Page 17 - Sphere No.5 (Feb 2002)

S PHERE
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local convention by scrapping deposits. Guests sign up for as
long as they like on a flexible contract, pay a month’s rent, and
move in. Just like that.
Traditional Hong Kong landlords might shudder at the
thought. After all, the deposit system is designed for security—
in case a tenant skips town owing rent. More cynically, the
down payment is also a lucrative, interest-free nest egg.
But the Smart-Living Plus concept is anything but traditional.
“We’re treating people how we would want to be treated—
with an element of trust,” says Stephen Chu, Deputy General
Manager for Leasing.
The entire concept of Smart-Living Plus is simple, straight-
forward and painless, even the licence agreement. “We’ve
shredded the paperwork right down to just one sheet.”
Harbour Plaza Resort City, set beside a giant park in the
modern “garden city” of Tin Shui Wai, is the flagship for
Smart-Living Plus.
The two towers housing 1,102 suites overlook the Mainland
China border but modern freeways place it just 35 minutes to
Central, and 45 minutes to the airport at Chek Lap Kok. A bus
terminal adjacent the complex serves the Mainland border
(convenient for guests working in China) as well as the rest of
Hong Kong, and there is also a Light Rail Transport terminal.
The commercial concept is simple: to offer an affordable
product tailored to the requirements of a specific market
sector.
“Traditionally, Hong Kong people regarded a hotel stay as a
luxury rather than an affordable long-term option,” Chu
explains,“so we set about changing these perceptions.”
At Harbour Plaza Resort City, for example, the Company
earmarked Cathay Pacific and Dragonair cockpit and cabin
crew as potential guests, consulting with them even before the
development was completed.
Not only was a regular shuttle-bus service to the airport
important, it emerged, but a connection to every conceivable
CX or Dragonair flight in and out of Hong Kong.The shuttle
times were therefore co-ordinated.
Flight attendants, in particular, also expressed concern over
security; so a professional Gurkha guard-force was installed.
Aircrew even have their own dedicated computer in the lobby
to check flight-times and company e-mails.
As a result, aircrew now represent a sizeable proportion of
the guests at Resort City.
Finally, the consultations showed potential guests were
looking for shopping, although that required no special effort:
Resort City is in the middle of Tin Shui Wai’s modern shop-
ping centre with 200 outlets, including one of the biggest
PARKn SHOP supermarkets in Hong Kong, and eight cinemas.
While the product was originally targeted at busy, Hong
Kong salarymen, the concept has also become a big hit with
expatriates. Resort City is the first choice for a sizeable con-
tingent of Japanese businessmen, some accompanied by their
families, as well as British and Australian construction special-
ists contracted on various infrastructure projects.
“It sounds like a cliché, but Smart-Living Plus really is value-
for-money,” says Chu. “The concept has become so competi-
tive that many local Hong Kong families have moved in, too.”
Local mothers and children, in particular, are regulars at the
tai-chi, aerobics and dancing classes organised daily at The
Club Fitness & Spa, where everything except massage and
beauty treatment is free to guests.
“We have the most high-tech facilities in the New
Territories,” notes Spa manager Venus Vargas.
Smart-Living Plus has proved to be a smart strategy. “Hong
Kong’s accommodation market is a completely different ani-
mal from five years ago when everyone was forced to pay
through the nose,” says Chu. Competition is tougher and we
have become more guest-oriented.We listen very carefully to
our guests’ needs. That’s how we came up with Smart-Living
Plus in the first place.”