First lyf property in Thailand, lyf Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok, is set to open on 31 July 2020 in one of the city’s trendiest shopping and entertainment hotspots

(TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE - July 30th, 2020 - CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) continues to see strong demand for its coliving brand ‘lyf’, which caters to a growing segment of millennials who seek flexibility, value and enriching community experiences. Ascott is adding over 1,000 units across six new lyf properties secured in Melbourne, Australia; Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an, China; and Manila, the Philippines.

Amongst the six new properties, Ascott has secured contracts for lyf Malate Manila, its second lyf property in the Philippines and four new lyf properties across China - lyf Shougang Park Beijing, lyf Midtown Hangzhou, lyf Zhangjiang Shanghai and lyf Dayanta Xi’an. It has also secured its first lyf property in Australia, lyf Collingwood Melbourne.

Mr Kevin Goh, CapitaLand's Chief Executive Officer for Lodging and Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Despite COVID-19 and challenges in the global hospitality industry, Ascott’s diverse portfolio of brands continues to be supported by a strong base of long-stay guests comprising locals, expatriates and corporates. Our guests appreciate the comfort of our apartments where they can live and work. lyf is a hybrid lodging solution that combines the best of serviced residences, hotels and coliving apartments. It is designed for guests on long stay with the flexibility to take in short stay. The relevance and demand for coliving remains strong as demonstrated by the signing of these six new lyf coliving properties and the opening of our second lyf property in Bangkok. It is not only a strong testament to Ascott’s operational resilience, but also shows the confidence that property owners have on the unique positioning of our lyf coliving product.”

Mr Goh added: “The value and demand for lyf is evident in the performance of our first operating lyf property, lyf Funan Singapore, where guests could stay with us safely and comfortably throughout the COVID-19 period. It achieved a robust average occupancy rate of 86% from April to June 2020. Many guests made lyf Funan Singapore their home away from home, extending their stays at the property. In May 2020, 95% of its guests were on long stay of between one and six months. Ascott has already taken steps to enhance our operational strength, technical capabilities and service delivery in a post COVID-19 landscape. We will continue to evolve our lodging business and product offerings to cement Ascott’s position as a dominant lodging player and deliver more value for our guests and business partners.”

With the addition of six new lyf properties, Ascott has a total of 14 lyf properties with over 2,700 units. Thirteen of these properties are slated to be opened between 2020 and 2024 in Bangkok, Beijing, Cebu, Fukuoka, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Shanghai, Singapore and Xi’an. Six lyf properties are expected to open in 2021. They are lyf Farrer Park Singapore, lyf one-north Singapore, lyf Tenjin Fukuoka in Japan, lyf Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, lyf Midtown Hangzhou and lyf Zhangjiang Shanghai in China. Besides expanding in these markets, Ascott is also looking out for opportunities to introduce lyf to key gateway cities in France, Germany, Indonesia, Netherlands, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Mr Joel Oei, Ascott’s Head of lyf brand, said: “During COVID-19, the safety and well-being of our guests remain our top priority. Our guests found a strong network of support within a close-knit community. Leveraging lyf’s strong social presence and technology capabilities, we took our community engagement activities online and conducted virtual tours and digital-first marketing campaigns to expand our reach. Creatively designed and multi-functional living spaces at lyf offer more flexibility and efficiency for our guests, many of whom were expected to work remotely. lyf apartments can be easily adapted into private work suites with flexible tenures. lyf’s well-designed and colourful apartments provide a conducive and creative environment for work, while its spacious work and meeting areas coupled with amenities such as smart screens and high-speed WiFi can further aid productivity.”

lyf Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok to open on 31 July 2020

Ascott is also gearing up for the opening of its first lyf property in Thailand, lyf Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok on 31 July 2020. This follows the successful opening of lyf Funan Singapore, Southeast Asia’s largest coliving property, in September 2019.

Located in one of the trendiest shopping and entertainment hotspots in the city, the 196-unit lyf Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok is surrounded by a plethora of cafes, bars and restaurants, and is within walking distance to one of the most popular shopping belts in Bangkok. lyf Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok is within walking distance to the Nana BTS Skytrain station and one train stop from Terminal 21, one of the most well-known shopping destinations in Bangkok. It is also three BTS stations away from Siam, the city’s main lifestyle hub for retail, dining and coworking. Room bookings can now be made via the ‘lyf by Ascott’ mobile app or by visiting the lyf website: https://www.lyfbyascott.com/en/offers/lyf-gets-real-in-bangkok-at-lyf-sukhumvit-8.html

Engaging guests online with #Virtuallyf
Designed and managed by millennials for millennials and the millennial-minded, lyf combines creative living spaces with curated social programmes to create a lifestyle environment that supports live, work and play. Through its virtual initiative, #Virtuallyf, lyf continues to engage with its guests through lyf community events online and offer opportunities for guests to continue interacting digitally. These include live demonstrations on wellness, cooking and other DIY videos created by lyf Guards and Ambassadors of Buzz. Guests can also take part in interactive polls via lyf’s social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram.

Guests can continue to plug into the lyf community, build bonds and enjoy togetherness, exchange and spark new ideas. In addition to their self-contained apartments, lyf guests will also enjoy unlimited access to well-designed social spaces such as ‘Connect’ social and coworking zone, ‘Collab & Meet’ meeting rooms, ‘Bond’ social kitchen, ‘Burn’ social gym and ‘Wash & Hang’ laundromat. Each lyf property will have elements unique to its country, city and culture. Through #lyfgoeslocal, guests can experience the neighbourhood’s local and authentic elements. They are given the opportunity to connect with local entrepreneurs, businesses, arts, music and fashion, providing an avenue for them to experience the city through new and exciting perspectives.

lyf Funan Singapore launches ‘Stay 3 Pay 2’ and ‘Ultimate Local Vacation’ staycation deals
lyf Funan Singapore is one of the first five lodging properties in Singapore to obtain approval from the Singapore Tourism Board to accept staycation bookings as part of Singapore’s Phase Two of Safe Transition amid the COVID-19 situation. lyf Funan Singapore is also the first coliving property in Singapore to receive the SG Clean certification.

lyf Funan Singapore was awarded the ‘Best Coliving Hotel in Singapore’ in the 2019 Trip Excellence Awards by Tripzilla, Southeast Asia’s largest travel community and leading digital travel media.

In the ‘Stay 3 Pay 2’ deal, guests who are members of Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) loyalty programme can stay three nights for the price of two in its ‘One of a Kind’ studio at only S$380 nett. The deal also comes with complimentary parking at Funan and a S$30 CapitaVoucher which can be used at Funan or any CapitaLand mall in Singapore. The ‘Ultimate Local Vacation’ deal offers ASR members a special rate of S$108++ per night for its ‘One of a Kind’ studio, with complimentary perks such as late check-out. lyf Funan Singapore has also partnered with various merchants at Funan to offer exclusive discounts and activities for guests, which include up to 25% dining discounts, 20% off indoor rock climbing and complimentary one-month membership of electric car sharing services. For more information, please visit: https://www.lyfbyascott.com/en/singapore/singapore/lyf-funan/offers.html.

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 69,000 operating units and about 48,000 units under development, making a total of about 117,000 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.

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