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Miramar Group's Garden Taipei hotel to open(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The Miramar Group, one of Taiwan's oldest family-run business empires, is hoping to re-enter the hotel market with the brand-new Miramar Garden Taipei. Centrally located on Civic Boulevard, the hotel, which opens April 1, will position itself in the market by classing itself as an international-style hotel with affordable prices. "This is the area where I think the Miramar Garden Taipei will differ from the other hotels," says the hotel's general manager Linda Chu. The group, which ran the former Miramar Hotel on Minchuan East Road, has sunk over NT$800 million in the venture. "(We) are hoping to revive the Miramar name in the market," Chu says. Luckily for the group, they didn't need to purchase land. The government is hoping to stimulate the tourist market, amid Taiwan's recent lackluster economic performance. Under the leadership of former Premier Yu Shyi-kun, the Tourism Bureau decided to provide land to private investors for building hotels using the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model. After 50 years, these hotels are required to be returned to the government. The Miramar Garden Taipei is the first, and so far, only hotel to be awarded state land under this scheme. "This is a big opportunity," Chu says. Awarding the BOT rights to the Miramar Garden Taipei seems a pretty safe bet. The powerful Miramar group -- which controls a wide range of businesses ranging from department stores to real estate to petrol stations -- was famous for the old Miramar Hotel. The hotel, which ran from 1979 to 1999, gave the group a wealth of experience in hotel management. The Miramar Garden Taipei's chairman is Huang Chun-fu, a second-generation business leader in the Huang clan, which controls the Miramar Group. The new hotel's investors are the owners of the old Miramar Hotel and Tze-hing Industries, another Miramar-controlled business specializing in oil products, petrol stations and transportation. Chu says the provision of land from the government means investors can focus on creating top-level facilities and service for the 12-story hotel. The hotel has hired chefs and managers from international five-star hotels -- such as the Far Eastern, Grand Formosa and Hyatt -- to work in its three restaurants. As an example of the hotel's good prices, its Garden Terrace restaurant offers a seven-course Western meal for NT$1,500. Facilities on the second floor make it an international hotel according to Taiwan government standards. There are multi function conference rooms which can accommodate up to 80 people. The hotel also employs professional staff to assist with events and provides audiovisual equipment. There's also the Vigor Health Club on this floor, with a gym, sauna, spa treatment rooms and outdoor swimming pool. However, room prices are reasonable. A 40-square-meter standard room will be priced at NT$4,200 to NT$4,900 compared to other international hotels, which, Chu says, are at least double this price. Another tactic the hotel is using to attract guests in densely-populated bustling Taipei is a feeling of space in its 200 rooms. For example, the hotel's designers have made the ceilings of most floors 3.1 meters high, with executive rooms at 3.7 meters. The Miramar Garden Taipei is also strategically located in the heart of the commercial district, minutes away from the Taipei World Trade Center . Chu says the old Miramar Hotel made the mistake of allowing itself to gain a reputation of solely catering to tour groups. But she says the hotel's owners have learnt from their mistakes. "They needed to change, aside from new investment, new facilities, they needed to change their marketing methods," she says. Chu says the signs show hotel industries will not be affected by the island's economic downturn -- government figures show hotels last year had a 75 percent occupancy rate, up from 12 percent the year before. She does not expect the Miramar Garden Taipei to attract business travelers and expects 50 percent of the hotel's tourists to be Japanese. Beijing recently has shown some signs it may eventually be willing to allow Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan. But Chu says the hotel has made no preparations for an influx of mainland Chinese tourists, for example translating signs and brochures into simplified Chinese characters. "I personally think (Taiwan) should be opened up to Chinese tourists... it's a huge market," Chu says. "If the market opens up before 2008, it will be good news," she says. A Taiwanese business magazine said the Huang clan has operated in Taiwan for over 40 years with a principle of not moving into mainland China. But times are changing. Aside from plans to expand into Taitung and Taichung, the group is now considering Taiwan's giant neighbor. "Even in mainland China, they hope to have a chain hotel run by the Miramar Group," Chu says. |