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SINGAPORE: Business travelers from around the world will be able to stay and hold meetings in a dedicated facility in Singapore, without the need to quarantine upon arrival.
The short-stay pilot facility, called Connect @ Changi, opened on Thursday (February 18) as part of Singapore’s efforts to resume international business meetings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hotel and business center is “bubble-wrapped” so that visitors do not mix with the Singaporean community, but can still meet face-to-face with Singaporean residents.
Opening the facility on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that the resumption of business travel and international meetings is important to catalyze economic recovery in Singapore and the region.
“Doing so will also help accelerate the recovery of our heavily affected MICE and hospitality sectors and will preserve our role as a global business center,” he said.
In the first phase of the project, Connect @ Changi is launching 150 rooms and 40 meeting rooms that can accommodate four to 22 attendees. It will be expanded in phases to reach a maximum potential capacity to accommodate some 1,300 business travelers.
The Singapore EXPO and Max Atria project is developed by a Singapore consortium led by Temasek Holdings and includes The Ascott Limited, Changi Airport Group, Sheares Healthcare Group, SingEx-Sphere Holdings and Surbana Jurong.
Meeting room for 10 people at Connect @ Changi business premises (Photo: Connect @ Changi)
Boardroom at Connect @ Changi business premises (Photo: Connect @ Changi)
Alan Thompson, joint director of strategic development for Temasek International, said the facility is one way to help drive travel and business meetings.
“We came up with the idea of reusing pavilions 7 to 10 of the (EXPO) in a facility like this, which … will allow business meetings to be held, which will then allow travel to take place and gradually we will be able to do business as close to normal as possible, “he said.
He added that they are prepared to be agile and design the remaining parts of the facility as the pandemic evolves.
For now, it is expected to serve people who want to hold small-scale meetings, including major negotiations, signing legal contracts, or companies who want to hold regional meetings.
One such company, Advanced MedTech Holdings, is one of the first to make a reservation and plans to hold a global senior leadership meeting in person with up to 30 executives there.
Such visitors will have a number of new safe management measures to adhere to when they arrive for their stay there, including testing for COVID-19 every few days and having to stay in groups of five in a cohort.
“We are indeed monitoring them during their stay and therefore we can be sure that they are doing well during their stay here,” said Mr. TK Udairam, COO of Sheares Healthcare Group.
“If they are indeed infected … they will be treated like any other COVID patient … and taken to the health center.”
Test facilities at Connect @ Changi. (Photo: Chew Hui Min)
Connect @ Changi said that all foreign travelers checking in will be required to take a polymerase chain reaction test upon arrival at Changi Airport, as well as on days three, seven and 14 of their stay. The minimum stay is 24 hours, while the longest is 14 days.
They will be transferred from the airport and sent to their rooms, and will have to stay until the test result is published, which is estimated to take about six hours.
A red light shows that the room occupant has not yet received the COVID-19 test result upon arrival and must remain in the hotel room.
They will be able to meet people from Singapore, but only in special meeting rooms with hermetic glass panels. There are separate entrances and exits, as well as ventilation systems, for travelers from abroad and for visitors to Singapore.
Large-scale video conferencing can be done to enable hybrid meetings. There are also special document exchange boxes where papers will be sanitized before transferring anywhere.
Document transfer on Connect @ Changi, where papers are disinfected before moving from ground to air and vice versa.
To minimize contact between guests and staff members, there will be no housekeeping service during their stays and meals will be delivered on shelves outside the rooms. They can also go to the self-service coffee kiosks and food and beverage vending machines, or order food delivery.
Hotel employees are required to wear masks, face shields, and gloves, and for housework and certain tasks, full personal protective equipment is required.
Executive Twin Room in Connect @ Changi Business Facility (Photo: Connect @ Changi)
Room rates start at S $ 384 for 24 hours and can now be booked at www.connectatchangi.sg or via the Connect @ Changi mobile app.
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