Singapore piloting a dedicated room to welcome visitors to work

Singapore piloting a dedicated room to welcome visitors to work

Singapore has just put into operation the Connect@Changi room to facilitate business travelers to Singapore to meet each other instead of having to wait until the end of the quarantine period.

Meeting room at Connect@Changi. Photo: Channel News Asia

Travelers coming to Singapore for business purposes can reside and hold meetings together at a separately arranged location without waiting until after completing the quarantine period.

This special short-term residence, called Connect@Changi, has been opened as part of a massive effort by the Singapore government to restart international business operations amid the Covid-19 pandemic. .

The hotel is also a commercial center that is managed as a safe corridor so that visitors here do not come into contact with the community in Singapore but can still meet Singapore partners directly at this location.

This place was officially put into operation on February 18. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, said that the resumption of trade activities and international business meetings is a very important catalyst for the revival of the economy of Singapore and the region. area.

In the first phase of the project, Connect@Changi will put into operation 150 residence rooms and 40 meeting rooms with capacity for meetings from 4 to 22 people. After that, it will aim to exploit the maximum capacity to be able to welcome up to 1,300 business visitors.

At the present time, this location is intended to facilitate small meetings including negotiations, negotiations, contract signing or for businesses that need to organize regional meetings.

These travelers will have new safety measures in place for the duration of their stay at Connect@Changi, including testing for Covid-19 and must keep their activities in a group of up to 5 members. .

The management representative of Connect@Changi said that all international visitors upon arrival will be required to take a Covid-19 Polymerrase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at Changi Airport on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. 14 during the stay. The minimum length of stay is 24 hours and the longest is 14 days.

Guests will be shuttled from the airport to their room here and stay in the room until test results are available, approximately 6 hours after sample collection.

These visitors will still be able to meet their Singaporean counterparts, but the meeting must take place in specially designed meeting rooms with glass separating the two sides. Meeting rooms will have separate entrances and exits and separate ventilation systems for groups from overseas and groups from Singapore. Large-scale webinars can also be combined with face-to-face meetings. There will be special document boxes arranged, documents will be sterilized before being exchanged between parties.

In order to minimize contact between guests and hotel staff, there will be no housekeeping staff during the stay and meals will be prepared and arranged at the hotel rooms. shelf outside the room. Guests residing here can still use the self-service coffee shops, buy food and drink at the vending machines or buy food delivered to the place. Hotel staff are required to wear masks, drop shields and gloves; for room staff and other special staff will always have full body protective equipment.

 The facility is a way to help kickstart business meetings and travel, says Alan Thompson, Temasek International's Head of Strategy Development.

It is known that room rates at Connect@Changi start at USD384/24 hours and can be booked at www.connectatchangi.sg or on the Connect@Changi mobile app.