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Buzz
CapitaL
and wholly-owned serviced resi-
dence business unit, The Ascott Limited,
has opened its fourth serviced residence in
Malaysia. Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur is
set in the heart of Kuala Lumpur Sentral,
an urban centre built around Malaysia’s
largest transit hub which was designed
Professional Benefits
Starwood
Preferred Guest, the award-
winning loyalty program from Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., is
breaking new ground in customer loyalty
and personalisation with the debut of
SPG Pro, an all-new, comprehensive
loyalty program for meeting and travel
professionals.
Set to debut this month, this new
program will offer meeting and travel
professionals SPG elite status, upgrades
and Starpoints for B2B business booked at
any of Starwood’s nearly 1,200 properties
around the world. Plus going forward,
any SPG member who books a group
stay, event or corporate business meeting,
by world-renowned architect Dr Kisho
Kurokawa.
With its strategic location within this
self-contained city within a city, Ascott
Sentral Kuala Lumpur affords its residents
a truly connected lifestyle. Served by six
rail systems and direct links to major
highways, the serviced residence is well
connected by an excellent transportation
network. Moreover, it only takes 28 min-
utes to reach Kuala Lumpur International
Airport via KLIA Express Rail.
Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur consist
of 157 units from studios to two-bedroom
and three-bedroom penthouses units,
enabling travellers to choose an ideal
residence for their lifestyle. Travellers will
also enjoy various amenities including a
swimming pool, gymnasium, as well as a
wide variety of dining and entertainment
options within walking distance.
Ideal for relocation, overseas assign-
ments and leisure vacation, the residence
offers an exclusive city retreat while being
just across the street from famous attrac-
tions including Lake Gardens, Bird Park,
Chinatown and National Museum. For
reservations, visit www.the-ascott.com,
call +603 2718 6788.
Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur Opens Its Doors
regardless of if they are a travel profes-
sional or not, will earn Starpoints and
status for the business they influence.
Starwood President and CEO Frits
van Paasschen said that SPG Pro was
designed to leverage the strength of SPG,
which today drives more than 50% of
the company’s occupancy and continues
to shift consumer business to Starwood
hotels.
Today, B2B accounts for nearly 70%of
Starwood’s overall room revenue and is
comprised of corporate travel, meetings
and events and leisure and wholesale
travel. With a salesforce of more than
5,000 globally, Starwood’s Sales Offices
manage 1,200 global accounts frommore
than 30 offices around the world. Ac-
cording to Christie Hicks, Senior Vice
President, Starwood
Sales Organization, the top 1% of
accounts drives 40% of Starwood’s B2B
revenue.
In addition to travel pros, Starwood is
also targeting a new source of untapped
B2B potential: its most loyal guests.
According toMark Vondrasek, Starwood’s
Senior Vice President of Distribution,
Loyalty and Partnership Marketing, 34%
of SPG’s elite Platinum guests, who
may be senior executives or business
consultants or small business owners,
book meetings and events in hotels. For
more info, visit www.spg.com/pro.