BT : Hiap Hoe, SuperBowl JV to open 2 hotels

Business Times - 28 Jan 2010

Hiap Hoe, SuperBowl JV to open 2 hotels

By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

PROPERTY developer Hiap Hoe and SuperBowl Holdings, which owns and manages leisure and recreational facilities, are investing $300 million to open two hotels in Balestier through their 50:50 joint venture company, HH Properties.

HH has appointed Wyndham Hotel Management - which is part of the Wyndham Hotel Group - to run the two hotels. The hotel group's portfolio consists of over 7,000 hotels and 11 brands.

The two hotels will be operated under the Ramada and Days Inn brands, which are new-to-market brands for Singapore.

The 390-room Ramada Singapore at Zhongshan Park will have more than 6,400 square feet of meeting space and will be linked to an adjacent office block. The Days Hotel Singapore, also at Zhongshan Park, will have 405 rooms. Both hotels are slated to open their doors in 2014.

'Singapore is one of the most important business and leisure destinations in the Asia-Pacific region and we are thrilled to introduce our Ramada and Days Inn brands to the market,' said Tom Monahan, Wyndham Hotel Group's executive vice-president of international development. 'We are very excited to be working with HH Properties as we expand our global footprint.'

While Hiap Hoe and SuperBowl Holdings have worked together in the past on residential projects such as The Beverly, this is the maiden venture into the hospitality industry for both companies.

The Balestier site was awarded to HH Properties in August 2008, when HH Properties acquired the land for some $75 million. The land cost is included in the $300 million investment.

Located opposite the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, it has a land area of about 190,000 sq ft and a gross permissible floor area of about 421,000 sq ft. HH Properties will also construct commercial developments on the site.

Teo Ho Beng, managing director of Hiap Hoe Group said: 'We have spent a considerable amount of time planning the project. We selected Wyndham Hotel Group to manage the hotels based on its strong brand portfolio and track record.'