Alston Lee and his girlfriend, both from Malaysia, are very specific about what they want from a vacation in Taipei. They have paid three week-long visits to the city and each time stayed in Ximending, a neighborhood in the Wanhua District. “Ximending offers all kinds of eating, entertaining and shopping options,” Lee says during his latest trip. “I’m interested in visiting electronics stores and my girlfriend likes to shop for clothes and shoes. There’s a broader selection here than Malaysia, and the merchandise is also about 10 to 20 percent cheaper.”
When it is time to look for accommodations, Lee also focuses on the Ximending area. The number of hotels to choose from in the neighborhood is growing, he says, and many of them have distinctive characteristics and good amenities. “We’re satisfied with our hotel,” he says. “It’s clean, stylishly designed and well equipped. For example, there’s a kitchen, self-service laundry room and free wireless Internet. Plus, the room rates are reasonable and service personnel are friendly and helpful.”
Kenny Koh, a 26-year-old Singaporean who frequently visits Taipei, echoes Lee’s opinion. “Location and price are the top two factors I consider when I’m deciding where to stay during my visits to Taiwan,” Koh says. “Ximending has become my preference due to its easy access to eateries, shops and public transportation, and it helps that hotels in the area offer good value and service quality.”
Recent efforts to enhance Ximending’s atmosphere and cultural attractions have helped draw visitors like Lee to the neighborhood. “The Taipei City Government’s designation of Ximending as a pedestrian area and launching of several urban regeneration and cultural and creative projects in Wanhua have bolstered local tourism and brought renewed prosperity to the district,” says Pepi Liao (廖佩玲), chief financial officer (CFO) of InHouse Hotel, a boutique hotel that opened in Ximending in May 2012. “And that has greatly facilitated our hotel operations. We’re very upbeat about the area’s development and plan to keep investing here.”
The rooms of CityInn Plus, a budget hotel in Ximending, feature works by Taiwanese artists. (Photo Courtesy of CityInn Plus)
Popular Spot
Chiu Lo-fen (邱樂芬), chairwoman of the Taipei Hotel Association, says Ximending has become one of Taipei’s most popular spots for travelers, particularly among backpackers from Southeast Asia and mainland China. “Ximending’s popularity lies in its convenient transportation, as well as diverse and inexpensive offerings,” she says. “It’s especially attractive to young people who want to buy fashionable goods at reasonable prices or see a movie, sing karaoke or hang out at a bar.”
A number of new hotels have been established in Ximending to cater to the growing influx of tourists in recent years, Chiu says. She estimates that there are now about 80 hotels operating in Ximending, giving the neighborhood the highest density of hotels in any area of Taipei. “The good cost/performance ratio that many hotels offer is the main factor behind the thriving sector [in Ximending],” she says.
In the past, people generally had the impression that hotels in Ximending were old and poorly equipped, Chiu says, but over the last few years, several business groups have entered the local hotel trade by building new structures or renovating old ones with modern amenities. “Thanks to that investment, the number and quality of hotels in the area are going up. It’s a good trend,” Chiu says. “Now travelers can select from a range of hotels based on their budget, needs and preferred style.”
One of the recent investors in Ximending is Taipei Inn Group, operator of CityInn Plus. The hotel, one of a chain of nine affordable ones operated by the group, opened in October 2010 and occupies a seven-floor building with 66 rooms at rates ranging from NT$1,920 (US$64) to NT$3,100 (US$103). To make CityInn Plus stand out, Taipei Inn Group enlisted Architecture Interior Group and street wear brand Pizza Cut Five, both of Taiwan, as well as Love Tomorrow Today, a US-based sustainable design group, to design the hotel’s interior and exterior. The hotel also exhibits artworks in common areas and offers rooms decorated with specific themes.
Amba Taipei Ximending’s décor emphasizes creativity, energy conservation and technology. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
Howard Fan (范之豪), manager of CityInn Plus, says the hotel has created a pleasant and unique environment by combining art, fashion and green design. “Providing good amenities and services are basic requirements and everybody is doing that now,” Fan says. “So we seek to utilize innovative design and art to make our guests’ stays memorable and distinguish our hotel from the ones run by other operators. It’s our belief that a hotel can be more than a place for one to rest and sleep—it can also be a platform that features culture and creativity.”
As an example of CityInn Plus’ approach, Fan says in March 2012 the hotel kicked off a six-month-long illustration exhibition. That show transformed a public area in the hotel’s basement into a gallery displaying pieces created by nearly 100 Taiwanese illustrators. “We’re glad to use our venues to help promote creative works by Taiwan’s talented artists and introduce them to international tourists. That gives significance to our hotel’s operation,” he says, adding that CityInn Plus plans to continue cooperating with local artists in different fields in the future.
The hotel’s room occupancy rate has hovered at more than 90 percent since shortly after it opened, Fan says. Between 70 and 80 percent of CityInn Plus’ customers are from overseas, mainly Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, and typically range from 25 to 35 years old. Apart from its attractive design and elements of local culture, Fan attributes his hotel’s popularity to its location, as it lies only 50 meters from the Ximen Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system station. CityInn Plus is also close to historic sites including the Red House, which was established in 1908 as Taiwan’s first public market and is now a center for the arts, and Lungshan Temple, which was built in 1738 during Qing dynasty rule over Taiwan (1684–1895).
Fan says hotel employees enjoy providing travel information and recommendations on restaurants and shops, as well as helping guests order well-known Taiwanese gift products such as pineapple cakes for delivery to the hotel. CityInn Plus also cooperates with bookstores, clothing shops, movie theaters and restaurants in the neighborhood to offer joint discounts.
Airline Inn Taipei offers rooms decorated with an air travel theme. (Photo Courtesy of Airline Inn)
Unique Experience
Airline Inn Taipei, another budget hotel located in Ximending, was established in 2012 by the Royal Seasons Hotel Group, which operates five branches around Taiwan. As its name suggests, the hotel provides a unique experience by offering 43 rooms decorated with an aircraft theme. “Our hotel is designed to highlight the relationship between flight and travel to create a fun atmosphere as well as reflect the service orientation emphasized by the airline industry,” says Jemery Kao (高子翔), assistant manager of the marketing and planning division at Airline Inn. “The aircraft cabin design is not only used in our rooms, but also the hallways, which have walls decorated with cabin windows. As you walk down the halls and ‘look out’ the windows, you can see images of white clouds in the blue sky alternating with films about Taiwan’s tourist destinations produced by the Tourism Bureau.”
Kao says that as there is not enough space in his hotel for dining or fitness facilities, Airline Inn compensates by providing the best possible service and competitive room rates of NT$2,600 (US$87) on weekdays and NT$2,900 (US$97) on weekends, as well as occasional special offers. The hotel is a three-minute walk from the Ximen MRT station, which in turn is just one stop from Taipei Main Station and the heart of the downtown area. Airline Inn has seen stable business growth since its opening and maintained an average room occupancy rate of 80 percent, he says.
Thanks to the government’s sustained efforts to promote tourism, the number of visitors arriving in Taiwan has grown substantially in recent years, Kao says. The majority of Airline Inn’s customers come from Hong Kong and Macau, but the number of those from elsewhere in mainland China is also rising, he notes. Regulations put in place in mid-2011 allowing individual mainland Chinese travelers to visit Taiwan have been conducive to the development of businesses in the tourism sector, including those operating in Ximending, he says. Mainland Chinese tourists were previously required to visit Taiwan as members of a tour group, and tour operators usually book reservations for such groups in larger hotels. Though the establishment of more hotels in the Ximending area has led to greater competition, Kao says demand for accommodation remains strong, especially for hotels that provide good service and a unique experience.
Guests mingle and listen to music in Amba’s lounge. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
The Ambassador Hotel Group established Amba Taipei Ximending, which has 160 rooms and a bakery, music lounge and restaurant, in the heart of the Ximen business district in February 2012. Among other things, Ambassador is known for setting up the first five-star hotel in Taipei in 1964. Amba public relations specialist Daphne Wu (吳欣宜) says her hotel was designed by a group of prominent architects, artists and music stylists, with the latter specializing in matching music to a client’s décor. The hotel’s design and decorations emphasize energy conservation, creativity and technology, she says, which adds an element of fun to the travel experience. “The interior designs of our guestrooms range from those that are quintessentially Ximending, with creative artworks inspired by the area’s cinematic and musical heritage, to more subtle, contemporary themes,” Wu says. “We also use environmentally friendly materials such as flooring made of recycled plywood and side tables made from painted metal drums. As for guest amenities, all of our bath products are made from natural ingredients.”
Amba benefits from being located on the upper floors of a building that houses a shopping mall, as well as its proximity to a street that serves as home to many of Ximending’s movie theaters, Wu says. The hotel’s room rates range from NT$3,000 (US$100) to more than NT$6,000 (US$200).
Wu agrees with Kao’s upbeat assessment of the Ximending hotel market, noting that Amba is on track to meet its goal of reaching a 90 percent first-year occupancy rate. The number of international tourists to Taiwan has risen consistently over the last few years, and those tourist arrivals have contributed to the boom of Ximending and its hotel trade, she says.
Meanwhile, several smaller hotels are changing the Ximending scene by appealing to customers who seek luxurious décor without the high price tag. InHouse Hotel, for one, offers 53 rooms priced from NT$2,950 (US$98) to NT$4,980 (US$166) as well as a lounge bar and a café.
InHouse’s lobby blends old and new design elements. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
Liao credits InHouse’s lavish decoration to the ingenuity of Taiwanese interior designer Ted Su (蘇誠修), who is known for creating some 30 upscale nightclubs in Taipei. Su’s blend of old and new design elements gives InHouse an elegant, cozy and inviting setting, the InHouse CFO says. The red exterior of the hotel building deliberately imitates the style of the Red House, she adds, while Su created a nostalgic atmosphere for common areas through the use of antique and custom-made mahogany and rattan furniture, velvet curtains and a Swarovski crystal chandelier in the lobby. Meanwhile, each guestroom has distinctive furnishings to ensure that patrons have a memorable stay, even if they have visited the hotel more than once.
Liao says a significant investment was required to build the boutique hotel. That expense has paid off, however, as since its opening, the hotel has seen an average occupancy rate of more than 95 percent. Given that InHouse usually operates at or near full capacity, Liao’s business group is planning to open a second hotel in the neighborhood in the near future.
Ximending and its many hotels appear to have a strong hold on the hearts of international tourists such as Alston Lee and Kenny Koh. Darwin Lau of Hong Kong is also smitten with Ximending, saying that the neighborhood has become his top destination when he travels to Taiwan. “Ximending is really a fun place for dining on local delicacies, shopping for specialty products and enjoying different kinds of performances. You can get a good taste of Taiwan’s nightlife here,” he says. “On top of all that, you can stay at a fashionable, quality hotel. It’s a combination that makes visiting Taiwan more enjoyable and keeps me coming back.”
Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw