The number of visitors to Hong Kong has fallen by over 40% year-on-year due to the clashes of successive months of demonstrations
Small and medium-sized hotels have been the hardest hit. According to market news, the Silka West Kowloon Hotel in Tai Kok Tsui will cease operations from the 29th of this month. It is regarded as the first large-scale hotel transformation case since the Anti-Amendment Movement. In response, the hotel acknowledged that the contract between the new owner and the hotel management company will be terminated with the change of ownership, but emphasized that it is a general business behavior and it often happens in the industry. However, as the new company has taken over the property and converted it into a serviced residence this year, the industry expects the hotel to transform into a co-living project. Another news indicates that some employees will be transferred to other Silka hotels, and no labor disputes have been seen for the time being.
Silka West Kowloon Hotel was completed in 2005 and is a medium-priced hotel with 141 rooms. The hotel also provides free shuttle bus to and from Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui China Hong Kong City Ferry Terminal and Airport Express Kowloon Station. It is understood that the hotel’s recent letter to business partners indicates that the hotel will cease hotel business and operations starting on the 29th of this month. The reporter tried to book the rooms checked in from the hotel’s official website and other reservation sites on or after the 29th, and they all showed that they were sold out or no rooms were available.
Booking site “no room” after 29 days
Our reporter visited the hotel a few days ago to observe that there were three staff members in the lobby and only a few sporadic passengers. At that time, two customers were checking in. The reporter asked the front desk for the price of the room on the spot. The staff pointed out that regardless of the room type, it was 440 yuan. When checking the next month’s price, the staff pointed out that the hotel had been transferred to other suppliers until the 28th of this month. The reporter asked whether to close the business. He said at the time: “It should be said that it is a change of hands. It should be renovated after the change. It will not be so fast to book. It is temporarily unknown.”
Termination of contract between new owner and management company
After reviewing the information, Far East Development sold the hotel to Jinlun Cuiyu, a subsidiary of Jinlun Tiandi, in 17 years. As of October 11 this year, Anchor Street Investment Limited purchased the hotel for 515 million. The directors of Jinlun Tiandi believe that the sale of the hotel can strengthen the liquidity, develop the domestic hotel business, and repay the loan, completely exempting and releasing the existing securities. ; And the new buyer is a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability. Insiders have revealed that the hotel will be converted into a co-living project with about 250 rooms.
In reply to the inquiry, Jinlun Tiandi said that the hotel had been resold, “I don’t know if the new buyer will close the hotel, or renovate the hotel and other practices.” As for the employee’s whereabouts, he pointed out that the previous role of Jinlun Tiandi was the owner, hotel management was assisted by Far East Development’s hotel management company, and employee matters were also related to them.
Regarding the hotel’s suspension of business and operations, the newspaper inquired the hotel. The spokesperson clarified that the actual situation should be that the hotel owner’s contract with the hotel management company will be terminated due to the resale of the hotel property title. This is general. Business behaviors happen from time to time in the industry. As for the future business direction of the hotel, it will be the decision of the new owner. As far as the employee’s whereabouts are concerned, the hotel refers to the hotel and its operator’s parent company, which is now providing employees with internal transfers to other hotels under the group and actively recruiting affected employees.
Some employees transferred to hotels of the same brand
The Labour Department expressed concern over the incident and is following up on the situation. It said that if affected employees have questions about their employment rights, they can go to the regional offices of the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department for help. The AFL stated that the Silka West Kowloon Hotel has no AFL members, and officials have already distributed the rights and interests leaflets to the hotel, which have been collected by hotel workers. The catering and hotel trade unions under the Trade Unions and the hotel and catering practitioners associations under the Federation of Trade Unions did not receive hotel staff for help. It is understood that some employees will be transferred to other hotels of the same Silka brand, and some of them are separated, and there are no labor disputes.
Legislative Councillor Yao Sirong said that if the cost and interest are high and the operating company is not experienced, the owner may consider reselling the hotel after calculation. As for whether the resale represents an economic downturn, Yao believes that the owner has the opportunity to feel that the future return is not better than the selling price, and only sells when the price is good, but it may also be sold if the economic situation is poor.