Amid uncertainty, businesses and hotels gear up for historic summit

SINGAPORE — In spite of uncertainty over security arrangements for the historic meeting on June 12 between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, businesses and hotels in the Tanglin-Orchard area and Sentosa are gearing up for the event.

On Tuesday (June 5), staff at eateries were told by their managers that they may have turn up for work earlier, in view of security checks. The prospect of business being hit or having to close shop for a few days was raised, but employees were also reminded to raise their game to make a good impression on visitors.

Some malls are looking to step up security, while hotels told TODAY they expect “healthy occupancy” levels and have even seen more bookings in the past week.

The Tanglin-Orchard area, as well as Sentosa island and its surrounding waters, have been gazetted as “special event areas” for the summit — which White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced on Wednesday morning (Singapore time) would take place at Sentosa’s Capella Hotel.

Where the leaders and their respective delegations will stay has not been officially confirmed.

At Jamie’s Italian restaurant at Forum mall, general manager Didi Farli advised employees to show up for work at least half an hour earlier during the period of the summit, in case of any delays caused by security inspections.

While he acknowledged that the event may put Singapore on the international map, Mr Didi was “slightly apprehensive” of its impact on businesses.

A manager at Brewerkz restaurant in Orchard Parade Hotel, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong, said he has reminded staff to be extra vigilant and “on the ball” when serving customers, as some may be delegates or important guests here for the summit.

Over at Claymore Connect, California Pizza Kitchen’s general manager Kenneth Soh felt that the impact could be more “detrimental” than beneficial, pointing to how stores in Suntec City see an annual dip during the F1 season.

“(Later on we will discuss) what precautionary measures to take to minimise our wastage and costs.... We prepare a lot for the weekend, so if it’s going to be slow for us, we will definitely have to scale down (operations),” he said.

A spokesperson from CDL Hospitality Trusts, which manages the mall, said that it is “in discussions with its security vendor with regards to the need for stricter security checks.”

Claymore Connect is also in touch with the relevant authorities and “will cooperate with authorities should additional security measures be required”, he said, adding that it does not expect significant changes to visitor footfall.

An employee at the Rocky Master cafe at Delfi Orchard said she may suggest that the management consider closing the cafe on June 12, but lamented the lack of clarity on information such as road closures in the area.

Others said it would be business as usual.

Hard Rock Cafe’s assistant general manager Jeremy Goh said it will continue to expect a regular dining crowd, especially with the ongoing June school holidays.

Orchard Road Business Association’s executive director Steven Goh said minor inconveniences would only affect retailers on the quieter side of Orchard Road.

“As Orchard Road has been used as the site for many big meetings, we welcome such an event happening,” he said. Businesses do not “know the extent of disruption” and will have to take a “wait and see” approach, he added.

Over at Sentosa, businesses worried about how their employees would get to work should modes of transport into the island be restricted.

A manager at Bali Thai restaurant said he had “no idea” what to expect and will discuss possible plans of action with his operations team. “Hopefully there will be no danger (posed) and no attempts to assassinate the leaders and that negotiations will go well,” he said.

When TODAY visited the gazetted area in Orchard on Tuesday morning, the usually quiet residential area was slightly more abuzz with activity, with foreign media spotted outside Shangri-La Hotel, which had been tipped as a possible venue for the summit.

Consultant Dina Coppel, who lives at The Claymore condominium, noted the historic event that was “happening in (her) backyard” and said she had noticed the constant rumbling of jets overhead — which could be due to additional security presence.

She plans to continue walking to Orchard MRT to get to work in the morning, but avoid certain roads in the area which may experience higher levels of traffic.

Mr Anay Shah, who works in finance and recently moved to Singapore from London, said he was shocked to know the summit would coincide with his first week of work. “Maybe I’ll make my way to work earlier,” he said.

Hotels seem to be faring better. The Novotel Singapore on Stevens said occupancy pick-ups for June remain healthy, while Royal Plaza on Scotts said bookings have increased by 15 per cent in the past week.

Mr Patrick Fiat, Royal Plaza on Scotts’ general manager, said he expects occupancy to be above 90 per cent during the summit.

“If there is a high-level delegation staying with us, we will be working separately with the respective embassy and national security to elevate security measures further,” said Mr Fiat. “The hotel is located at the edge of the special event area. Operations should not be affected despite being in the gazetted area.”

A Shangri-La spokesperson said the hotel was “not in a position to make any comments on behalf of the stakeholders involved in this summit at this point in time”.

“It is still business as usual at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore,” he said.