CapitaLand’s wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), secured over 8,300 units across more than 30 properties in the first seven months of 2021, achieving over 40 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth compared to the same period in 2020.

This builds on Ascott’s fourth consecutive year of record growth despite COVID-19, delivering a 20 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2017. Ascott’s unit growth up to this month was boosted by record signings in Vietnam, with a total of 2,800 new units, exceeding its full-year signings, in the country, in previous years.

Ascott’s portfolio in Viet Nam spans over 9,888 units across 36 properties in eleven cities and provinces. In addition to the gateway cities of HCM City and Ha Noi, Ascott also has properties in Lao Cai and Binh Duong provinces and the cities of Hai Phong, Ha Long, Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh and Vung Tau. Among the new units signed, 1,900 units belong to the largest serviced residence development in the country.

The iconic integrated development in the capital will feature three of Ascott’s lodging brands. It marks the introduction of The Crest Collection in the country and Ascott The Residence in Ha Noi and will comprise Ascott’s fastest-growing brand Citadines Apart’hotel. The development is expected to open in phases from 2022.

In addition, Ascott has secured two management contracts for the first time in Lao Cai: a Citadines-branded serviced apartment and the first Preference-branded hotel in Viet Nam, the 167-key Paddy Field Hotel by Preference in Sa Pa Town.

Lew Yen Ping, Ascott’s Regional General Manager of Viet Nam, Cambodia and Myanmar said: “Ascott’s serviced residences have remained resilient amid the pandemic. We continue to be the preferred choice of accommodation by providing a safe haven for our guests who have placed their trust in Ascott. This year, we continued to achieve strong growth by stepping up our expansion with more management contracts and strategic partnerships in Viet Nam.”

In July 2021, Ascott launched discoverasr.com, unifying Ascott’s award-winning lodging brands on a single global online travel booking platform. Discoverasr.com provides guests with one-stop access to Ascott’s more than 400 serviced apartments, co-living spaces and hotels with a total of about 77,000 units, across more than 130 cities in over 30 countries.

To celebrate the launch of discoverasr.com, Ascott has kicked off ‘The Traveller’s Discovery’ campaign to debut Ascott’s first-ever non-fungible token (NFT) collectable series, featuring 11 unique NFTs as prizes for members of its loyalty programme Ascott Star Rewards (ASR).

Through its partnership with International SOS, Ascott is the first hospitality company in the world to offer its guests global access to a comprehensive suite of telehealth, telecounselling and travel security advisory services. These complimentary services are part of Ascott’s enhanced ‘Ascott Cares’ commitment to provide stringent hygiene and safety standards, wellness support and implement sustainable practices. VNS