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Elaine Young,
Executive Director, ONYX Hospitality Group |
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In 1996, English-born entrepreneur Elaine Young “fell into” a business that was to become, in the space of a decade, one of the luxury accommodation success stories of Hong Kong.
She and a business partner invested in a small residential building in Central, with the intention of “buying it wholesale, and selling retail.” The property market at the time was rising fast and people were concerned about investing in the run-up to the 1997 handover.
To stir interest, they styled and furnished a show flat “but still no one would buy – they all wanted to rent. So we furnished all 20,” Ms Young recalled. The partners had “stumbled into” the serviced apartment market – then in its infancy, but soon to become a major force in Hong Kong’s accommodation sector.
Ms Young was speaking at the 10th anniversary of Shama, the serviced apartment brand she adopted for her property portfolio in 2001. The company is now owned by Thailand’s ONYX Hospitality Group, of which the Hong Kong-based Ms Young is Executive Director.
Boutique Pioneer
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Shama in Times Square, Causeway Bay, a prime shopping and commercial district of Hong Kong
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From that first building, the distinctive model of Shama, which means tranquility in Sanskrit, began to take shape. “We were a forerunner in bringing to Hong Kong the concept of boutique serviced apartments,” Ms Young said. Its successful business model spurred the development of a niche market, which has since been joined by many other operators.
Today, Shama is a leading brand in luxury serviced apartments in Asia, with a portfolio of 12 properties (totaling 1,429 apartments) in prime commercial and residential districts of gateway cities, including Hong Kong, Bangkok in Thailand, and Dalian and Shanghai on the Chinese mainland.
Shama’s distinctive advantage is its passion and personality, Ms Young said. “We see ourselves not as a serviced apartment operator, but a provider of luxury lifestyle. Shama offers a ‘no boundaries’ programme, which fast-tracks tenants’ social lives and helps them develop a sense of belonging in their host cities.”
Service excellence is another cornerstone of the brand’s success. “We were creating a concept of how we ourselves would want to live, and extending that to our tenants.”
China Springboard
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Shama Century Park, Shanghai – one of the brand’s Chinese
mainland properties
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ONYX Hospitality approached Ms Young in 2010 with the offer of a 100 per cent buyout. ONYX was itself an established company with a strong portfolio of hotel brands in the region, including Saffron, Amari and OZO. What ONYX didn’t have – and what Hong Kong-based Shama offered – was an entry point to China.
“One of the great advantages of acquiring Shama is that we gained a springboard to China,” said Peter Henley, ONYX President and Chief Executive. “We knew that if we wanted to be big in China, we had to be big in Hong Kong. Shama had the knowledge, expertise and strong presence in Hong Kong that provided the fundamentals for us to grow in China.”
Ms Young said that new players entering the mainland market “still take great comfort” in coming to Hong Kong first. “With its solid banking sector and rule of law, Hong Kong feels very safe. Setting up a company is so effortless and fast, it is painless. Hong Kong’s great strength is its ease and efficiency, which is so welcoming for business.”
Visions Aligned
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Peter Henley,
President & CEO, ONYX Hospitality Group
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Mr Henley agreed. “Hong Kong, and Shama, are a great fit for ONYX – they dovetail precisely with our vision.”
Both executives see China as the future key revenue driver. “This is why we need to have such a strong footprint,” Mr Henley said. “It’s no coincidence that we now have properties coming up in Hong Kong and Sanya on the mainland, with others under negotiation. Shama is also expanding its mainland portfolio with Shama HEDA Hangzhou, set to open in 2013, and Shama Luxe Bundside East, Shanghai, opening in 2014. We couldn’t get going with hotel experience in China if we didn’t have a strong presence in Hong Kong.”
Related Links
ONYX Hospitality
Shama
