The Raffles Singapore is hallowed floor for the hospitality business. A pilgrimage to there ought to be on everybody’s bucket checklist, however with such a storied previous this could create an virtually 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 methods to function an ultraluxury lodge.

Primarily, what we emphasize from this newest keep is that belief performs an ever-critical position in luxurious operations. Visitors are trusting this 115-key property with a very powerful moments of their lives – weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, reunions or vital conferences. Service must be each flawless in addition to delivered with an distinctive sense of place that surprises, delights and helps to type 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 degree and for these properties that actually need to distinguish themselves from different manufacturers. Sure, producing pleasure is a venerable end result, however for a lodge that makes a speciality of the supply of peak experiences, what’s additionally wanted is storytelling via robust, unified themes and narratives that enchant company by enveloping them into an irreplicable, and infrequently fantastical, setting. That is however one of many explanation why the Raffles Singapore was lately awarded the sixth best hotel in the world by the World’s 50 Finest Motels 2024, along with innumerable different accolades over time and many years.

Serving to us to know the nuances of how a timeless property like this operates was Leenu Tarani, Assistant Director of Advertising Communications for the Raffles Singapore. From our time, there are quite a few takeaways in regards to the emotional affect an ideal lodge can have, the significance of stewardship and the way luxurious motels are adapting to new shifts in demand throughout completely different segments.

A time-honored heritage

Named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the British statesman who based Singapore in 1819, the lodge the truth is had nothing to do with the empire of its day. As an alternative, the namesake comes from the Sarkies Brothers, 4 Armenian retailers and hoteliers who didn’t assume on the time that their final identify had as a lot model cachet because the colony’s founder in December 1887 when the lodge first opened.

Now properly over 100 years in operation, the lodge has gone via quite a few renovations, restorations and expansions, the place it now takes up a whole 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 retailers – plus a Macallan retailer for whiskey aficionados trying to soak up 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 circulate via 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 your 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 an alternative, 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 big, 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 in addition understated, by no means making an attempt 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 principle 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 group has codified these stays via a whole part adorned with archival images 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 will 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 frequent for there to be a lineup at 11am when the bar opens with a mixture of lodge company, locals, vacationers staying at different motels 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 retailers.

With a lot heritage throughout, what Tarani and others emphasised was that cherishing the previous requires effort every day. It isn’t one thing that one can merely set and neglect. Moderately, the phrase ‘time-honored’ implies repairs each day, each to make sure the bodily property dwell up their popularity by way of 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 large 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 residing, respiratory character in company’ lives, the property has stored ‘heritage on the coronary heart’ of all operations to make sure that the storytelling all the time involves the forefront.

But as a residing entity unto itself, change is all the time needed and the property should proceed to innovate. Framing this one other manner, 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, immediately it’s extra prone to suggest know-how

One side that we noticed right here was a brand new remedy within the Raffles Spa the place two moveable photobiomodulation (PBM) models could possibly be wheeled into one of many remedy rooms to enhance a therapeutic massage with red-light remedy which works to rejuvenate the dermal layer of the pores and skin. Nonetheless, as lodge company are visiting this ultraluxury lodge to share a special day of their lives, the main target has to stay on delivering an total feeling of peacefulness, moderately than a extra clinic, longevity-driven expertise. To this finish, innovation inside spa has meant organising a full-service signature {couples} remedy menu with champagne service for a half-day expertise with the {couples} remedy room that has its personal non-public scorching tub and sauna.

Innovation additionally means adaptation. For 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 on account of flight restrictions throughout 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 company who’re simply now rediscovering Southeast Asia, with a wholesome mixture of company from the USA, Australia, Europe and the UK, in addition to recent demand coming from China as that nation lastly opens again up. All informed, there’s probably not a off-season for a property that has a lot occurring on premises and with a lot to supply each visitor.

Stewarding Singaporean hospitality

Trying to the longer term, the Raffles Singapore group has dedicated to many different ventures that can assist it proceed in its position as a steward of luxurious hospitality on the world stage. And this can be a lofty objective these days in a rustic that has given the world many different distinguished luxurious manufacturers – Capella, COMO, Pan Pacific and Shangri-La, to call 4 – who’ve all discovered from the hospitality establishment that’s Raffles and are actually robust opponents.

Like many different superior economies, Singapore has a restrict to its labor provide. In response to this, Tarani commented that the lodge is concentrated on reskilling by permitting associates to be taught 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 development and persevering with skilled growth (CPD).

Associated and in addition propelled by this shift in the direction of extra CPD and assist for reskilling, the lodge is now participating in way more multi-property group blocks with a view to higher facilitate occasions in mild of the large development that MICE journey is forecasted to get pleasure from for the subsequent few years at the very least. In a phrase, this implies extra ‘clustering’ of administration.

Throughout the lodge, gross sales, advertising 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 the town as a complete by making certain that each supervisor and affiliate has all the precise 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. This can be a place with profound storytelling, but it surely continues to steer our business solely as a result of it diligently honors its previous whereas nonetheless innovating and pivoting operations as new traits emerge. At the same time as 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 rejoice the 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 a very powerful moments of their lives, which can possible be occurring beneath your roof?

As we enter a brand new post-material world, cultivating a way of heritage and stewardship is changing into a vital side for all motels, 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 company.