Salutes healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19 with up to 40% off at Ascott’s participating properties worldwide

(TRAVPR.COM) Singapore, 22 June 2020 – CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has launched a new points purchase feature for its Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) loyalty programme. The feature provides ASR members with greater flexibility to buy points in advance or gift the points to family and friends as travel gradually resumes across the world. ASR points can be fully redeemed for room nights with no blackout period restriction.

ASR has remained a resilient channel to drive direct online booking revenue during the COVID-19 outbreak. In appreciation of its ASR members, Ascott is launching a 1-for-1 bonus promotion for its new points purchase feature. ASR members will receive 100% free bonus points if they purchase at least S$500 worth of points before 31 August 2020. Members will be able to redeem for more room nights with these free bonus points at no extra cost.

Since the launch of ASR in 2019, the number of direct online bookings from ASR members have quadrupled. ASR membership has also tripled. Currently, 90% of bookings through Ascott’s websites are made by ASR members and majority of ASR members are from China, Australia, Singapore, France, Philippines and Malaysia.

Ms Tan Bee Leng, Managing Director, Brand & Marketing, The Ascott Limited, said: “Ascott is very grateful for the loyalty of our ASR members, especially during this challenging COVID-19 period. The increase in ASR members and strong direct sales through our website show the trust our guests have in Ascott. From ensuring our properties are future-ready, safe and clean, to enhancing our digital and web-booking capabilities, we continue to offer our guests greater convenience and value with Ascott. We have stood by our guests during these difficult months, including giving bonus ASR points for cancellation refunds and extending ASR membership tiers for an additional year. We want to thank and reward our ASR members for their support and give them a leg-up in their future travels. When our ASR members are ready to rediscover the world with Ascott, their upsized points will provide greater flexibility and value to go further and travel better than before.”

“As many parts of the world cautiously step out of COVID-19’s shadow, we recognise it would not be possible without the bravery and efforts of our frontline healthcare workers all over the world who have done their part in keeping COVID-19 at bay. Their contributions in making our shared communities a safer place is invaluable. We are therefore offering a special ASR benefit to healthcare workers as they can continue to count on Ascott to provide them with a safe home away from home,” added Ms Tan.

Up to 100% Free Bonus Points for Advance Purchases by ASR Members

To enable ASR members to charge up their points as they prepare to rediscover travel, members can start receiving free bonus points ranging from 25% when they purchase S$100 worth of points; to 100% when they purchase at least S$500 worth of points. The promotion starts now until 31 August 2020. Members can enjoy greater freedom to redeem the points anytime within the next two years at any ASR participating serviced residences and hotels in over 80 cities and more than 30 countries. The purchase of points will further contribute to the upgrade of their membership tier. For more information on Ascott Points Purchase, please visit: https://www.the-ascott.com/en/member/buy-points.html. 

ASR is the first loyalty programme in the serviced residence industry to offer full flexibility to earn and redeem points. There is no cap to points earned, no minimum points redemption and no blackout dates.

To further reward members, Ascott is also giving away a total of S$1,500 worth of ASR points to three lucky winners through the #ReadyToRediscover giveaway on Ascott’s Facebook page. The giveaway takes place from now till 12 July 2020.

In April 2020, ASR’s global benefits were also extended to corporate travellers, providing them with the flexibility of booking online directly with Ascott and earning ASR points.

Up to 40% off at Ascott for healthcare workers

Ascott is supporting workers from the healthcare industry involved in the global fight against COVID-19. They can receive up to 40% off at participating Ascott properties worldwide from 1 July to 31 December 2020 when they sign up as an ASR member for free and book online. Upon check-in, they will be required to present a valid staff identity card or any official documents to verify that they belong in the healthcare industry. To book, please visit: https://www.the-ascott.com/en/offers/exclusively-for-healthcare-heroes.html.

The gesture extends Ascott’s support for healthcare workers and Ascott’s contribution in the fight against COVID-19. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak across the world, many of Ascott’s serviced residences remained operational to provide a haven for its guests, including healthcare workers, returning nationals, and those affected by border closures.

To continue providing a safe home away from home for its guests, and a safe working environment for its staff, Ascott launched ‘Ascott Cares’ to deliver stringent hygiene and cleanliness standards as well as safe distancing. ‘Ascott Cares’ is in compliance with the World Health Organization standards and local regulations. It is being rolled out progressively to its properties globally from June 2020. For more information on ‘Ascott Cares’, please visit: www.the-ascott.com/ascottcares.

About The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott's portfolio spans more than 180 cities across over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

Ascott has about 70,000 operating units and over 48,000 units under development, making a total of about 118,000 units in over 700 properties.

The company’s serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott The Residence, The Crest Collection, Somerset, Quest, Citadines, lyf, Préférence, Vertu, Harris, Citadines Connect, Fox, Yello and POP!.

Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific’s first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascott’s achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards 2020 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; World Travel Awards 2019 for ‘Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’ in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2019 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; Business Traveller China Awards 2019 for 'Best Luxury Serviced Residence Brand'; and TTG China Travel Awards 2019 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator in China’. For a full list of awards, please visit https://www.the-ascott.com/ascottlimited/awards.html.

About CapitaLand Limited

CapitaLand Limited (CapitaLand) is one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, it owns and manages a global portfolio worth S$131.9 billion as at 31 December 2019. CapitaLand’s portfolio spans across diversified real estate classes which includes commercial, retail; business park, industrial and logistics; integrated development, urban development; as well as lodging and residential. With a presence across more than 200 cities in over 30 countries, the Group focuses on Singapore and China as its core markets, while it continues to expand in markets such as India, Vietnam, Australia, Europe and the USA.

CapitaLand has one of the largest real estate investment management businesses globally. It manages seven listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and business trusts as well as over 20 private funds. Since it pioneered REITs in Singapore with the listing of CapitaLand Mall Trust in 2002, CapitaLand’s REITs and business trusts have expanded to include Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust, Ascendas India Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust.

Visit www.capitaland.com for more information.

Issued by: The Ascott Limited Website: www.the-ascott.com

168 Robinson Road, #30-01 Capital Tower, Singapore 068912

For more information, please contact:

Joan Tan, Vice President, Group Communications

Tel: (65) 6713 2864 Mobile: (65) 9743 9503 Email: joan.tanzm@capitaland.com

Ngeow Shang Lin, Manager, Group Communications

Tel: (65) 6713 2860 Mobile: (65) 9877 6305 Email: ngeow.shanglin@capitaland.com

Kim Quek, Manager, Group Communications

Tel: (65) 6713 3097 Mobile: (65) 9339 4231 Email: kim.quek@capitaland.com                                                       

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