of NGOs, are positive about the government’s treatment of foreign investors.”

The Sothea is a luxurious all-suite hotel located on a large estate in Siem Reap. It embraces local Cambodian art and craftsmanship, which can be seen throughout the property. It caters to individual travellers, couples, extended families and small leisure travel groups.

“In 2012, we achieved occupancy of about 35% for the year and expect to run about 50% for 2013,” Khun adds. “Best available rate from now until September 30 is from US$220++ per room, per night for a deluxe suite to US$780++ per suite, per night for the king suite.”

Boom timesJosephine Lim, regional director for

Southeast Asia for the Preferred Hotel Group, agrees that Cambodia is experiencing “significant growth” in its tourism sector.

“According to a Ministry of Tourism report published early this year, the country saw a jump in visitor arrivals in 2012, with an increase of at least 200,000, reaching almost 3.5 million visitors for the year,” Lim says. “It is a country with a lot of untapped potential – being a destination steeped in rich historical and cultural heritage, with renowned world heritage sites, namely Angkor Wat, and the delights of Khmer cuisine waiting to be discovered.”

The hospitality industry is closely watching Cambodia and has cautiously begun to expand its presence in the country.

“Currently, the implementation of

the Ayeyawadi-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit single visa, political stability and security – having hosted important meetings like the ASEAN Summit, has not only increased tourist arrivals, but also boosted confidence for investment and business in Cambodia,” Lim says.

“In spite of ongoing issues that have yet to be resolved, such as the improvement of the current infrastructure for more efficient accessibility to other destinations within the country, as well as the establishment of more frequent direct flights from key markets such as India, China and Japan, leisure and business travel to Cambodia still looks poised to grow exponentially in the next few years.”

The former French Indochina countries are starting to attract international investors, but they have a long way to go before they can

challenge Thailand as Southeast Asia’s premier travel destination. Michael Taylor reports

Open doors and open heartsThe shinta Mani Resort is an upscale property created by architect bill bensley, boasting 62 rooms and a junior suite. Rooms and public spaces have an Angkorian inspired theme. it is located in the leafy french Quartier of siem Reap.

The resort has an all-day dining cafe/restaurant, a spa, a bar, conference and meeting facilities and complimentary wi-fi throughout the property.

“shinta Mani has a culture of open doors and open hearts, which reflects our commitment to responsible tourism,” says a spokesperson for the hotel. “A stay at shinta Mani Resort assists the shinta Mani foundation to achieve its goal of creating a bright future for the people of cambodia. A percentage of guests’ daily room rate will be contributed to the foundation to support their activities.”

accessibility to second and third tier cities, improvement in the infrastructure and enhancement of management skills and language capabilities.”

Russia has traditionally been one of the largest sources of inbound tourists for Vietnam, but airlines are cutting flights, and this is having an impact on tourism.

“If you look at government data, total inbound tourism to Vietnam is stable or slightly in decline year on year, but I suspect this is symptomatic of the shift in the demographics of travellers,” Basset says. “Russia has been a key driver for Vietnam because of a history of favourable visa conditions, but these numbers are falling in many areas as flights are cut and capacity reduced.

“On the increase are the northern EU countries as they develop a taste for new destinations like Vietnam. I would see future numbers growing steadily from German speaking countries, Australia, the UK and Scandinavia, particularly as their economies navigate into better conditions.”

Ongoing expansionThai-based Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas has opened two hotels in Vietnam. One is located in Mui Ne, which is a three-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City.

The other is in Hoi An, a historic former port with a layered architectural heritage reflecting Chinese, Japanese and southern European influences. Two more properties – Avani Phu Quoc and Avani Harbour View Haiphong – will open in the coming months.

“Vietnam is developing and maturing as a destination for inbound tourism,” says Mark Eletr, general manager, Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa. “The country and its people seem to be emerging quickly from a very complex history and despite continued controls from government, the pace seems to be sensible and sustainable.”

Vietnam might not be ready to displace Thailand as Southeast Asia’s top destination for inbound tourism, but it does offer an attractive alternative for travellers looking for a change of pace.

“Thailand will continue to dominate Southeast Asia for new travellers, but I suspect the experienced traveller to this region is now looking for a different flavour, and Vietnam is filling that niche quite rapidly,” Eletr says.

“Vietnam in general offers a more raw journey. The people are largely unchanged by tourism, and I would go as far as to label tourists more appropriately as visitors. The country is challenging because it has not

Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are a bit off Southeast Asia’s well-beaten tourism track. But the three former French colonies

have a few things in common that suggest a bright future for their respective hospitality industries. All have UNESCO world heritage sites, stunning colonial architecture, a rich cultural heritage, outstanding food and friendly people yet to become jaded by the impact of mass tourism.

Of the three, Vietnam seems to have attracted the most interest from international investors. Take Accor Hotels, for example. The French hotel group currently has 15 in Vietnam, two hotels in Cambodia and one in Laos.

“These three countries have great potential to become successful tourist destinations with their economic and political stability, diversified natural resources, unique cultures and traditions and a population eager to succeed and excel,” says Patrick Basset, senior vice president of Accor Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.

“Although these countries have made leaps of progress in the tourism and hotel industry, there still remain some major challenges. For example, there is a need for improved air and ground

TheSotheaSiemReap,Cambodia,kingsuite–thepropertyexpectstorunabout50%occupancyfor2013

MarkEletr,AnantaraMuiNeResort&Spa,Vietnam–thecountryanditspeopleseemtobeemergingquicklyfromaverycomplexhistory

JosephineLim,PreferredHotelGroup–leisureandbusinesstraveltoCambodiapoisedtogrowexponentially

Accor’sPatrickBassetseesfuturenumbersgrowingsteadilyfromGermanspeakingcountriesincludingAustralia,theUKandScandinavia

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work and mistakes will be made. “Some have realised that there are major benefits

to be gained from using social media to promote short term offers [in order] to shift unused inventory.

“While people worry that this may cannibalise their core business, the evidence suggests this doesn’t really happen. If it is Thursday afternoon and I’m making discount rate offers for people to stay for the weekend, it is very unlikely that the people who take up those offers would have booked at rack rate. The hope is that they will come back once they have experienced the property on the discounted trial.”

It’s a point Dr Ada Lo, assistant professor at the School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University reiterates. “It is almost a standard that hotels have presence on social media channels.

“They have created links on their websites to take guests to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Weibo. However, not every hotel is doing a good job in capitalising on the power of social media. Most of them still see it as a ‘promotion platform’. Social media is much more powerful – customer relationship management, service quality management, distribution management, revenue management, for instance.”

Lo cites the Wyndham Hotel Group TripAdvisor link as an example of how social media can be positively adopted by the hospitality industry.

“Wyndham has stopped sending their own post-stay surveys to guests. Instead, they send an email to ask guests to post their comments on TripAdvisor,” she notes, adding: “Wyndham in China uploads guest reviews on their website.”

Social screeningTaking a step-by-step approach to social media tools, one of Hong Kong’s newest hotels, Auberge Discovery Bay, has had a recent focus on Facebook.

“Our official Facebook page opened in September 2012, and we plan to start inviting key bloggers to visit and stay at our seaside retreat,” Loretta Wong, marketing communications manager, explains.

“Social media provides a more direct and effective communication channel for guests to acquire up to date hotel information and share their stay experiences with us and other visitors.

“It is a powerful and effective marketing and advertising tool that draws potential guests’ attention towards the hotel. Social media can also act as a guideline for hotels to understand the needs and expectations of guests so we can improve,” Wong says.

The hotel plans to turn to key social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo in order to target a larger international audience. “We also monitor key online forums in Hong Kong such as Discuss.com and Uwants.com,” she adds.

Currently the hotel is searching for a candidate to fill the role of a social media expert within the property.

“We are looking for someone who is creative and innovative with an insight on the social media landscape. Meanwhile, we are working with a social media agency to roll out a series of campaigns, such as Facebook feeding and blogger engagements,” explains Wong.

For Wong, the overriding strength of social media sites is that they allow direct connection with guests.

“Their experiences and responses are immediately reflected on different online platforms. The reviews then go on to influence

decisions and expectations of potential guests. “While we thrive on good reviews, we also take notes from the

negative and take corrective action, making sure that the defects will not be repeated again. Social media platforms continuously push us to better ourselves, which is why we believe this will be a sooner rather than later experience.”

Taking the power backWith social media, power is in the hands of the customer, agrees Talwar.

“They can rate, share opinions, highlight good service, shout about poor experiences and amplify both the best and worst of what is on offer.

“The key is to have dedicated resources ‘listening’ to social media traffic to see what is being said and actively contributing to discussions to build your brand reputation as a helpful provider of valuable information,” he says.

Some groups are seeing the value of using social media metrics to target advertising towards specific sets of potential customers based on their social profiles and behaviours, Talwar notes.

Examples include Marriott’s and Hyatt’s special Facebook pages for their rewards programme members. But, he says, “the results are mixed in terms of the returns.”

Learning to experiment, and a willingness to continually refine the messaging and propositions being promoted are key, according to Talwar.

“It is about investing time, reading the research, talking to your own staff and customers about what they use and encouraging customers to share their experiences on social media, and then rewarding them for it,” he says.

Lo points out, “It’s transparent, public, and instant. To date, short messages with visuals are proving most appealing.”

Customers expect quick responses on social platforms, Lo says, adding she is not sure hotels understand the differences associated with each method, or how customers use them.

“Some hotels have a dedicated person to respond to comments and upload new information. Some use service providers or management companies and these can be a useful resource to help understand how to better engage in social media. The analysis and reports are then used for management and marketing purposes.”

But when something goes wrong it is apparent hotels need to have a social media policy with a crisis management component, Lo says.

“Again, it’s this quick response. Hotels need to be prepared to involve senior management, be honest in publishing an official

A positive presence on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Weibo and other social media entities is essential but are hotels in Asia embracing these new communication ideas? Zara Horner logs on

The social networkSocial media has become a vital part of the way most

companies and organisations communicate with customers, business partners, the media and the world at large.

While internet interaction can provide a golden opportunity for greater contact, partnership building and brand development, it is easily mishandled, with potentially dire results.

“Despite a lot of pseudo-science, we are still very much in the infancy of our understanding of how best to use social media for business,” cautions Rohit Talwar, CEO Fast Future Research, a research and analysis consultancy.

“Too many people have just used it to promote their standard products directly and readers tend not to be interested unless they

are receiving genuine special offers.” More than that, Talwar says, people want to be educated,

informed, entertained, challenged and inspired. “Those seem to be the postings that get relayed, anyway, with some going viral.

“Learning how to use social media effectively is a whole new craft for marketing people. It is very much an experimental process and spontaneity seems to be important: responding to events and developments, finding ways of catching both the moment and reader attention.”

Sometimes the penny drops, says Talwar, and companies put their social media presence in the hands of those who use it most and have to learn to trust them and accept that not everything will

HongKong’sAubergeDiscoveryBayplanstoutilisesocialmediaplatformssuchasTwitterandWeibototargetlargerinternationalaudiences

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Top of the classA recent ranking of hotels to measure and rank the digital competence of 100 prestige brands in china based on digital marketing, social media and mobile, showed shangri-la hotels and Resorts as having the largest following on its sina weibo and youku accounts, a highly rated chinese iPhone app that hosts competitions, and the only iPad app in the chinese iTunes store in Mandarin.

The survey, carried out by l2, a think-tank for prestige brands, indicted that:• chinese online booking sites such as ctrip and

Qunar are doing a better job of online advertising than hotel brands. ctrip is purchased against 94% of hotel brand terms on baidu, china’s most popular search engine.

• hotels are missing a major opportunity to capture the outbound international chinese market: 18% of hotel sites do not translate their international property pages into chinese and 29% require booking completion in english.

• Almost 100% of global hotel brands are on youTube, but only five brands update accounts on youKu and just one is on Tudou. (watching videos is the number one online activity for the more than 500 million chinese on the internet.)

The top 10 of the 17 hotel brands rated were:1. shangri-la2. Marriott3. hilton4. intercontinental5. westin6. st. Regis7. four seasons8. Mandarin oriental9. Park hyatt10. Ritz-carlton

by comparison wyndham, sofitel, Kempinski, fairmont, Peninsula, waldorf Astoria and conrad all ranked as “feeble”.

Shangri-LaHotelsandResortsenjoysasubstantialfollowingonitsSinaWeiboandYoukuaccounts

response by senior officials and monitor systems for comments.”Talwar agrees it is a harsh reality that a brand’s reputation can

spin out of control within seconds.“You cannot stop people posting negative things about your

brand or spreading bad news. The key is to have clear responsibilities within the organisation for monitoring mentions of your brand on the various social platforms, assessing sentiment and responding when you feel you are being misrepresented.

“This is difficult because a poor response to negative commentary can make the situation worse.”

Talwar cites the Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption in 2010 as a good example.

“Some airlines and hotels did a fantastic job of communicating with customers and keeping them informed about exactly what was going on and used social media to provide instant feedback to questions and concerns.

“Others basically went missing and provided little or no support via the social media with a consequent damage to their reputations.”

Moving imagesFor Lo the future is ‘mobile’, and ‘images’.

“People like to use social media on the go,” she says. “The popularity of using visuals is also apparent.

“Facebook used to be text driven, for example, now it has far more photos and video sharing features. Timeline is visually driven.

“Twitter also has links to photos and the sharing of videos, and Pinterest is mainly visuals and images.

“Videos are shared 12 times more than text links on Facebook so they are obviously a much more effective, efficient, and memorable way to convey a message.”

People also like to share the feeling of connection, Lo says. “Traditionally word-of-mouth was obviously limited to the

people you spoke to directly, but social media means there is no such limitation now as you can literally talk to anyone at any time.

“So, hotels should make their activities sharable on social media. And share interesting items of others that are relevant to the hotel and its customers.

“All of which can generate interest in the hotel, which is what it’s all about, after all.”

Lo cautions that everything is now transparent so management mechanisms need to be effective.

“Also, whatever is out there may be monitored by your competitors. Information is free and open on the web.”

RohitTalwar,FastFutureResearch–companieswhoputtheirsocialmediapresenceinthehandsofthosewhouseithavetolearntotrustthem

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Private kitchen restaurants exist in one form or another all over the world. Enterprising chefs who dream of

manning their own restaurant often test the waters by opening tiny venues to serve whatever they fancied making. Some may discover they need to expand to bigger premises, while others prefer to keep their operations small and homely.

In Hong Kong, it is common for rents to triple overnight in urban areas – often forcing the relatively low margins of F&B outlets to vacate premises in search of more inexpensive spaces. As private kitchens’ reputations are gained through word of mouth, the harder they are to find, the better. Yet they must balance the challenge of allowing multiple staff to work in often cramped quarters with all the right appliances and accoutrements to prepare a delicious meal. That is what makes the design of their successful kitchens worth investigation.

Phyllis Loo and Sheila Wong are friends who both used to live in Shanghai and frequented Willy Turllas Moreno’s

restaurant El Willy. They loved his version of contemporary Spanish cuisine highlighting Asian ingredients and wanted to bring the concept to Hong Kong. After opening FoFo by El Willy in upscale Central district, they thought that a more exclusive restaurant would suit chef Alex Fargas’ various activities.

“It is like his workshop and laboratory with a dining table,” says Loo. “FoFo Privat can be booked for private parties. We have a roof that is for the exclusive use of our guests.”

FoFo Privat can seat 40 people across two floors in one of Central’s rare low-rise buildings. OpenUU, an up and coming architectural team consisting of Kevin Lim, Eddy Kim and Edward Kim, designed the space to harmonise with FoFo by El Willy, but with its own characteristics. As one of the two large tables look directly into the open kitchen, the space was kept light and airy. Glass screens sandblasted with FoFo’s signature graphics are placed strategically and storage cabinets are incorporated into the walls.

“The open kitchen is very important as it fosters a closer connection to the chef,” explains Loo. The kitchen is barely 15 square metres; the counter between it and the dining table is used as a passing line with plating on the surface below. The kitchen is arranged in an efficient U-shape with some specialised appliances for tapas and other signature dishes. Deep fryer, four-hob induction cooker, salamander, vacuum packer, slow cooker, fridge, wash up sink and prep sink are laid out in a ring along the walls for the maximum space to allow staff to crisscross during busy periods. “We have up to three chefs working nightly, plus a dishwasher and two staff on the floor,” says Loo.

Plump penguins and pigs“FoFo is Spanish for ‘chubby’ and conveys a happy, cheerful place,” says Wong. “We wanted to keep a lot of open areas for a bright look. Decorative ceramic penguins and pigs are our mascots and carried over from FoFo by El Willy.”

In contrast, Magnolia is a ground floor

space in Sheung Wan – a more traditional yet rapidly modernising area – that does triple duty as a restaurant, catering space for Go Gourmet and team-building centre for corporate firms. American Lori Granito started Magnolia as a three nights per week private kitchen restaurant after closing Central’s popular Bayou more than a decade ago.

“I didn’t want to run a restaurant again,” Granito states. “In Hong Kong, a restaurant takes over your life. Magnolia is not about

Hong Kong’s private kitchen restaurants make the best use of prime real estate, combining efficient layouts with reliable appliances to keep guests well fed and happy, writes Rebecca Lo

Photography: fofo courtesy openuu; Magnolia by Rebecca lo; Miele Private lounge courtesy catch on & co.

putting bums in seats. I can open it with only 10 people and they have to eat what I make.”

Known for her Louisiana home cooking, Granito finds that ribs, gumbo and pecan pie are what her guests come back for time and again. She inherited the 80 square metre kitchen in the two-storey, 420 square metre space already equipped with four cooking stations set against opposite walls. Its previous owner ran a cooking school for team building and, while Granito prefers gas

over electric hobs, she has made them work. A central stainless steel work area lets staff prep food while others stir roux or check on cornbread in the oven.

What you see ...One of Magnolia’s features is that guests with a booking are invited to arrive ahead for cocktails and canapes. They can observe their food being prepared as they head upstairs for one of three dining rooms that seats a total of 56. “I like the idea that people have to come through the kitchen,” says Granito. “It gives them security to see how their food is made.”

As many of Magnolia’s dishes require a lot of slow cooking, the kitchen activity is in its latter stages by the time guests arrive. “Our stove top and oven are what we rely on the most for frying and baking,” she says. “We keep separate fridges labelled for different ingredients so that no one would put a pie beside onions. I’m very sensitive to how things taste and separate fridges make things easier with all that’s going on.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Miele Private Lounge’s workshop is a very private kitchen that caters to Miele’s VIP members by offering cooking classes and

For your eyes only

FoFoPrivatcanseat40peopleacrosstwofloorsinoneofHongKongCentraldistrict’srarelow-risebuildings(aboveandbelow)

AmericanLoriGranitostartedMagnoliaasathreenightsperweekprivatekitchenafterdecidingshedidn’twanttorunarestaurantagain

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wine dinners with guest chefs. The German appliance manufacturer felt that it should have a place where its customers can fully understand how its products function in a relaxing and fun environment.

The workshop, one-third of the space that also includes a salon and lounge, is a bright 250 square metre open kitchen designed by FAK3. Equipped to softly sell Miele’s latest cooking and refrigeration appliances, its off-white colour scheme is punctured by splashes of red on the dining chairs surrounding a

central table to seat 20. “We have worked with the brand for

a long time and understand its products,” says Miho Hirabayashi, director with FAK3 who worked with partner Johnny Wong on the project. “All of the cabinets were custom designed and manufactured to encase Miele’s products. It is not obviously a showroom and the appliances are hidden until you need to use them. The space is neutral, with grey tile flooring in a stone pattern. The mirrored ceiling gives

it a dynamic, distinct look and echoes the long table below.“

Hirabayashi says that the space is easy to maintain and looks fresh.

“Since different chefs will work with groups of students, the kitchen had to be flexible enough for different people with different specialities. We put basics such as the sink in a certain place and heating elements close by. Cold storage is in a separate room. As it’s a demo kitchen, not much storage is necessary.”

MielePrivateLounge’sworkshopcaterstotheGermanappliancemanufacturer’sVIPmembersbyofferingcookingclassesandwinedinnerswithguestchefsinarelaxingandfunenvironment

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Alexander the Great is known to have enjoyed snow flavoured with honey and nectar, while Marco Polo famously introduced Europe to an Asian recipe for sherbet, which is believed to have evolved into the

world’s most popular dessert – ice cream.While ice cream classics will always sell, new varieties such as

sorbet, gelato and frozen yoghurts are catching on in a big way with exotic and combination flavours a very noticeable trend over recent years.

The International Diary Foods Association 2012 survey of the sector concluded vanilla was still number one flavour; chocolate chip mint, and cookies and cream are the next most popular, but this hasn’t stopped the experimenters.

British celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal introduced mustard flavoured ice cream last year; and chocolate and rosemary, chilli, beetroot, and whisky ice creams have all popped up on menus across the region this year.

“What is technically different is that gelato is milk-based, sorbetto (or sorbet in French), is water-based and frozen yoghurt is produced with a different kind of freezer and its consistency is very smooth,” explains Paolo Predonzan, Hong Kong master gelataio at I-Scream.

I-Scream presents new flavours every season and this summer has introduced four savoury varieties using all-Italian ingredients: Apulia olive oil sorbet, Modena balsamic vinegar sorbet, Pra basil sorbet, and red cow parmesan cheese sorbet.

“We think summer is the best time for sorbets,” Predonzan says. “The savoury sorbets have been introduced to give our customers a new experience.”

This ‘new experience’ is something other manufacturers are keen to develop.

“We are trying to get restaurants to take flavours more suited to their cuisine than take standard flavours,” says Alastair Jessel, managing director of British artisan ice cream and sorbet manufacturer Taywell Ice Creams – which will be launched in Asia in September.

“With so many different flavours on offer, no two restaurants need to compete on flavours. There is nothing worse than going into a restaurant and finding the same branded ice cream in the same flavours. It’s off-putting.”

Taywell’s most popular flavours are honeycomb, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio.

“Our Japanese green tea has become a best seller,” Jessel says, adding the market has changed “because the choices offered have increased so much.

“It changes each year as people become more adventurous and try flavours they would never have considered a few years ago. They like them and so switch from the flavours they ate before.”

Other more unusual Taywell flavours include lemongrass and chilli, Turkish delight and tahini, margarita-inspired Mescal ice creams, and Thai tea sorbet.

Limitless versatilityFor XTC’s director Georgie Riley this versatility is one of the reasons ice cream is so interesting.

“Ice cream is a massive umbrella term for very different genres,” Riley points out. “The production equipment, freezing methods and manufacturing expertise have improved so much ... flavours

and forms are limitless.”Since taking over the Hong Kong artisan gelato and sorbet

company eight years ago, Riley has increased the recipe range from 40 to 350 flavours.

“I quickly realised customers wanted variety,” she says. Using Australian milk, Riley only uses all natural products in her ranges.

“We use infused whole plantation vanilla beans – never extract, for example. We always use fresh fruit. And for this reason the recipes themselves vary, as the sugar content has to change according to the type of fruit used so that the product is not too sweet. However, it’s a fine balance because sugar is a natural stabiliser, so if there’s not enough, the ice cream, gelato or sorbet won’t scoop properly.”

XTC ranges change every four months with new flavours introduced and old favourites returning.

“For the past 10 years lemon pepper has been a very popular summer flavour so that comes back every season,” Riley says. Rose petal and Thai lemongrass coconut are two new flavours for this year.

“There are some flavours which I don’t think would travel well and are regionally appropriate,” Riley says. “For example, our Hong Kong milk tea variety.”

According to Riley sorbets are big in Asia probably because there is no dairy content. “It’s an important consideration in a region where a lot of people are dairy intolerant, so we always have a large sorbet range.”

This summer XTC is introducing a new sorbet flavour, Pabana, a mixture of four fruits: passion fruit, banana, lemon and mango.

Regional variations are indicated in the sorbet market as well, Jessel says. “Sorbets are healthier than ice cream and contain part of your ‘five a day’. Sadly, demand for sorbet in Europe is nothing

From fast food chains to Michelin starred restaurants, ice cream and other frozen desserts are hugely popular across Asia-Pacific. Zara Horner gets the scoop on the latest trends

Not every flavour is profitable but the rule is

that you need all of themDominic Tai, Primo

Financial meltdown

HoneycombfromTaywell(aboveandfacingpage)

Primo–theItalianmanufacturercreatestwoorthreenewflavourseachyear,withnineflavourstobesoonintroducedtoAsia

Pic:Primo

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like that of ice cream because they simply don’t taste the same. This is due to the fat content in the milk and cream.”

Jessel says his company has noted that gelato is more popular than ice cream in Asia, and attributes this to the quality of ice cream available.

“Some brands are made from some very dubious ingredients so we believe there is room for higher quality products [in Asia],” Jessel says.

With more than 100 flavours, Taywell ice creams and sorbets contain no artificial additives, colours, stabilisers, milk powder, reconstituted whey or GM products. Many varieties are also gluten-free with special edition ranges produced for diabetics. The company is about to launch a range of sugar-free ice creams and sorbets that contain all natural ingredients.

For XTC’s Riley, all natural is all-important. “We have built

expectations. A richer variety ice cream is served in our speciality restaurants which we mix with other dessert components.”

As well as the usual, favourite flavours are lemon, cookies and cream, green tea, and raspberry. “We also provide local flavours such as coconut, lime, and mango,” Rohrbach says.

As far as guests demand, chef says not much changes by way of flavours, but condiments have changed a lot.

“Today, guests like different kinds of nuts, sauces, chunks of cake, berries, as well as fresh baked waffles, cones, and pancakes. Guests also enjoy hot and cold combinations, and want a less sweet taste.”

Choosing a local brand (“it’s more cost efficient”) Rohrbach says he finds guests in Asia are drawn more to the lighter gelatos than the richer textured ice cream and that sorbet is “top of the list for health conscious customers.”

He says guests enjoy an interactive experience, so the hotel’s Teppanyaki style (cold stone) ice cream and “spaghetti” ice cream making is proving very popular.

Weather matching?For Aero Lee, Asia area manager for Italian ice cream, frozen yoghurt and pastry products manufacturer PreGel, two things determine the choice of ice cream: “It has to match the food you had before the dessert, and the weather. For winter, mascarpone, chocolate rum, and green tea are still the flavours customers prefer. For summer, fruity flavours and yoghurt are the best sellers.”

Lee says Asian fine dining restaurants prefer the ice cream to be made with local ingredients. “We know of demands for preserved egg, and lychee with osamathus wine, for example.”

PreGel’s most popular product in the region is frozen yoghurt. “Because it is healthy and it is easy for customers to do what they

long-term, faithful customers on this premise,” she says. Servicing local groups including InterContinental, Four Seasons

and The Peninsula, as well as leading attraction Ocean Park, Riley is happy to customise.

“They’re my own recipes so I can develop them as I, or my customers want. At the moment I am working on gelatos to accompany a new Argentine inspired menu at the Four Seasons, Hong Kong.

“Different flavours are the attraction for customers in Asia, and the provenance of natural ingredients. Remembering my products are someone’s treat for the day is something I love.”

Shifting des(s)ertsAngus Cheung, business development manager for Nestlé Greater China, agrees ice cream is a perennial favourite, though he feels the sorbet and gelato trend “is slowing down”.

Nestlé owns several ice cream companies, including Swiss outfit Mövenpick, Dutch company Häagen Dazs – which has just introduced new pear and toasted pecan flavour – Dreyer’s, and own-name brand, Nestlé which is available in all natural, low/no sugar and lactose-free varieties.

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry continue to be the best sellers with the company noting regional variations such as the green tea variety being more popular in China and Japan.

“Different customers want different things,” Cheung says. “It all depends on the chef ’s imagination and menu creation. We provide premium ice cream with premium ingredients to allow the ice cream to be used for the best outcome.”

This is something Urs Rohrbach, pastry chef at Millennium Hilton Bangkok, knows all too well. Different varieties of ice cream are served at the hotels F&B outlets, “because guests have different

want with it with different toppings or fillings.”Dominic Tai from Primo meanwhile says, “ Not every flavour

is profitable but the rule is that you need all of them.” With that in mind the Italian manufacturer creates two or three

new flavours every year, with nine flavours to be soon introduced to Asia, including amalfi (lemons renowned for their unique flavour and intense aroma), orange milk cream with pieces of orange, curd cheese lime and cheesecake raspberry.

Their best sellers are the usual, plus stracciatella, mango, banana, and pistachio, “because all these flavours are used to make ice cream desserts,” says Tai.

Tai says Asia’s interest in all things ice cream may be attributed to diners being more adventurous and keen to try Western cuisine. “People here on the whole do not like food with a high fat content, so gelato also fits. Gelato is soul food and puts a smile on your face,” Tai says.

It’s not so much different flavours customers are looking for, says Tai, but quality.

“It doesn’t matter if customers want exotic flavours or not, it is very important that we use the best ingredients.

“Whole milk, natural ingredients and good production values. In one phrase – only quality counts.”

MilkteaflavourfromXTC–createdfortheAsianpalate

XTC’sGeorgieRiley–rangeschangeeveryfourmonthswithnewflavoursintroducedandoldfavouritesreturning

UrsRohrbach,pastrychefatMillenniumHiltonBangkoksaysguestsinAsiaaredrawnmoretothelightergelatosandsorbetthanricher-texturedicecream

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“Five years ago I would not have thought to bring in the brand I am bringing now – Cafés Richard – because the market was not mature enough to recognise and appreciate the quality of the product. Now Hong Kong is a really mature market and has the best coffees from all over the world. Before the market only wanted the big brands – this is no longer the case.”

Martin B Jones, vice president, F&B, Asia Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide says tea and coffee are “without a doubt as two of our highest consumables. There are very few people who don’t drink either or both. While we continue to offer these products at a competitive price range, we go extra miles by monitoring the most fundamental consuming habits including if it is consumed first thing in the morning or last thing at night or just any time during the day. The importance of experience is essential as we ensure all our hotel brands offer an array of premium products that suit everyone’s palate as well as value for money.”

Jones adds that a key strategy is to ensure consistency in quality across all Starwood hotels, resorts and restaurants.

“We have a coffee and tea manual with guideline and standards on how to prepare [them], which ensures that when a guest orders a beverage of their choice, no matter where they are in the world, they will have the same standard of brew. In addition we have partnered with quality brand coffee and teahouses to match the style and personality of our branded hotels.”

He adds that the group doesn’t partner with just one brand or blend across the Starwood properties worldwide, as this approach simply wouldn’t work.

“All of our brands have a unique DNA, with its own character, that differentiates to target different guests. In the same way, coffee is a personal choice and we like to offer our guests a range; which includes the popular to the unique one-offs. Above all, our decisions are quality based; there are always opportunities to work with lesser quality products at lower prices but this doesn’t follow our quality focus.”

Niche interestBoncafé managing director, Christian W. Huber agrees there is a growing interest in niche cafes “where one can enjoy a good cup of coffee and experience the cafe culture growing in Southeast Asia.”

Huber says that with this comes a better appreciation of coffee culture and thus better awareness and appreciation for coffee drinking.

“This trend then becomes a lifestyle. As innovations are rare in this industry, the last real innovation remains to be the coffee capsule,

Tea and coffee industries represent big business across the region and look to continue expanding, writes Daniel Creffield

Brewing up a

storm

While it’s difficult to put any figures against the coffee and tea industries’ continuing growth in Asia-Pacific, one thing’s for sure – there’s money to be made at every level of the business.

Tea is of course a perennial favourite, sales of which are now being enhanced by quality imports and flavour forays taking in new and imaginative fruit influences as well as emphasis on tradition Asian and Western blends from lapsang souchong to Earl Grey.

Coffee has been the real success story, however, with the big US chains buying up prime locations in almost all major Asian capitals. In June for example, Starbucks announced its intention to open 100 stores in Malaysia over the next four years.

Meanwhile Pacific Coffee Company, a US-style coffee shop group which actually originated in Hong Kong, now has outlets in China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Eric Daniel, managing director of Fine Aromas, a family owned coffee company supplying supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, offices, private clubs, coffee shops with coffee and coffee machines in Hong Kong, believes there are several reasons why the coffee market is

“exploding” in Asia.“For sure one reason is increasing incomes in the region and the

rise of the middle class. Vietnam for example – which is a producing country as well as an emerging country – registered around 20% growth in coffee consumption in 2011. In the Philippines it was around 9%. Indonesia is also growing.

Daniel says that all the major coffee heavyweights are focusing on emerging markets, and they have the financial means to make their presence felt.

“Manufacturers such as Nescafé and chains like Starbucks show the way. Then the many copycats arrive. Once one company opens the market others will follow; once the market is mature all the others will come.

“The smaller coffee manufacturers – which are usually more quality oriented – could not spread to China or Hong Kong without the big players opening the market up first – giving away free samples … educating the market, generally spreading coffee culture.”

Daniel makes the point that while the smaller players cannot compete in terms of scale, they can on quality.

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tea service, provide training to staff and even tea seminars for guests. A greater emphasis on the tea service will make a guest’s stay all the more memorable and provide an experience they can take away and share with their friends.”

And he adds that while coffee in hotels is now at a uniformly high standard, with coffee capsule machines often found in high-end hotel rooms, the tea service is not always at the same standard, “in part because hotels don’t realise the wealth of premium tea options now available to them.”

Dick, whose company’s range includes Tea Forté and Harney & Sons Fine Teas from the US, Victoria Premium Teas from Hong Kong, Four O’clock Organic Fair Trade Teas from Canada and Hampstead Teas of London, outlines what he thinks some of these options could be.

“Of course there are tea bags in various sizes and shapes, but the better ones contain full leaf premium grade teas in transparent bags so the guest can appreciate the quality.

“A new idea for rooms is individually packaged loose leaf tea coupled with individual cup serving systems.

“Also for rooms, there are now several coffee pod systems which include teas but, at the moment, they rarely produce an authentic tea experience.

“Tea isn’t just in the mini-bar, several hotels are now providing herbal tea as part of the turn-down service. Specially blended herbal teas can help your guests get a good night’s rest and so demonstrate a hotel’s commitment to making the guest experience all it can be.”

a machine can produce. The first representative of this new generation is the Franke FM800 machine.

Increasing appreciationCarrie Shum, senior brand manager, Nespresso HK, says customers are increasingly appreciating, selecting and demanding quality coffees and coffee recipes both at home and in out-of-home venues.

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

Nespresso offers eight grand cru coffees ranging from mild and aromatic to full-bodied and intense. “This understanding of delivering only the highest quality coffee cup after cup, using state-of-the-art, smart and convenient machines is integral to Nespresso Business Solutions and has made it popular at upscale hotels and restaurants around the region.”

Tea for meWhile the tea business clearly has a longer legacy in Asia than its more heavily caffeined counterpart, many within the industry feel there is still much room for growth.

Tony Dick, of Tea Concepts Ltd, believes there is a great opportunity for hotels and food service establishments to capitalise on this interest by providing a sophisticated tea experience with an Asian emphasis.

“A tea supplier should be able to advise how to set up a quality

Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, says its wide portfolio of products is aimed to satisfy the needs of all its customers with one of its most popular items the fully automatic Egro One machine.

The company believes that in Asian there are still some markets, such as Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, where “thanks to the recent opening of resorts and high level hotels, coffee culture will continue to grow rapidly.”

Franke Coffee Systems is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fully automatic coffee machines and is part of the Franke Group, which operates globally. The company

comprises subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, the US and UK, with around 500 employees.

Franke’s VP sales and marketing APAC, Federico Paternò, says that in its range of fully automatic machines for professional use, the best selling products in Asia-Pacific countries are those of smaller capacity.

“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 western world, 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.”

Paternò adds that across the region the pattern of sales is not the same everywhere, as different countries have different consumption levels and habits.

“In Asia, typical customers for our fully automatic machines are businesses that want to ensure a consistent output in time terms 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.”

In terms of trends or innovations he says the company sees a general move towards higher quality and greater convenience. In the consumer market this trend is underscored for example by the boom of coffee capsules.

In the business-to-business sector, Franke has taken the challenge to the next level with its new generation machines, boasting a user-friendly, iPad-like interface, as well as raising the bar in the industry when it comes to the milk foaming quality (hot and cold) as well as the flexibility of use, largely expanding the options of available drinks

so any new breakthroughs will be a variant of the coffee capsule that has entered the market over the last 20 years or so.”

Boncafé’s best selling products are its roasted and ground coffee, and Huber believes that with over 50 years of roasting and brewing excellence, trade customers and consumers have come to know the company as specialists.

“While we offer fine blends to match customers’/consumers’ specific taste profiles, we trust that our passion in delivering the best coffee has a loyal following in the trade.”

Boncafé sells mainly to the Horeca sector with a smaller percentage to retailers.

Tradition and passionAnother producer with a long tradition, Rancilio Group has been manufacturing quality espresso coffee machines since the 1920s.

Simona Sordelli, head of marketing at Rancilio, says that coffee is thriving in the region, mainly due to the presence of companies “that have given a strong boost to the diffusion of Italian coffee culture all over the world, thanks to their passion for the production of quality espresso coffee machines.”

Rancilio Group, which in Asia-Pacific sells its products in China,

EricDaniel,FineAromas–severalreasonswhythecoffeemarketis

explodinginAsia

QualityteafromBohinMalaysia

Franke’sFM800modelboastsaniPad-likeinterface

MartinBJones,StarwoodHotels&ResortsWorldwide–‘teaandcoffeearetwoofourhighestconsumables’

Twinings,whoseclassicteassuchasEarlGrayandEnglishbreakfastarestillamongitsbest-sellingproducts,saysthetrendsofthewesternafternoontearitualhavebecomeverypopularinAsia

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Once upon a time, ice came in huge blocks, chipped into small pieces and shoved in a container for delivery, in the hopes of it staying solid when it reached customers’ glasses. During this process, the ice was

exposed to all sorts of contaminants. Thankfully, times have changed. Sherman Wong, director of operations of Hong Kong’s Cafe

Deco Group, believes hygiene is of paramount importance. “Firstly, [our machines] must be approved by Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. The machine must be sealed so the ice or water does not come in contact with any contaminants.

But he is also clear about the other requirements the group’s bars and restaurants need from its ice machines.

“Unquestionably, the ice quality is vital. We need a machine that produces a variety of ice types – different shapes and sizes. For example, in fast food restaurants, we want solid ice cubes because they don’t melt quickly and dilute the drink. But in bars, we may also need crushed ice for special cocktails.”

The size of machines is also a factor to consider before purchase. Hong Kong is a small city – “Every inch of space is precious! We always need to keep in mind how the machine can fit in the bar or kitchen.”

Ice may seem simple and insignificant to us when we are dining in restaurants or having a drink in our favourite bar, but William Fletcher, vice-president of sales Southeast Asia with US manufacturing giant Manitowoc widens the entire perspective on what makes this easily forgotten food and drink component “good ice”.

“‘Good ice’ is clear ice and, depending on the application, different shapes and sizes may be appropriate as well as different ice to water ratios within in the cube, nugget, or flake.”

But can the meaning of ‘good ice’ vary from different chefs and bartenders? What do they want from their ice?

“We offer machines to answer the demand for the most popular

ice types (flake, nugget, cubes) and offer a variety of different size platforms (undercounter, modular, remote modular),” Fletcher stresses.

“Our speciality is modular and undercounter cube machines. We are America’s number one selling ice machine with the highest market share in the industry among commercial ice machine manufacturers. This is the case due to a long standing commitment to quality, reliability, and innovation.”

When it comes to purchasing decisions, Fletcher says that depending on the application, clients have many different things to consider.

“What type of ice is required for the application? How much

While hotels and restaurants demand fast and versatile ice machines, they increasingly want them to be environmentally efficient in terms of energy and water usage, as well as being easy to clean and economical to maintain. Can the new generation of machines handle these high expectations, asks Michelle Cheng

Nice ice, babyice is needed on a daily basis? What is the environment that the machine is being installed in? Is it necessary that additional options be employed because of the environment the machine is being installed in? Is space a constraint? Is noise an issue? Is additional heat in the kitchen an issue?”

Follett Corporation overcomes the potential hygiene problem with its new technology. “Our best selling products are our icemakers that use RIDE (remote ice delivery) technology as it delivers ice up to 75 feet away from the icemaker. This allows for sanitary ice delivery as well as the ability to sanitise ice and beverage dispensers.”

Clean is coolScott Bingham, product marketing manager of Follett Corporation believes that hygiene is one of their clients’ priorities.

“Follett icemakers can fill an ice and beverage dispenser remotely. This allows automatic filling of the dispenser without coming into contact with human hands. Other icemakers don’t do this. To automatically fill the dispenser other icemakers must be stacked on top of the icemaker. This makes it difficult to clean the dispenser hopper. With Follett icemakers, since there is no icemaker on top of the dispenser, it makes access to the hopper very easy for thorough cleaning.”

He elaborates on the importance of easy maintenance to their clients. “At a minimum, they want a continual supply of sanitary ice with minimal maintenance. When maintenance is required, they want it to be fast and easy to take care of, ensuring their continual supply of ice. They want it in the most cost effective manner both Manitowocspecialisesinmodularandundercountercubemachines Kold-Drafticecubesarewidelyusedbybartendersinhigh-enddrinks

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upfront and from a life cycle perspective.”Ron Soban, global director of technical Services of The Legacy

Companies describes Kold-Draft’s unique way of making ice. “We make ice upside-down. This results in what is acknowledged as the hardest, purest ice cube in the industry. It is considered a ‘gourmet cube’ and is widely used by bartenders in high-end drinks.

“Our large, square cube is very popular with high-end restaurants and bars because it melts more slowly.” Due to this slow melting rate, it does not dilute the drink as smaller, softer cubes do.

Soban shares the same view on the significance of food hygiene and convenient maintenance of ice machines. Kold-Draft is all stainless steel construction.

“We maintain a clear separation between the food zone and the condensing section. Kold-Draft icemakers are easy to maintain and service. Almost all components are accessible by simply removing the front cover.”

Versatile functions, space efficiency, cleanliness and economical maintenance appear to be the key criteria to an ideal ice machine. Being environmentally friendly is apparently the fifth key element. Soban adds, “Our commercial ice machines have been developed to be more energy and water efficient than standard ice machines.”

All Kold-Draft’s commercial ice machine models meet the California Energy Commission’s 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. “In the US, reducing energy and water consumption is critical. There will be new standards we must meet in 2015. So, we are working towards meeting those limits, while maintaining a premium ice cube.”

Kold-Drafticemakersareeasytomaintainandservice,withalmostallcomponentsaccessiblesimplybyremovingthefrontcover

Withnoicemakerontopofthedispenser,accesstothehopperforcleaningisstraightforwardwithFolletticemakers

AsAmerica’snumberonesellingicemachine,Manitowociscommittedtoquality,reliabilityandinnovation

Our best selling products are our icemakers that use RIDE technology as it delivers ice up to 75 feet away from the icemaker. This allows

for sanitary ice delivery as well as the ability to

sanitise ice and beverage dispensers.

Scott Bingham, Follett Corporation

Rentokil Specialist Hygiene’s website spells it out as clearly as anyone.

“Probably more than any other sector, catering or hospitality businesses with poor hygiene run the risk

of completely losing a highly regarded reputation established over many years.”

It is crucial that organisations in the industry at every level maintain the highest standards of hygiene. As well as protecting customers and staff, and making business sense, failure to comply with health and safety regulations may lead to fines or even the risk of imprisonment.

No one is more aware of this than The Mira Hong Kong’s hygiene manager Amy Cheng. She is part of a team that recently achieved Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) accreditation (see box).

“Close liaisons between kitchen and cleaning teams is the most important factor in significantly improving your hygiene status,” asserts Cheng. “Establishing food safety requires the cooperation of the frontline operation teams. It is hard to upgrade existing standards if we lack motivation, enthusiasm and [effective] communication.”

Cheng oversees 20 team members, who mainly perform daily deep cleaning of floors, equipment, kitchen utensils and facilities. They are split up into three teams covering eight-hour shifts and maintaining hygiene standards around the clock.

Overnight cleaners are primarily responsible for deep cleaning of kitchen facilities such as grease traps and stoves once daytime staff have completed operations. Kitchen staff are responsible for the routine cleaning of their equipment, including cutting boards, knives and slicing machines. They are trained to sanitise equipment following designated HACCP requirements and procedures.

Cheng says one of the hot topics of the past few years within

90 team members work per shift, with three shifts operating daily. Within this team there is a specialised technical team responsible for all high-reach work, marble restoration/crystallisation, carpet extraction and vinyl floor waxing, as well as a group of supervisors and managers.

“Our global cleaning chemical provider is Johnson

Diversey. We work closely with them to ensure that our team members are trained in the correct application and use of cleaning chemicals.

“The selection of our cleaning tools and equipment is especially important. The introduction of microfibre cleaning cloths, dusters and mops helps avoid bits of lint and dust getting left behind on surfaces being cleaned, making it easier to complete cleaning tasks.“

Clean the worldSealed Air is a global leader in food safety and security, facility hygiene and product protection. The company’s Diversey Care Division is a leading provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions to various industries.

Sealed Air’s Nikhil Sawant, regional marketing director, hospitality, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, says that over the years, the company’s focus on ‘protection’ has broadened to a point where its business is addressing three global trends that all tie together – global concern for food safety, food waste and access to convenient, healthy meals.

As a solutions provider to customers, Diversey does not focus on selling individual products but rather solutions that are a combination of various products to meet individual customer’s total needs, comprising not only cleaning chemicals but also equipment, tools, training and services.

“Our ‘R’ series of housekeeping products is almost an industry standard and so is our kitchen Suma brand and laundry Clax brand. Our Taski brand of cleaning equipment is world-renowned for its performance and durability. The food safety consulting arm of Diversey, Diversey Consulting, has worked with leading hospitality groups around the world.”

Current trends and innovations in the cleaning and hygiene industry are focused on increasing performance and productivity, reducing risk and liability while at the same time lowering the total cost of operations in a sustainable manner. Diversey has recently introduced its Green Housekeeping programme and also its High Efficiency Laundry System to the hospitality sector.

Green meets cleanNilfisk-Advance is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional cleaning equipment. It sells commercial vacuums, scrubbers, sweepers, high-pressure washers, single discs, burnishers and carpet extractors to the hospitality industry.

The company sees trends in the cleaning and hygiene industry in terms of being environmentally friendly, energy saving and keeping operating costs down.

“Cleaning is associated with environmental impact. Cleaning agents are chemicals, and the cleaning process often uses substantial

In an online world where reputations can be damaged by a

few negative reviews, it is vital that the hospitality industry maintains

high levels of cleanliness and hygiene, writes Daniel Creffield

Credit where HACCP credit’s due

earlier this year The Mira hong Kong, an iso 14001 certified member of design hotels, joined a handful of hong Kong hotels complying with the highest international industry standards in passing the final audits set by bureau Veritas after successful implementation of stringent food safety system hazard Analysis and critical control Point (hAccP).

At the certificate presentation ceremony, executive assistant manager of The Mira hong Kong, guillaume gallas, received the coveted accreditation from china director of bureau Veritas, fabien Joly de bresillon, who congratulated him on the team effort.

“Achieving hAccP certification is not an easy task. i wish to congratulate the project team of The Mira hong Kong for having developed a high standard system and especially having managed to place food safety and hAccP at the core of the attention of all staff involved in the food production chain”.

some of the most important critical control Points included receiving with cold storage and temperature control, labelling with dates and shelf lives, internal cooking temperature, chilling and reheating hot foods, and serving. in order to have a reliable and foolproof system in place, all kitchens are accountable to maintain proper documentation, with efficient filing system of traceability, in case of alleged food poisoning, for proof of verification.

Alexandre buytaert, executive sous chef of the hotel, who spearheaded the project initiated by culinary director, gianluigi gerosa, says that it was a real “eye opener” to some team members who had never previously been exposed to that level of food and hygiene standards.

TheMiraHongKong’sHACCPaccreditationwastheresultofmorethan18months’teameffortincorporatingthestewarding(cleaning),F&Bandengineeringdepartments.Secondleft,ChinadirectorofBureauVeritas,FabienJolyDeBresillon,thirdleft,MiraexecutiveassistantmanagerGuillaumeGallas,thirdright,MirahygienemanagerAmyCheng

amounts of water. The challenge is to balance the environmental impact with a clean result – not least for safety and health reasons.”

Nilfisk-Advance’s Ecoflex solution is an innovative green cleaning technology concept of floor cleaning that changes the landscape of sustainable cleaning and turns ‘green’ into clean.

The groundbreaking method achieves this by enabling the operator to easily adjust the amount of water, chemicals and pressure to the surface. The result is clean floors with minimal environmental impact.

the F&B industry is extending food shelf life, as most high-risk products, such as cream cakes and sashimi, are highly perishable, and affect food costs.

“The addition of food-derived ingredients which act as a preservative to inhibit bacteria growth is now being applied in some hotels with considerable success. Other solutions may involve application of unique technologies, such as ovens capable of extending shelf life of fresh bread up to two weeks.”

And she adds that the group is constantly on the lookout for the latest innovations to better comply with industry standards.

“Among the new technology solutions to be implemented at The Mira Hong Kong in coming months is a machine which allows for detection of microorganisms by surface swabbing, with results obtained within seconds. It’s an instant indicator of insufficient cleaning and potential threat of contamination of food.”

Dina Angelucci, director of housekeeping with Sands Cotai Central, says they also are always on the lookout for new trends and innovations.

“We have discovered a fantastic product that has simplified the cleaning of our chandeliers – and we have many! It is liquid based, can be sprayed directly onto the chandelier and does not require any wiping. It has cut down the cleaning time and made it easy to get to the hard-to-reach areas.”

Sands Cotai Central employs a cleaning team of 920 with three separate areas of operation: Conrad Macao, Cotai Central housekeeping; Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central housekeeping; and the public areas department.

The hotel housekeeping teams are responsible for all guestrooms in the Conrad/Holiday Inn hotel tower. The largest team is the public areas department, which has over 470 team members, responsible for all front of house and back of house areas. Approximately

Keep it clean

NilfiskAX410offerson-boardaccessoriesanddualmodecleaning

SealedAir’sTaskiswingo1260BbyDiverseyfloorcaremachinesarepartofthecompany’smadeinAsiaforAsiarange

TheMiraHongKong’shygienemanagerAmyCheng

DinaAngelucci,directorofhousekeeping,SandsCotaiCentral–alwaysonthelookoutfornewtrendsandinnovations

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AHCT August 2013 41

X marks the spotTo squeeze or not to squeeze? This is the question many have asked themselves when faced with those pesky little imperfections known as blackheads.

While some may think picking and pinching seems like a quick solution, most are unaware of the damage that can be caused to the skin and the infections and scars this bad habit can leave behind.

Pevonia’s Enzymo-Sphérides Peeling Cream makes the job easier while the at-home version helps clients keep their skin looking its best.

This product contains an innovative technology, which encapsulates pineapple and papaya enzymes into microsphérides shielding them away from water.

As the peel is worked into the

Hobart washes smarterHobart – based in Offenburg, Germany – has developed a unique innovation for the drying process of the Premax GCP compact glasswasher.

Its Energetic Drying System produces completely dry glasses straight from the dishwasher.

This development allows the Premax GCP to produce the best drying results currently achieved in the world of commercial dishwashing technology.

The Energetic Drying dries the glasses by means of warm, dry air, which removes the moisture from the glasses and conducts it out of the wash chamber.

As a result the items emerge from the machine completely dry, with no need for time-consuming manual drying.

This frees up staff at busy times while also avoiding glass breakages and the additional associated costs.

In order to reduce consumption values, the Hobart machines come with the intelligent wash water control. This technology uses sensors to monitor suds at all times and then adjusts the amount of water required in real time to suit the actual level of dirt present.

This means that the Premax GCP compact glasswashers use just 1.9 litres of fresh water per rack, leading to a corresponding reduction in the consumption of energy and chemicals.

Formoreinformation:www.hobart-export.com

Meiko’s new regional office in Kuala Lumpur underlines its drive to expand in Southeast Asia.

The company manufactures a variety of dishwashers, as well as waste treatment installations and cleaning and disinfection appliances.

Meiko managing director Burkhard Randel commented: “Our ongoing commitment to the Asian market was

recently highlighted by the opening of our regional office Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur which – together with our long-established companies in China and India – puts a solid emphasis on the newly industrialising markets between Thailand and Indonesia.”

Formoreinformation:www.meiko.de

Meiko on the move

skin with warm water, the microsphérides break and deliver the active enzymes as well as other key ingredients to immediately break down blackheads and dissolve dead cells, impurities, and sebum, acting as a vital step to facilitate your professional extraction.

Formoreinformation:www.pevoniapro.com

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: alpha@eurocave-alpha.com

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

p r o d u c t n E w s

AHCT August 201342

Save the DateJoin us for the ultimate 360° hospitality

experience at The Hotel Show What’s in it for you?

• Attend a 3-day Vision Conference featuring more than 50 hours of hospitality sessions

• Visit the Career Zone to meet with HR Managers from 15 leading Dubai hotels looking for their next talent

• Join the ultimate speed networking event and network one-on-one

• Architects, investors and developers can enjoy a luxury lounge to meet clients and

sign new business contracts

• Celebrate the launch of The Leisure Show

From the 28th – 30th September

INTRODUCING

Register now for your free fast-track badge to attend The Hotel Show.thehotelshow.com/register

For the full event schedule please visit thehotelshow.com/visionconference

@thehotelshow

facebook.com/thehotelshow

Gold Sponsor Official Recruitment Partner

www.cpidubai.com

News and analysis for the Middle East’s hospitality professionals

Official Media PartnersStrategic Partners Official Knowledge partners

THS AHCT_297x210.indd 1 10/07/2013 19:33

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44 AHCT August 2013

Healthy harvestO&CO, a Provence-based purveyor of exceptional Mediterranean culinary products, has unveiled its 2013 New Harvest Collection, an assortment of hand-selected extra virgin olive oils from renowned olive groves throughout the Mediterranean. The 2013 harvest oils will be available in O&CO’s 83 boutiques worldwide and online.

This year’s harvest – dominated by grassy notes – features not only oils from new producers, but several outstanding oils which were old favourites not available in recent harvests.

Each year, Albert Baussan, O&CO’s chairman and CEO and his team travel the Mediterranean to hand-select olive oils from the region’s finest artisanal growers.

To date, 22 oils have been chosen for the harvest, but the selection process is ongoing, with more grand cru oils to come.

With the 2013 harvest, O&CO is breaking additional new ground in the industry with the addition of the polyphenol count indicated on the label of oils which have a count of over 350mg per kg.

O&CO is offering several olive oils from this harvest with extremely high polyphenol counts, which are both delicious and full of antioxidants.

Formoreinformation:www.oliviersandco.com

An apple a dayAccording to research firm Mintel, high quality beverages such as super-nutritional juices and smoothies are driving beverage sales.

As customers look for healthier menu options, smoothies are piquing interest for their convenience, dietary benefits and customisation opportunities.

Knouse Foods highlights ways chefs and operators can tap into this trend utilising apple sauce to create real fruit smoothies that are flavourful and nutritious.

Perfect as a snack, to-go offering or as a complement to any meal, these smoothies are made with wholesome apple sauce, apple juice, fruit and spices.

Knouse Foods offers a variety of apple sauce flavours and sizes under its Musselman’s brand to fit any foodservice operation’s needs.

Formoreinformation:www.knousefoodservice.com

Summer chocolateChocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin has introduced a range of new products for the summer season.

It includes Rochers d’été – caramelised almonds (from France and Spain) and puffed rice, coated with milk and dark chocolate. They come in three package options, a 30g sachet, 43g tin and an elegant cube that holds 68g (approximately 12 pieces).

Plus there are two iced chocolate emulsions: matcha chocolate, a mix of iced Parisian chocolate with the refreshing flavour of green tea and finished with vanilla Chantilly cream, and raspberry chocolate, which combines the bitter notes of the iced Parisian chocolate with tart notes from fresh raspberry, balanced by the sweetness of the vanilla Chantilly cream.

The Parisien biscuit box of craquants and sablés contains 18 biscuits, with milk and dark chocolate craquants, and plain, cinnamon and nougatine sablés.

JPH has also introduced the latest macaron flavour – citron vert (lime), its citrus notes find a perfect balance with the renowned chocolate ganache.

Formoreinformation:www.jeanpaulhevin.com.hk

DATe eveNT DeTAILS ORGANISeR

HOSFAIR Shenzhen is a platform for the industry, gathering together many professionals related to hospitality from all over the world.

After 13 successful years The Hotel Show has become one of the most important business events within the hospitality, hotel and tourism industries for the MENA region. The Hotel Show provides a vibrant showcase of luxury and contemporary interiors, essential equipment, and the newest technology suppliers making it a key meeting place for leading suppliers and buyers.

FHC China is the biggest international trade show for food, wine and hospitality equipment in China. It features ProWine China 2013, Meat China 2013 and Tea and Coffee 2013 specialist areas, with Olive Oil China, Ultimate Barista Challenge China, Ice Cream University, Wine Seminars, China Sommelier Wine Challenge, FHC international cooking competition and more.

Held at the Wan Chai HKCEC, the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair offers a wide range of high quality wine and spirits, beer and other alcoholic beverages, as well as wine production, wine education, logistics and services to buyers from all over the world.

As the number one destination in Asia for modern textile care products, services and technologies, Texcare Asia International Trade Fair for Modern Textile Care is a rendezvous for thousands of professionals from a broad range of industries, including laundry, dry cleaning.

As the largest, longest-running and most comprehensive hospitality exhibition in Macau, International Hotel Expo has been well rooted with solid reputation earned from the hotel industry in the Greater China and Southeast Asia, gathering the managerial class of the leading hotels and the attendance of groups led by hotel associations.

FHM 2013 will feature a series of seminars and workshops, including Culinaire Malaysia 2013, and celebrity cooking demonstrations. A one-stop-resource centre for the food, hotel and hospitality industries.

The Asian Seafood Exposition is the premier seafood trade event in Hong Kong and connects buyers with seafood suppliers from around the world. It is co-located with Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong.

Currently in its 11th year, Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong has a growing reputation as the biggest and best niche gourmet hospitality event in the region.

HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair is the flagbearer for Hong Kong’s pre-eminent position in tea trading, bringing together industry players from all over the world as vendors and buyers of tea, processed tea and all kinds of tea-related products.

Guangzhou Huazhan Exhibition Co., LtdTower H, Building 9, No. 900 Guangzhou Avenue Middle, Guangzhou (510620)Tel: +86 20 38910875Fax: +86 20 22223568hosfair@hosfair.com, www.hosfair.com

dmg events Dubai LLCTel: +971 4 438 0355Fax: +971 4 438 0358Email: rogercardoso@dmgeventsme.com www.thehotelshow.com

Lily ZhuChina International Exhibitions, Room A2402-03, Singular Mansion, No.318-322 Xian Xia Road, Shanghai 200336 ChinaDID: +8621 6209 5209Fax: +8621 6209 5210fhc@chinaallworld.comwww.fhcchina.com

Hong Kong Trade Development CouncilTel: +852 1830 668Fax: +852 2824 0026exhibitions@hktdc.orgwww.hktdc.com/ex/hkwinefair/09

Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd Room 1503, 15/F, Taiping Finance Tower488 Middle Yincheng Road, Pudong New AreaShanghai, 200120 ChinaTel: +86 21 6160 8555 Ext: 209 / 229Fax: +86 21 5876 9332texcareasia@china.messefrankfurt.comwww.texcare-asia.com

Coastal International Exhibition Co., Ltd.Tel: +852 2827 6766Fax: +852 2827 6870general@coastal.com.hkwww.hotel-exhibition.com

Malaysian Exhibition Services Sdn BhdTel: 603 4041 0311Fax: 603 4043 7241enquiry@mesallworld.comwww.foodandhotel.com

Diversified Business CommunicationsTel: +852 3105 3970 Fax: +852 3105 3974www.asianseafoodexpo.com

Diversified Events Hong KongTel: +852 3105 3970 Fax: +852 3105 3974www.restaurantandbarhk.com

Hong Kong Trade Development Council Tel: +852 1830 668Fax: +852 2824 0026Email: exhibitions@hktdc.org

Aug 15 – 17 HKTDC International Tea Fair Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Wanchai Hong Kong

Sep 3 – 5 Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Sep 3 – 5 Asian Seafood Exposition Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Sept 17 – 20 Food and Hotel Malaysia 2013 (FHM 2013) KLCC Convention Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sep 28 – 30 The Hotel Show Dubai World Trade Center, UAE

Oct 14 –16 The 2nd Shenzhen International Hospitality equipment and supplies fair Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center Shenzhen, China

Oct 16 – 18 Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) InterContinental Hong Kong 18 Salisbury Road Kowloon Hong Kong

Nov 7– 9 HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Nov 13 – 15 FHC China 2013 Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China

Nov 19 – 21 Texcare Asia 2013 Shanghai New International Expo Centre Shanghai, China

Nov 20 – 22 The 9th International Hotel Expo The Venetian Macao, Macau

Asia’s largest and longest running hotel investment event. HICAP gathers hotel investors, financiers, and leading industry professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region.

HICAP c/o BHN2900 Bristol Street, Ste. D101Costa Mesa, CA 92626 USATel: +1 714 540 9300marketing@burba.comwww.HICAPconference.com

FHM 2013 – an exciting showcase for the F&B and hospitality industries

COMING NEXTFood and Hotel Malaysia 2013Kuala Lumpur Convention CentreSeptember 17 – 20, 2013

www.foodandhotel.com

Food and Hotel Malaysia 2013 aspires to be even greater this September with the addition of a new hall that will see an amazing 30% growth in space. It will also feature exciting happenings

and activities such as Culinaire Malaysia 2013, celebrity cooking demonstrations, seminars and much more.

FHM will also be bringing back the big names in the food and hospitality industries including Nestlé, Wong Brothers, CB Frozen, English Hotbreads, Eurochef, Global Pacific Victory, Lucky Frozen, Pastry Pro, SCC Corporation and Sinmag Bakery Equipment with their showcase of latest products.

Organisers expect a total of 1,400 participating companies from 50 countries/regions, and seven international pavilions from Greece, Japan, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the US will be at the show.

Facts at a glance:• 20,000 trade buyers expected.• Culinaire Malaysia 2013 is the biggest cooking competition in the region

and a unique opportunity for the best chefs of the country’s hospitality industry to showcase their talent and be judged by world-renowned chefs.

• Get up close and personal with a top Malaysian celebrity – Chef Sherson Lian – who will be conducting live cooking demos for three days at selected exhibitors’ booths.

• Fully supported by Malaysian Association of Hotels, International Food and Beverage Association, Malaysian Food and Beverage Executives Associations and Chefs Association of Malaysia and endorsed by MATRADE.

• Get familiarised – a halal talk addressing vital issues pertaining to halal certification Malaysia

• Chocolate education and tasting by Chef Anil Rohira, the chocolate specialist representing the chocolate producer, Max Felchlin of Switzerland.

• B2B platform for trade visitors to meet their potential suppliers at the show

FHM 2013 creates the opportunity to expose relevant key players in the

industry to better networking possibilities locally and globally. As a result, the FHM series has seen successful businesses matching

buyers, manufacturers and distributors. This exercise has seen the growth of new developments in the industry. It is also an ideal ground for industry experts to expand ideas, source

specific products and mingle with new and existing clients.

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HOSFAIR goes from strength to strength

COMING NEXT12th Guangzhou International Hospitality equipment & Supplies FairChina Import and Export Fair ComplexJune 26 – 28, 2014

www.hosfair.com

The 11th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair was held in June at the China Import and Export Fair Complex.

The show gathered suppliers and purchasers from the hospitality industry all over the world.

Covering 63,000 square metres, its 1,308 exhibitors helped make it the fastest developing hospitality show in China.

Over a period of three days, HOSFAIR attracted a total of 51,088 trade attendees from 70 countries/regions, allowing numerous business partnerships and opportunities to be explored.

HOSFAIR’s exhibitors were mainly drawn from China, Italy, Germany, Japan, Australia, South Korea, the US, Uganda, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. There was a significant increase in the number of overseas exhibitors.

During the show, 51,088 trade professionals gathered from 70 countries and regions, mainly China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, the US, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, UK, Russia, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Pakistan, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Burma, India, Uganda, Kenya, Bolivia, Morocco, Japan and South Korea.

The HOSFAIR Guangzhou organising team would like to thank all exhibitors, visitors, conference speakers and delegates, members of the press and supporting organisations for making the show a resounding success.

Even as the curtain closed on HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2013, work was well under way for next year’s event.

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www.HICAPconference.com

24TH ANNUAL

16-18 OCTOBER 2013INTERCONTINENTAL HONG KONG

Hosted by:

NAVIGATINGCHANGING TIDESPatronsHyatt International - Asia Pacific LimitedIHGJones Lang LaSalle Hotels and Hospitality Group

Platinum SponsorsAccor Asia PacificAshford Hospitality TrustBaker & McKenzieCanyon Equity LLCCarlson Rezidor Hotel GroupFSC ArchitectsGuam Economic Development Authority (GEDA)Hilton WorldwideInterstate China Hotels + ResortsJumeirah GroupMarriott International, Inc.Mayer Brown JSMMGM HospitalityMilbankOutrigger Hotels and ResortsPaul Hastings LLPpentahotelsPremier InnProskauerQUORosewood Hotels & ResortsRyan LawyersScottish Development InternationalShangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.Taj Hotels Resorts & PalacesThe Brand CompanyTourism AustraliaWATG, Wimberly InteriorsWyndham Worldwide

Media SponsorsAsian Hotel + Catering TimesGlobalHotelNetwork.comHotel Analyst Emerging MarketsHotel Interactive, Inc.Hotelier IndonesiaHotelNewsNow.comHOTELS’ Investment OutlookSleeper MagazineST Media GroupTTG Asia

International Newspaper Media SponsorFinancial Times

SupportersHospitality Asset Managers Association Asia PacificInternational Finance CorporationInternational Society of Hospitality ConsultantsInternational Tourism PartnershipPacific Asia Travel AssociationWorld Travel & Tourism Council

Patrons, Sponsors, and Supporters as of 27 June 2013

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BuhdyBok

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BernhardButz

SupotSamsang

StefanoRuzza

PaulThenJuliaWu

C.S.“Ram”Ramachandran

EdCase

GerhardAicher

Ayana Resort and Spa Bali has appointed veteran hotelier – and former gymnastics champion – Bernhard Butz as executive chef, strengthening its management team ahead of the September opening of sister hotel Rimba Jimbaran Bali.

Buhdy Bok has been promoted to Costa Cruises’ senior vice president Pacific Asia & China. Before coming to Costa, he spent 15 years at Singapore Airlines, where he worked in a number of positions both at the company’s head office in Singapore and abroad.

valentina Latorraca has joined the Shenzhen office of Top Hoteliers – Hospitality Executive Search as a consultant. She hails from Milan, Italy, where she graduated from Higher School of Linguistics before coming to China in 2007 to study Mandarin at Shenzhen University.

Julia Wu – who previously worked for Accor – has taken on a new role as consultant at the Beijing office of Top Hoteliers – Hospitality Executive Search. A long time Beijing resident, she has also worked in media and publishing.

C.S. “Ram” Ramachandran has notched up 15 years experience in the hospitality industry, the majority of which has been devoted to the field of revenue management and business strategies. He has now joined Preferred Hotel Group as director, revenue account management, based in New Delhi, India.

ed Case – a veteran Hawaii attorney and former US Congressman – has joined Outrigger Enterprises Group as senior vice president and chief legal officer. He was most recently an attorney with Bays, Lung, Rose & Holma, focusing on real estate transactions and development.

A seasoned international hotelier whose passion for the industry sprouted from his upbringing in a family-run hospitality business in Austria, Gerhard Aicher has been appointed general manager of The Mira Hong Kong.

Helen Cheung has moved on from Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, where she spent six years as assistant director of public relations, to become marketing communications manager for Lanson Place Hospitality Management.

Nejat Sarp is Mandarin Oriental’s new area general manager for Turkey. He will be based at Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, which is scheduled to open in 2014, and will manage the hotel and well as oversee the development of Mandarin Oriental, Istanbul, which is scheduled to open in 2016.

As Singapore’s Orchard Hotel’s new executive chef, Paul Then will helm the entire culinary department and will be launching his signature Straits Chinese delicacies which stem from his rich Peranakan heritage.

Supot Samsang’s exposure to international cuisine through his assignments in the UK and USA as well as visits to 52 countries have cultivated a flair for fusing foreign flavours into Thai cuisine – something he’ll be putting to good use as the newly appointed executive chef at 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

After stints in Sri Lanka and South Korea, Stefano Ruzza has joined Conrad Koh Samui as the resort’s general manager. Originally from Switzerland, he has also worked in India, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

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AHCT August 201354

If you’re like most people, energy efficiency is increasingly weighing in on the decisions we make [for our clients]. The refrigerators and air conditioners we pick, the light bulbs we use, the stoves we install must not only look good, perform well, but also help us maintain a small environmental footprint and keep the utilities bill down.

What about water efficiency, another natural resource under pressure? Making saving water a habit is certainly a place to start, but having our products do that for us automatically is a surefire way to ensure efficiency and a small bill.

To make selection easier for customers, European sanitary products manufacturers have established the Water Efficiency Label: WELL. Products are rated and classified according to a set of demanding, European criteria, and the best products are awarded the A**** label.

Grohe is a company that has pocketed a good number of the A**** labels for its faucet lines during WELL’s first wave of classification. It is precisely because Grohe has long built energy and water efficiency deeply into their business that they have attained such flying colours already.

The high quality of materials Grohe uses in manufacturing the products also keeps your fittings like new after years of use, minimising the need for repair and replacement. All these helped Grohe earn WELL’s highest approval. And for customers like us to rein in our environmental footprint without even conscious effort.

So next time you shop, consider Grohe's suite of WELL-certified products. They make a perfect companion in our quest to look great, enjoy more, and save the world.

GROHE.HKEMAIL: INFO@GROHE.HK

GROHE ECOJOY™

THE ENVIROMENTAL CHOICE

TEL: 2969 7067

A study at GROHE showed that 70% to 80% of the overall environmental burden of a bathroom faucet is created duringusage by end-users. That’s why we’ve introduced GROHE ECOJOY™, helping you to provide your clients with the most resource-efficient products across all touch points in the bathroom.

GROHE ECOJOY™ reduces the maximum flow rate to 9.4 litres per minute for showers and 5.8 litres per minute for faucets. On our thermostatic shower mixers, the EcoButton reduces the flow rate by up to an impressive 50%.

Enquiry:

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