Travel made easy

Rohner: Technology presents a significant opportunity. It allows us to engage guests in a more targeted and meaningful way.

PICTURE this: a long five-hour flight, queues at immigration, and waiting for your e-hailing ride, only to end up stuck in city traffic.

You can feel your social battery diminishing, and perhaps the last thing you need is another interaction with a stranger.

Mark Rohner, managing director of Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte Ltd (FEH), says many travellers now prefer to handle trip logistics digitally and in advance, minimising continued human interaction.

Ideally, he adds, the entire journey should be as frictionless as possible from arrival to departure. “Technology presents a significant opportunity,” he says.

“It allows us to engage guests in a more targeted and meaningful way.”

Rohner suggests that it could be a transformative shift for the hospitality industry to emulate the experience of an airline, allowing guests to pre-select various aspects of the journey ahead of time.

Building on its pragmatic guest-centric approach, the Singapore-based hospitality operator is eyeing opportunities across the border to lock in three new properties for the next five years.

For FEH, Malaysia is especially key to bolster its regional growth strategy and expand its portfolio.

The brand currently operates 31 hotels and serviced residences across Asia-Pacific, with over 10 hospitality assets in Australia, Denmark and Germany.

Anchored by an asset-light model, FEH leverages expertise in revenue management, commercial strategy, customer experience, and operational discipline to help owners exploit asset performance and long-term value.

That said, Rohner also points to real added value within the operator’s deeper attributes, which distinguishes it from the competition.

This, he reveals, is found in the rudimentary yet profound affair of Asian epicurean pursuits. “That is the easiest way to experience local culture,” he says.

At the Village properties, guests are offered curated recipe cards presented as gift-like keepsakes, a deliberate move to share a more intimate expression of the brand’s hospitality craft.

“We share recipes, typically rooted in local South-East Asian cuisine. We’ve also created a passport-style pocket guide, now available via QR code, which we distribute across all villages in Japan and Singapore.

“It highlights restaurants, museums and lesser-known sites beyond the usual landmarks, and is typically updated every six months,” he details.

Scaling beyond Singapore’s shores

In the race to secure a presence ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, FEH also moved decisively to capture mass-market opportunities at scale.

Rohner says the group’s objective was to deliver a hotel in time for the games, a goal successfully achieved with the opening of the 306-room Far East Village Hotel Ariake in 2020.

“The hotel has since become a blueprint for our Village brand in Japan, encompassing both conversion and new-build projects, and while the games were subsequently postponed, the property demonstrated strong resilience, overcoming the initial challenges posed by Covid-19 before ramping up significantly,” he adds.

While Japan marked FEH’s first regional expansion, there is little reason why a similar neighbouring-market strategy could not be pursued, he notes.

“Since 2020, we have expanded our Japan portfolio to nearly 1,000 keys, marking a significant milestone in our growth journey and providing a strong foundation as we venture into international markets,” Rohner highlights.

FEH remains upbeat about its long-term prospects, supported by Malaysia’s rising travel demand, government tourism initiatives and ongoing infrastructure development.

“Malaysia continues to benefit from growing international arrivals and increasing demand for quality mid-tier and upscale hospitality offerings, so it places us at the right place, the right time to optimise these growth trends,” he says.

Concurrently, Rohner adds that the domestic market is also a key priority for FEH, pointing to its Oasia Suites Kuala Lumpur property. The brand hopes to double its share of domestic bookings from about 15% to 30% within the next two to three years.

Bets on the middle class

While the Middle East crisis has weighed on many supply-driven industries, tourism is no exception.

“We have observed some demand softening in Singapore following recent geopolitical developments, particularly in the leisure segment where discretionary travel demand is more sensitive,” Rohner says.

Nonetheless, through an Asia-centric lens, FEH sees a silver lining – a lucrative opportunity to elevate Asia’s unique appeal.

“The upside is that our brand has maintained a strong focus on the Asia-Pacific region from the outset.

“As a result, South-East Asia is well positioned to benefit from these structural shifts,” he says.

Moreover, Malaysia’s external sector is anticipating continued global technology expansion and steady tourism activity supported by Visit Malaysia 2026.

Bank Negara Malaysia says Malaysia’s services sector will be supported by multiple growth drivers.

Private consumption is projected to grow by 5%, while the services sector is anticipating growth of around 5.2%.

The consumer-related sub-sector, meanwhile, is expected to stay resilient as household spending remains forthcoming.

So, as policy and strong cultural instincts double down to counterbalance geopolitical headwinds, FEH’s brand tier is well-positioned to tap into what Rohner describes as the rise of the middle class.

The group has seen particularly strong demand from corporate travellers, who make up roughly half of its clientele, while the majority of leisure guests are also combining business and leisure travel.

“Whether in China, India or South-East Asia, we are seeing a steady expansion of the middle class and, with it, a growing aspiration to travel, especially for experiential and lifestyle-driven journeys.

“This positions us well in the mid-tier and upscale segments of the market, giving us confidence across our key markets” he states.