The Ascott Limited, one of the lodging business units of Capitaland Investment, has set a target to double its fee revenue to over $500 million within the next five years, off a base of $258 million in FY2022 – the highest earnings on record for the company thus far. Last year, Ascott’s earnings grew by an impressive 36% year-on-year, thanks to its record-breaking property openings and signings.

Ascott has now achieved its goal of securing 160,000 units by the year 2023, having signed up over 4,000 additional units in 1QFY2023. The business looks to expand its offerings, ranging from mid-luxury serviced residences, hotels, co-living, and senior living, in order to drive fee revenue growth in the years ahead. The company hopes to achieve an annual net room growth rate of 8%-10%, further fuelled by both new property openings and new signings.

Kevin Goh, CEO of both Ascott and CLI Lodging, noted that due to their asset-light strategy, Ascott has doubled its units every five years, from a total of 20,000 back in 2008, to 160,000 today. He highlighted that, as a result, the financial impact of growing the portfolio had been extremely positive and will continue to focus on driving future fee growth.

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Goh noted that over 80% of the total units are now under management and franchise contracts, up from 43% ten years ago – highlighting the value of these agreements and their sticky, recurring fee revenue and long tenures.

In order to achieve the ambitious growth target set, Ascott will look to secure more management and franchise contracts for prime properties, in addition to leveraging their strong brand equity and direct distribution channels in order to deliver greater value to their property owners and customers.

The business is brimming with excitement and enthusiasm to further develop its portfolio in the years ahead. Ascott is taking the right steps towards its goal, and one can look forward to seeing their remarkable progress in the years to come.