30 Sep 2014
International travellers are frequently shocked to discover their global roaming charges are sometimes higher than the cost of their hotel room. But ibis Singapore on Bencoolen comes to the rescue with its handy™ smartphone provided to guests who stay in a Room with Extra Benefits. This means guests can enjoy unlimited 3G internet, local and international calls, and a complete city guide to Singapore with the phone which can be used throughout their stay both inside and outside the hotel as they explore Singapore.
As part of Accor's Planet 21 program, handy™ supports efforts to be more sustainable, by reducing the need for printed materials, such as in-room directories, and providing useful information about the hotel's full range of green facilities in addition to offering guests great connectivity throughout their stay.
Located in the heart of the city and close to the best attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment, ibis Singapore Bencoolen is constantly finding new innovations to improve the guest experience.
The handy™ smartphones are available, at no additional costs to guests staying in these rooms. Also included are several green amenities including recycling bins, meters to help guests measure their water consumption, access to a complimentary Bamboo Bike and EZ-link card to help them minimize their carbon print as they explore the island. The handy™ phone is loaded with the city's best attractions, bars, restaurants and activities, thus reducing hefty download bills that are often associated with traveling, while also ensuring that guests get the most out of their stay.
Planet 21 is structured around 21 commitments backed by quantifiable objectives that all hotels must meet including innovative programs to inform and encourage guests to get involved. One of PLANET 21's most innovative initiatives is Plant for the Planet, a unique reforestation project financed through laundry cost savings. The premise of the program is simple: when guests stay more than one night in any of 1,500 participating Accor hotels – including all hotels in Singapore – they are invited to reuse their towels. As a 'thank you', the hotel invests a portion of the cost savings into one of 21 tree plantation projects worldwide, including in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam and New Zealand. Today, Accor finances over 2,000 trees daily and since 2009 has planted over 3.5 million trees worldwide.
”At ibis Singapore on Bencoolen, we are committed to maintaining sustainable hotel operations. We are leading the way in offering guests greener and environmentally friendlier amenities and with handy™, we are able to inform and stay in touch with guests through an innovative smartphone platform that is integrated with our hotel features. We look forward to achieving significant reductions in printing and paper waste through the handy™ phone, our new form digital communication channel,” said General Manager, Mr. Pierre de Montgrand.
Planet 21 is at the center of Accor's DNA and the hotel group is committed to reducing its environmental impact, contributing to the communities in which it operates and offering staff a range of wellness and education programs.as planted over 3.5 million trees worldwide.
handy™ devices are customized specifically for the hotel and come fully-loaded with information about Bencoolen and its surrounding neighborhoods, so guests staying at the hotel will have access to all the local information needed at their fingertips.
“handy™ is excited to partner with ibis Singapore on Bencoolen providing guests with seamless connectivity during their travels, as well, help the hotel achieve their green innovation efforts.” said Terence Kwok, CEO of Tink Labs.
handy™ is the pioneer product of Tink Labs founded and established in Hong Kong in April 2012. The company is Hong Kong's first technology incubator of mobile travel solutions, revolutionising and simplifying the travel experience. handy™ provides hotel partners and guests with an unrivalled hotel experience through its latest smartphone platform.
Features of handy™ include:
- Unlimited 3G internet
- Unlimited local calls
- Unlimited international calls (to 26 countries on both fixed line and mobile lines from Singapore)
1. Australia
2. Bangladesh
3. Brunei
4. Canada
5. China
6. France
7. Germany
8. Hong Kong
9. India
10. Indonesia
11. Italy
12. Japan
13. Laos
14. Macau
15. Malaysia
16. Netherlands
17. New Zealand
18. Puerto Rico
19. Russia
20. South Korea
21. Spain
22. Taiwan
23. Thailand
24. United Kingdom
25. United States of America
26. Vietnam
- Local city guide with proprietary content sourced by an in-house team of locals, as well as guest content from well-respected local editors
- Discounts and deals with participating merchant partners
About ibis
As one of the economy brands of Accor, the world's leading hotel operator active in 92 countries with more than 3,600 hotels, ibis now has over 1,000 hotels and 124,000 rooms in 59 countries. The brand innovates constantly to illustrate its values of modernity, comfort and availability. It also cultivates a spirit of service that drives each of its employees. Ibis is the first hotel brand to have obtained ISO 9001 certification – 86% of the network certified – for its professionalism and reliability. In addition, 58% of the ibis network is ISO 14001-certified, concrete proof of the brand's environmental commitment.
About ibis Singapore on Bencoolen
The award-winning hotel ibis Singapore on Bencoolen is ideally located in the heart of Singapore. Since 2009, TTG has rate ibis Singapore on Bencoolen as Best Economy Hotel in Asia Pacific. At walking distance to Bugis, CBD, Little India, Mustafa Centre and Orchard Road, the hotel is also easily reachable from the airport by MRT. A restaurant and a bar serve famous Singaporean dishes in a contemporary environment.
About Tink Labs
The unique vision in transforming travel experience came about when Founder & CEO Terence Kwok went on a trip abroad at the beginning of 2012. He spent a frustrating week hunting for free Wi-Fi, frugally counting his international call minutes, and wishing there was a simpler way to find local spots in a new place. Knowing there had to be a better way than just building an app, or developing a portable wifi device, Terence began to investigate how he could revolutionize the way people travel
Technology incubation company Tink Labs was launched in April 2012 with a belief in mobile technology's capacity to simplify life's many complications for travellers. It is the first company of its kind in the world to provide a comprehensive mobile travel platform to inbound visitors; in a nutshell, developing products that take the annoyance out of traveling. The Tink Labs team relishes in being the pioneers of fun and innovation, and in inventing products that reflect that philosophy.
In September 2012 handy was launched, the first step towards the goal of providing an immediate solution to the connectivity and information problems that all travellers face. Tink Labs maintains its zeal for problem solving with a flair for creativity, refining handy and looking for new or novel ways to redefine our travel experience. The company continues to move forward with the same fervent gusto as its founder.
About Accor
Accor, is the world's leading hotel operator, with 470,000 rooms in 3,600 hotels across 14 trusted brands in 92 countries. The company is organized around two distinct divisions, HotelServices, which operates and franchises the hotels and HotelInvest, which is a hotel owner and investor. The Accor hotels sit in three segments from budget to luxury which are constantly reinventing their concept to satisfy the needs of business and leisure customers around the globe. Accor brands include in luxury-upscale; Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery and Grand Mercure, The Sebel, midscale; Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio and economy; ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget, adagio access and hotelF1. The Group boasts a powerful digital ecosystem, notably its booking portal accorhotels.com, its brand websites and its loyalty program Le Club Accorhotels.
The Group's 170,000 employees benefit from working for a company that believes in progression and has an industry leading training program, the Accor Académie. Since its creation 45 years ago, Accor is making innovation and sustainable hospitality the focus of its strategic vision as well as of its customer-centric approach development and innovation process.
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Press Contacts
Gaynor Reid
Director of Communications, Asia Pacific
+65 6408 8864
gaynor.reid@accor.com
Karen Chang
Communications Manager, Asia Pacific
+65 6408 8843
karen.chang@accor.com
