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Yeow to squeeze into urban boutique space
SINGAPORE – Just as Banyan Tree squeezed into the space between Amanpuri and five star hotels such as Le Meridien in Phuket all those years ago, so will Edwin Yeow’s new boutique hotel venture.
“There is always a space so long it is a niche and the value proposition to the consumer is clearly differentiated and communicated well,” said Yeow, who is leaving Banyan Tree after 16 years to start up a new hotel brand.
He declined to give further details of the new venture – however, TravelMole hazards a guess that it will be in the urban boutique hotel space, squeezed between luxury city boutique hotels such as W and the traditional five star hotels.
“Also I am not into volume play and for this reason I prefer to have my own small niche setup and I am also passionate on branding,” Yeow added, when asked his reasons for leaving Banyan Tree after having helped build the brand from ground up with his boss, KP Ho.
In many ways, Yeow and KP were seen as the “odd couple”. They were as different as night and day in temperament and style.
One was at ease in the limelight, the other shied away from it. One was a natural with the media, the other ran away from it. Those who’ve worked with both of them also attested to their contrasting styles in management. Yet it was these differences that made them such a good team.
So when news first broke that Yeow was going to be leaving Banyan Tree (The Transit Cafe, July 27) as senior vice president and managing director-sales & marketing, rumours spread like wildfire.
The two had had a falling out; this was the first sign of management meltdown following the public listing of Banyan Tree; Banyan Tree was under pressure to expand and Yeow had had enough – such were the rumours.
While they do say there is no smoke without fire, publicly both KP Ho and Yeow are citing family and personal reasons as key reasons for his departure.
Yeow also cites his close escape from the tsunami of 2006 which had a huge impact on his priorities. He was due to arrive on December 24 for his family holiday in Khao Lak, but delayed it to December 26.
“Those who were there unfortunately did not survive; it was a tragic and sad case. It does change perspective,” he said.
Yeow will be relocating to Kuala Lumpur at the end of October and is now busy trying to find a replacement to take over the marketing reins at Banyan Tree.
Yeoh Siew Hoon
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