Shangri-La’s Traders Hotels will be rebranded as 'Hotel Jen' and repositioned to snare "independently minded business and leisure travellers."
The first Traders property to transition to Hotel Jen will be the Traders Singapore, which is set to become the Hotel Jen Orchardgateway (and 'Orchardgateway' is one word, not a typo) this month.
Next in line for the Hotel Jen revamp will be Traders hotels in Hong Kong, Brisbane, Penang, Johor Bahru, Manila, Maldives, Beijing and Shenyang, in a rapid roll-out program spanning from September 2014 to March 2015.
"The rebrand will bring an intuitive service attitude and relaxed, friendly style to the diverse collection of existing and new mid-range hotels situated in the best locations in Asia Pacific", promises parent company Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.
We're told the Hotel Jen brand "is inspired by the virtual persona Jen, a professional hotelier who loves life, travel and the adventure of discovering new places."
Just like the virtual Jen, the hotels named for her will "take care of guests with efficiency and care, while also giving them informed access to the best a particular destination has to offer."
“The Hotel Jen experience delivers what matters most to guests with a millennial mind set" says Greg Dogan, president and CEO of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.
"They appreciate important things done well; demand quality, comfort and value, together with honest, authentic service; and want privacy and efficiency without unnecessary fuss or intrusion."
Dogan says the 30 year old Traders brand was fine for its time, "carving out a niche amidst a highly competitive industry and building a loyal base of customers."
“However, we are looking to the future and – based on extensive consumer research and insight into the way our target market lives and travels, including talking and listening to our customers – we are recognising and responding to the global travel trends and particular needs of this new generation traveller" Dogan says.
"This will keep us relevant and competitive for the next 20 years to come."
Stress-free ease and simplicity will be reflected in the overall Hotel Jen stay experience through the informal and friendly check-in, stay, check-out and on-going contact, according to Shangri-La.
"A sense of belonging will be reflected through a brand persona concept that positions guests as ‘friends of Jen’, with a caring and respectful service standard communicated by staff in an enthusiastic, helpful and engaging way."
Creature comforts for the highly social, young-at-heart traveller will include free WiFi "and convenient mobile charging stations throughout the hotels," along with free grab-and-go snackboxes available after breakfast.
For more information and reservations, visit Hoteljen.com.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
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