The Raffles Singapore is hallowed floor for the hospitality business. A pilgrimage to there must be on everybody’s bucket listing, however with such a storied previous this could create an nearly impassable bar for visitor expectations. But from our newest go to, exceeding expectations is nonetheless the end result for each visitor, and therein lies a world of instruction on how you can function an ultraluxury lodge.
Primarily, what we emphasize from this newest keep is that belief performs an ever-critical function in luxurious operations. Friends are trusting this 115-key property with crucial moments of their lives – weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, reunions or necessary conferences. Service needs to be each flawless in addition to delivered with an distinctive sense of place that surprises, delights and helps to kind distinctive recollections.
It’s typically mentioned that hospitality is pleasure at scale, however the Raffles Singapore demonstrates that this isn’t sufficient for the ultraluxury stage and for these properties that really wish to distinguish themselves from different manufacturers. Sure, producing pleasure is a venerable consequence, however for a lodge that makes a speciality of the supply of peak experiences, what’s additionally wanted is storytelling by way of robust, unified themes and narratives that enchant friends by enveloping them into an irreplicable, and infrequently fantastical, setting. That is however one of many the reason why the Raffles Singapore was just lately awarded the sixth finest lodge on this planet by the World’s 50 Greatest Motels 2024, along with innumerable different accolades through the years and many years.
Serving to us to grasp the nuances of how a timeless property like this operates was Leenu Tarani, Assistant Director of Advertising and marketing Communications for the Raffles Singapore. From our time, there are quite a few takeaways in regards to the emotional impression an ideal lodge can have, the significance of stewardship and the way luxurious accommodations are adapting to new shifts in demand throughout totally different segments.
A time-honored heritage
Named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the British statesman who based Singapore in 1819, the lodge in actual fact had nothing to do with the empire of its day. As a substitute, the namesake comes from the Sarkies Brothers, 4 Armenian retailers and hoteliers who didn’t suppose on the time that their final title had as a lot model cachet because the colony’s founder in December 1887 when the lodge first opened.
Now effectively over 100 years in operation, the lodge has gone by way of quite a few renovations, restorations and expansions, the place it now takes up a complete metropolis block with a number of wings, courtyards, a number of enclosed occasion lawns, seven eating places and an arcade of high-end watch, jewellery and clothes outlets – plus a Macallan retailer for whiskey aficionados trying to absorb some uncommon casks.
The newest property reimagining accomplished in August 2019 emphasised invisible, trendy know-how in each guestroom and a extra versatile configuration for the Grand Foyer the place tables from the adjoining Tiffin Room stream by way of into the opulent, multi-story lobby. With the Tiffin Room serving breakfast and North Indian delicacies for lunch and dinner, and with Afternoon Tea served on the Grand Foyer, this augments the arrival expertise by making a social environment that by no means disrupts the overarching sense of tranquility that permeates the complete property. (And as an apart, the Mee Goreng here’s a godsend, with each Singaporean restaurant or hawker stand having a special tackle this Indonesian fried noodle dish.)
The phrase ‘opulent’ isn’t wholly correct in describing the arrival expertise, although. As a substitute, one is greeted by the dashing, energetic, Sikh-dressed Raffles Doormen with a agency handshake and all-knowing sense of each motion round earlier than passing into the large, atrium-style foyer with white-clad partitions punctuated by the Grandfather Clock, the oldest piece within the lodge, historic paintings and upholstered mahogany furnishings. It’s magnificent, positive, but additionally understated, by no means attempting to pressure the eyes with any sense of maximalist design. Every bit of furnishings is thoughtfully positioned and spaced, giving the interiors a breezy sense of calm befitting the present need for quiet luxurious.
Moreover simply this categorization of the primary gathering level for lodge visitor exercise, it’s well-known that the Raffles Singapore has performed host to numerous heads of state, dignitaries, actors and celebrities over the many years. A lot in order that the workforce has codified these stays by way of a complete part adorned with archival pictures whereas different artifacts are staggered throughout the numerous public corridors.
And of all of the eating choices to name out, probably the most well-known is the Lengthy Bar the place the Singapore Sling was invented in 1915 as a cocktail that might enable girls to invisibly drink alcohol in public – a taboo on the time. With memorabilia honoring this creation and different well-known cocktails devised inside this one bar, it’s widespread for there to be a lineup at 11am when the bar opens with a mixture of lodge friends, locals, vacationers staying at different accommodations and cruise guests flocking over for a slurp of historical past proper after the boat has docked. Certainly, the lodge is open as a vacationer attraction to the general public, with the lodge resident sections closely securitized to maintain this visitors to the eating places and arcade outlets.
With a lot heritage throughout, what Tarani and others emphasised was that cherishing the previous requires effort every day. It’s not one thing that one can merely set and neglect. Fairly, the phrase ‘time-honored’ implies repairs each day, each to make sure the bodily belongings dwell up their fame through impeccable cleanliness requirements and thorough inspections, in addition to an appreciation in any respect ranges of the corporate tradition for the importance of a lodge that’s steeped in historical past and the accountability of being stewards.
And nonetheless innovation
From the great work of quite a few groups throughout a number of generations, the Raffles Singapore has taken on a lifetime of its personal, with one eye firmly on the previous but nonetheless permitting for up to date updates. As a dwelling, respiration character in friends’ lives, the property has stored ‘heritage on the coronary heart’ of all operations to make sure that the storytelling at all times involves the forefront.
But as a dwelling entity unto itself, change is at all times obligatory and the property should proceed to innovate. Framing this one other method, although, ‘innovation’ is solely the real-time creation of but extra historical past. Whereas a century in the past, innovation meant artistic cocktails to buck social norms, right now it’s extra more likely to indicate know-how
One facet that we noticed right here was a brand new therapy within the Raffles Spa the place two moveable photobiomodulation (PBM) models may very well be wheeled into one of many therapy rooms to reinforce a therapeutic massage with red-light remedy which works to rejuvenate the dermal layer of the pores and skin. Nonetheless, as lodge friends are visiting this ultraluxury lodge to share a special day of their lives, the main target has to stay on delivering an general feeling of peacefulness, fairly than a extra clinic, longevity-driven expertise. To this finish, innovation inside spa has meant establishing a full-service signature {couples} therapy menu with champagne service for a half-day expertise with the {couples} therapy room that has its personal non-public scorching tub and sauna.
Innovation additionally means adaptation. As an example, even because the pandemic fades into reminiscence, it’s nonetheless surprising to listen to that the Raffles Singapore by no means as soon as closed its doorways throughout this tumultuous time. First, they hosted exiles who couldn’t go away the nation attributable to flight restrictions in the course of the preliminary circuit breaker. Then they pivoted to staycations for locals who wanted some respite from the lockdowns.
And now, they’ve again into catering to luxurious friends who’re simply now rediscovering Southeast Asia, with a wholesome mixture of friends from the USA, Australia, Europe and the UK, in addition to contemporary demand coming from China as that nation lastly opens again up. All advised, there’s probably not a off-season for a property that has a lot taking place on premises and with a lot to supply each visitor.
Stewarding Singaporean hospitality
Seeking to the long run, the Raffles Singapore workforce has dedicated to many different ventures that can assist it proceed in its function as a steward of luxurious hospitality on the world stage. And this can be a lofty aim these days in a rustic that has given the world many different outstanding luxurious manufacturers – Capella, COMO, Pan Pacific and Shangri-La, to call 4 – who’ve all realized from the hospitality establishment that’s Raffles and are actually robust rivals.
Like many different superior economies, Singapore has a restrict to its labor provide. In response to this, Tarani commented that the lodge is targeted on reskilling by permitting associates to study inside a number of roles to find the place their true passions are. This construction of lateral mobility represents the way forward for work inside a lodge group as a result of it acknowledges the worth of retaining expertise for the long-term whereas additionally permitting for private progress and persevering with skilled growth (CPD).
Associated and in addition propelled by this shift in the direction of extra CPD and help for reskilling, the lodge is now participating in way more multi-property group blocks with the intention to higher facilitate occasions in mild of the great progress that MICE journey is forecasted to get pleasure from for the following few years a minimum of. In a phrase, this implies extra ‘clustering’ of administration.
Throughout the lodge, gross sales, advertising and marketing and communications now work nearer collectively than ever earlier than to coordinate on segmentation methods, to personalize stays and to execute on the broader industrial targets. This clustering assist groups develop their abilities by exposing them to quite a lot of lodge operations whereas additionally serving to facilitate the expansion of hospitality for town as a complete by making certain that each supervisor and affiliate has all the fitting abilities to imagine management roles.
To finish on but yet one more phrase to recollect, what struck us most in regards to the Raffles Singapore was its purposeful efforts to ‘domesticate’ true hospitality. It is a place with profound storytelling, however it continues to steer our business solely as a result of it diligently honors its previous whereas nonetheless innovating and pivoting operations as new tendencies emerge. Whilst the entire of Singapore evolves into an ultramodern, progressive and tech-forward city paradise, this property’s gleaming white partitions and colonial structure assist to floor and have a good time town’s emergence on the worldwide stage.
For each hotelier who has learn this far, we ask: how are you embracing, enriching and stewarding the native land? And to circle again to the opening, how does your lodge amplify crucial moments of their lives, which can seemingly be occurring underneath your roof?
As we enter a brand new post-material world, cultivating a way of heritage and stewardship is turning into a crucial facet for all accommodations, not simply luxurious. It was an honor to expertise the historic Raffles Singapore and to see how this world chief completes the admirable duties of stewardship, storytelling and creating timeless recollections for friends.
