Building on its promise to deliver elevated experiences for its guests and top-tier loyalty members, Ascott, the lodging business unit of Singapore-listed CapitaLand Investment, has signed with Chelsea Football Club (Chelsea FC) as its new official global hotels partner for the next four seasons starting this month.
The partnership will enable Chelsea and Ascott to collaborate on providing “money can’t buy” experiences for Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) members around the world, including exclusive access to matches at Stamford Bridge stadium, home of Chelsea FC, as well as VIP visits to The Blues Cobham Training Ground and use of a charming villa close by, built by former club owner Roman Abramovich.
(From left) Chelsea Football Club’s Casper Stylsvig and Ascott’s Tan Bee Leng make public their partnership that is the first between an Asian hospitality firm and the club (photo by Karen Yue)
The Ascott brand will benefit from expanded exposure within Chelsea FC’s sphere of supporters, which currently number over 600 million worldwide. The brand will be displayed prominently around the stadium for both Men’s and Women’s matches, as well as across Chelsea FC’s social and digital channels with engaging content for fans to enjoy. The hospitality firm will also become the presenting partner of Chelsea’s flagship international fan engagement event, the Famous CFC, in two international markets – one of which will likely be in Asia where Chelsea FC hopes to engage more fans.
Another advantage of this new partnership is the appointment of Ascott to manage the twin-tower hotel located on the site of Stamford Bridge. The hotel is owned by BlueCo, a consortium that also owns the Premier League football club. Ascott will assume management from 2H2024, and the 232-key hotel will begin to fly the lyf flag in 2H2025.
lyf Stamford Bridge London is Ascott’s first stadium hotel. At the point of signing, it is also the largest lyf property in terms of room keys.
Tan Bee Leng, chief commercial officer, Ascott, told TTG Asia that the lyf Stamford Bridge London will undergo renovations – mostly to its furnishings – to align its hardware to lyf brand standards.
She shared that hotel operations would not be affected, and new parts of the hotel would be unveiled progressively.
Casper Stylsvig, chief revenue officer with Chelsea FC, described the partnership as a “great brand fit”, as Ascott’s push for impressive customer experiences was “something we also intend to achieve”.
Stylsvig believes that Ascott’s extensive reach in the travel and tourism community will allow the football club to engage with a “younger, energetic and innovative” set of audience.
“We have a very engaged fan base across the globe, especially in Asia. This is a region where Ascott is very strong in,” he remarked, adding that Ascott’s ambitions to grow its portfolio globally also “resonated” with the club.
Tan said opportunities would be created to bring together the worlds of hospitality and football through memorable fan engagement activities, exclusive offers for Chelsea supporters, and bespoke stay experiences at Ascott properties.
Some of the unique Chelsea FC experiences reserved for ASR members include stays paired with guided stadium tours, access to limited edition co-branded merchandise and signed memorabilia, VIP meet-and-greet with football stars, and intimate tours of Chelsea’s private training grounds. Matchday access will also come more easily into the hands of ASR members through limited sets of guaranteed tickets to designated home matches alongside pre-game refreshments.
As part of the media debut event on July 8, journalists participated in a training session with Chelsea FC’s senior programme manager, Chris Woodward, and met with former club goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to hear about his football career.
The first engagement opportunities will begin with the kick-off of the 38-game Premier League 2024/2025 season on August 18. Although lyf Stamford Bridge London will be in the midst of handover when the Premier League 2024/2025 begins, Ascott has many other hotels in London to facilitate event activations.
“The Premier League is an international event and our partnership with Chelsea FC is on a global scale. There is a lot we can do around the world. We can already begin our global marketing campaigns to get people excited about our partnership,” she added.
Source link : https://www.ttgasia.com/2024/07/09/ascott-scores-chelsea-football-club-partnership-in-its-quest-to-enhance-guest-experiences-and-loyalty-perks/
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Publish date : 2024-07-08 15:30:03
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