Going to the airport, one would imagine you are there to catch a flight, send someone off or receive a returning loved one.
But to visit a hotel of international standing?
A group of staff and students from The Tourism Academy @ Sentosa (TAS) found themselves doing just that when they arrived one afternoon in June at Changi Airport Terminal 3 to visit the Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport, part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group or IHG Asia Pacific. IHG has the largest chain of hotels worldwide, with over 620,000 rooms in more than 4,000 hotels in 100 countries.
The small entourage from TAS was warmly received by Ms Koh Sok Cheng, the hotel’s Director for Human Resources, in a lovely tropical-themed presentation room. She proceeded to share an overview of IHG with a fun quiz which included souvenir gifts for those who got the answers right.
After an engaging half hour presentation, Ms Koh took us on a tour of the hotel with visits to their lovely suites and guests facilities. What really struck the group was how much detail was paid to each and every corner of the hotel.
Said TAS lecturer Mr Dillon Lee: “For a medium sized hotel, I thought that the locations of the different areas of the hotels and departments were well laid out. It was easy to access the airport from the hotel too. The different offices and departments were also laid out to minimise the distance between departments that had to work together. Also, I observed that the staffing levels at the lobby were adequate to provide a good experience for their guests. The staff were polite and courteous without being too “in-your-face” “.
“To me what was really interesting was how much care the hotel took to ensure that the tropical rainforest theme ran through every nook and cranny of the hotel, something you might not expect to find in a business hotel, let alone one located in an airport,” remarked Mr Terence Lou, a Section Head and Lecturer.
Indeed, both staff and students were fascinated by the lovely tropical design of the hotel that gave the feeling of a tropical hideaway that clearly took pains to conceive, thanks in no small part to the award-winning architects WOHA, responsible for the design.
Second-year student Henny from Indonesia said: “I was really pleased to visit the back rooms and check out the interesting staff notice boards as well as the staff cafeteria and lounge which was really fun and relaxing.”
Agreeing, second-year student Dorain Yang Xizhe from China added: “The guest rooms were really beautifully-designed. It’s clear that the hotel really wants the guests to enjoy a resort feeling when they step in.”
Ultimately, it was the warmth, patience and friendly manner of Ms Koh that really made the tour a memorable one and the staff and students were very grateful for the tour and the opportunity to visit such a prestigious establishment that was poised to set new standards for airport hotels worldwide.
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