Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 23 May 2025
SCCP Acquires New Blanc Central Myeongdong in Seoul, South Korea
Singapore-based real estate investment manager, SC Capital Partners Group ('SCCP'), has acquired the 181-key New Blanc Central Myeongdong in Seoul, South Korea. According to market sources, the transaction price is approximately KRW70 billion, translating to approximately KRW38.7 million per key. The property is currently managed by South Korea-based hospitality operator StayNeo, and offers a range of amenities, including two food and beverage outlets, a fitness centre, a laundrette, a communal kitchen, and a lounge. Ideally located within access to four subway lines, the hotel is just a five-minute walk from Euljiro 4-ga Station (Lines 2 and 5) and Chungmuro Station (Lines 3 and 4). Popular attractions such as the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Gwangjang Market are also within ten minutes' walk. This acquisition marks SCCP's first entry into the South Korean market, signalling its strategic expansion within the Asia-Pacific hospitality sector.
LHN Divests Stake in Geylang Property in Singapore for SGD25.8 Million
Coliwoo Holdings Pte Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based LHN Limited ('LHN'), has announced the sale of its interest in the company owning 115 Geylang Road – home to Coliwoo Hotel Gay World – for a consideration of SGD25.8 million. The buyer, Singapore-based CWL Properties Pte Ltd ('CWL'), is a real estate firm wholly owned by Chia Teo Meng. The 27-key property is located five-minute away from Kallang MRT station. Originally acquired in 2021 for SGD13.5 million, the asset was among three co-living properties listed by LHN in October 2024. LNH views the divestment as a strategic opportunity to unlock capital for future development and investment initiatives.
Salter Brothers and IHG Close AUD1 Billion Luxury & Lifestyle Hotel Deal Across Australia
Australia-based Salter Brothers Asset Management Pty Limited ('Salter Brothers') has entered into a landmark long-term agreement with UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group PLC ('IHG') to reposition and rebrand several high-profile assets across the country. The AUD1 billion deal includes the conversion of the 253-key InterContinental Melbourne to a Regent Hotel by 2030, marking the brand's return to Australia after 28 years, as well as upgrades and redevelopments of multiple Crowne Plaza properties across Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. A new Hotel Indigo will be introduced to Canberra, and the existing 389-key voco Gold Coast will also undergo enhancements. This initiative strengthens IHG's position in Australia's Luxury & Lifestyle segment, aligning with Salter Brothers' broader strategy to grow a AUD2.5 billion hotel portfolio across the Asia-Pacific and prepare for a public listing on Australia's stock exchange.
Alyssa and Mitsubishi HC Capital Realty Inc. Acquire The Lively Hotel Fukuoka Hakata in Japan
Japan-based real estate investment management firm, Alyssa Partners Japan K.K. ('Alyssa'), has entered into a strategic partnership with Japan-based real estate investor and lender, Mitsubishi HC Capital Realty Inc., to acquire The Lively Hotel Fukuoka Hakata in Japan. According to market sources, the seller is the investment arm of US-based Morgan Stanley, though the transaction price remains undisclosed. Conveniently located just a one-minute walk from Nakasu-Kawabata Station on the Kuko subway line and a 20-minute taxi ride from Fukuoka Airport, the property enjoys excellent connectivity in central Fukuoka. The hotel comprises 224 guest rooms and 114 sleeping pods, and offers a range of facilities including three food and beverage outlets, two meeting rooms, and a 24-hour co-working space. Additional amenities, such as fitness equipment and board games, are also available for rent. This transaction marks Alyssa's latest acquisition, following its purchase of three hotels in Osaka from Singapore-based CapitaLand Ascott Trust in December 2023.
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CASE STUDY: How Texas A&M Hotel Improved Communications and Boosted Operational Efficiency with Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, July 29, 2025 — The Doug Pictock '49 Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center sits at the heart of the Texas A&M campus, known for its striking glass towers and renowned service. To support its high operational standards and continue delivering exceptional guest experiences, the hotel sought to elevate internal communication and improve workflows — particularly in housekeeping, one of the most complex departments in hospitality. Hotel leadership turned to Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud Technologies to enhance collaboration, support staff, and unlock new efficiencies. The Opportunity for Growth: While the Texas A&M Hotel team already maintained strong service routines, they recognized opportunities to further optimize internal processes and eliminate inefficiencies stemming from disconnected legacy systems. For example, housekeepers were able to report work orders, but the system lacked detailed input options such as photo attachments or contextual notes. As a result, interpreting requests occasionally took longer, leading to delays and extra coordination among teams. These small communication gaps could add complexity to daily operations. Without real-time tools, room inspectors needed to make judgment calls with limited information, and frontline staff often had to physically visit the front desk for updates or clarifications — sometimes spending up to 10 minutes per trip. Despite the team's commitment and effort, the absence of an integrated digital solution meant important details could be lost in translation, making it harder to respond swiftly to evolving guest needs. Recognizing this, leadership at the Texas A&M Hotel prioritized upgrading to a modern, mobile-first technology platform that could better support their proactive service culture and reduce operational friction. The Solution: To solve these challenges, hotel leadership began searching for a mobile-first technology partner capable of providing continuity between departments through more dynamic communication tools. The hotel wanted to reduce traffic to and from the main office and enable its operations to take charge and respond to new developments. These desires led them to partner with Maestro PMS, enabling them to leverage the company's suite of All-In-One PMS capabilities alongside PurpleCloud's service optimization platform. Communication improved virtually overnight after the onboarding process, breaking down silos and boosting efficiency and team cohesion. 'Using Maestro PMS' GuestXMS, workers were able to quickly and easily report any issues or needs without breaking away from the task at hand, supported by expanded features offered through PurpleCloud's messaging platform,' said Margaret Legum, Senior Account Executive for Maestro. 'Housekeepers improved contact with the front desk and maintenance, and they could see how much time was spent cleaning each room. These features helped increase productivity and engagement with the property by enabling them to communicate more clearly.' One of the most critical elements of the combined efforts of Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud was the ability to send images to select individuals or departments. With a few additional prompts, team members could quickly build and deliver complete work orders without the need to describe most issues in full. 'PurpleCloud and Maestro have been wonderful partners, and I could not be more pleased with the performance of their technology and the relationship with our property,' said Greg Stafford, General Manager of the Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center. 'These partners have given us the customization we needed in an easy-to-use software suite. It is great to see our rooms team so engaged and excited about using the joint system, particularly the built-in gamification tools and ease of work order creation. I truly believe Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud are a large reason why our guestroom satisfaction scores continue to rise. We recently reached a 96.6-percent satisfaction, and our productivity continues to improve.' Gamification is a strategic approach to improve a hotel's operations, efficiency, and worker satisfaction by drawing on employees' natural inclination to complete tasks that can be tracked and subsequently rewarded. Gamification strategies are more effective than traditional workforce management tactics because they provide an equal sense of levity and control to the work environment. When used properly, both workers and managers benefit from their availability. 'Creating and responding to maintenance requests has never been easier thanks to PurpleCloud's built-in work order function,' said Lacey Lewis, Director of Rooms at the Texas A&M Hotel. 'Using this, any employee can snap pictures and create a ticket that shoots right over to our engineers. On top of this, the gamification option makes efficiently cleaning a room and entering tickets fun and rewarding.' Gamifying a housekeeping worker's shift may involve ranking their time to clean a room or the number of rooms they complete across several shifts, giving them rewards for reaching specific milestones. Using their phones, housekeepers can track progress toward rewards and view performance dashboards directly from PurpleCloud, enabling any department to build toward unique long-term goals regardless of property size 'Gamification is often infectious,' said Adria Levtchenko, Co-Founder and CEO of PurpleCloud. 'It is not uncommon for one department's success with gamification to spill into others. When this happens, an entire property can benefit from a unified improvement process that benefits everyone through individual growth. This is much more than a reward system. It is a tool for constantly refreshing the core lessons that support hospitality while creating a more enjoyable work environment for hotel employees. Gamification helps associate a positive work environment with positive employee performance and goes a long way toward retaining workers in the long term.' Integrating Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud eliminated manual systems like paper-based boards used to track room status and guest requests. Now, all staff can access up-to-date information from their mobile devices at the start of each shift. The Result: Since implementing PurpleCloud, housekeeping boards now take only 20 minutes to create. Room inspections used to take 30 minutes and now take less than 10. And after one year of having PurpleCloud, the hotel saved close to 12% of its budgeted payroll. Likewise, the real-time visibility provided by Maestro PMS has improved the hotel's ability to manage room inventory and reduce overbooking, providing significant cost savings. The organization's 360-degree room analysis dashboard and reputation management tools allow hotels to thoroughly understand their property's performance while identifying areas for improvement. This visibility has also worked to raise accountability for each department, creating a culture of efficiency and satisfaction by breaking down the minutia of daily operations. 'We could not be happier with Maestro and PurpleCloud's product,' said Patti Culwell, Director of Operations at the Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center. 'The software's ability to auto-assign housekeeping boards is robust and allows us to target our hotel's specific needs using an array of available filters. Using PurpleCloud, we can set a maximum number of room types assigned per room attendant and can filter by room type, such as double queens. Our team loves this feature.' Conclusion: Following the adoption of Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud, the Texas A&M Hotel saw an increase in operational efficiency, positively impacting every department. Maestro's full suite of All-In-One PMS features gave Texas A&M a balanced understanding of its operations while expanding its ability to interact with team members and guests. By working with Maestro PMS and PurpleCloud, the Texas A&M Hotel has optimized workflow processes, empowered hotel workers, and boosted overall productivity. The mutual collaboration instilled a newfound sense of efficiency and productivity in the hotel, ultimately enhancing the guest experience while reducing operational costs. PurpleCloud and Maestro offer game-changing technology that has helped the Texas A&M Hotel remain competitive in an evolving marketplace and set the standard for excellence in its competitive set. 'Thanks to PurpleCloud and Maestro PMS's support, the Texas A&M Hotel is more effective at managing many elements of our property, from payroll to minutes per room,' Culwell said. 'Their support and willingness to make their system work for our hotel's specific needs are impressive. They provide a greater level of support than what we experienced with previous providers. Every time we have requested new features, such as the ability to add, change, or write custom reports, we are always met with positivity — and they deliver results.' About Maestro PMS Maestro is the preferred Web Browser based cloud and on-premises all-in-one PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. Maestro's embedded payments system offers a PCI-compliant and EMV-ready enterprise system with 20+ integrated modules on a single database. This includes mobile and contact-free apps designed to enhance profitability, encourage direct bookings, centralize operations, and empower operators to engage guests in a personalized and secure manner. Maestro's Support Service further enhances the experience, providing unmatched 24/7 North American-based live support and education services. About PurpleCloud Technologies Headquartered in Atlanta, PurpleCloud Technologies is a privately held technology company that builds innovative software solutions and data analytics for the operations and management of lodging entities, including hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals. The company's PurpleCloud Service Optimization Platform can help hotel and resort operators achieve increased productivity and decreased labor costs especially in housekeeping staffing, one of the largest cost centers in most hotel operations. PurpleCloud also provides an enhanced customer experience; engaged and empowered employees; and next-generation analysis of operations data for internal strategy development. The technology is also applicable for casinos and cruise lines. Barb Worcester
