A wave of international luxury hotel openings is reshaping Taipei’s hospitality landscape as the city’s global profile rises. Sustaining this momentum will require distinctively Taiwanese experiences and a more streamlined investment environment.
Benjamin Liao is chair of Forte Hotel Group and a board director of Howard Plaza Hotel Group. Active in Taiwan and regional tourism for more than two decades, he has worked across hotel development, operations, destination marketing, and industry associations, building a perspective that extends beyond individual properties to the broader travel ecosystem. In addition…
As Grand Hyatt Taipei nears its 35th anniversary, General Manager Frances Tsai reflects on a career shaped by hands-on operations, steady leadership, and a belief that lasting success comes from taking care of people first. In conversation with TOPICS, she explains how stability, team trust, and long-term stewardship continue to guide Grand Hyatt Taipei into its next chapter.
In Taiwan, where preserving historic buildings is uncommon, a new generation of distinctive lodgings is redefining the travel experience—military housing turned group retreat, a literati garden estate, a Kaohsiung family home-turned-hostel, and a presidential hideaway reborn as a boutique hotel.
Since Westin Tashee Resort General Manager Jan-Hendrik Meidinger arrived in Asia 23 years ago, he has consistently striven to understand others without making assumptions. His 30 years of experience spanning six countries has taught him about what truly matters in the complex and ever-changing hospitality industry, and he takes joy in coaching new talent. From…
The COVID-19 outbreak that began in mid-May has brought hotels to their knees. Without a larger relief package, some may not survive. For most of the coronavirus pandemic, domestic tourism has been a bright spot for Taiwan’s hotel industry. Many hotels and B&Bs outside of Taipei – which is more reliant on the international market…
With no end to the pandemic yet in sight, it may take years for the travel industry to fully recover. In the short term, the leisure market has the best prospects. As Taiwan faces a difficult coronavirus outbreak, imagining the future of travel in the country is a challenge. After all, besides containing the outbreak,…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Strong Demand for Technology Drives Increased GDP Growth Even as Taiwan has struggled to contain a local outbreak of COVID-19, the international community continues to have confidence in Taiwan’s economy. Taiwan Ratings, the Taiwan subsidiary of S&P Global…
A bi-weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Microsoft begins hiring to boost Taiwan R&D Microsoft announced on February 5 that it would work to make Taiwan a global technology research and development hub. The company said it is confident in the island’s strong integration of…
Mandarin Oriental General Manager Karan Berry’s 23-year-long career in hospitality has taken him from India to Indonesia, and now to Taiwan. To successfully run a luxury hotel, he says, you need to understand and respect not only the most visible parts of the operation, but also all of the various back-end roles – what he…
