OUTSTANDING CATEGORY
Mandy Chew Siok Cheng
President
Lexis Hotel Group
11, 8, Jalan Damanlela Menara Milenium,
Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+60 3-2082 0333
www.lexis.my
Incorporated in 1995, Lexis Hotel Group provides discerning leisure and business guests with practical and luxurious accommodations across various properties in Malaysia. It is steadfast in offering professional management services for hotels and resorts, and has successfully built a strong, profitable and visible premier niche brand in the hospitality industry especially in managing award-winning unique water chalets as well as pool villas.
Helming the company is Mandy Chew Siok Cheng, President of Lexis Hotel Group. Having grew up and spent her early years in Penang, the vibrant and vivacious Mandy is the second of six siblings. A Bachelor of Economics (Hons) in Business Administration graduate from University of Malaya, Mandy has more than three decades of professional hospitality experience. She joined the renowned Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur in 1985 and subsequently became the Director of Human Resources.
Eleven years later Mandy was appointed as Vice President of Business Development in Metroplex Holdings Sdn Bhd (Leisure Division) before being promoted to President. During her tenure at Metroplex, Mandy was instrumental in overseeing five hotels and resorts, a shopping mall, a timeshare company promoting vacation membership, a hospitality college and as well as a centralised laundry. In addition, this highly capable generalist oversaw the inflight catering for the very first AirAsia flight. Mandy then left Metroplex in 2011 to join Sunway International Hotels and Resorts as the CEO. Among her main roles include overseeing the profitability and smooth running of its 2,786 hotel rooms in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia. While at the conglomerate, she was also the Director of Sunway International Vacation Club and Sunway Healthy Lifestyle.
Mandy assumed the role of President of Lexis in 2015, in time for the soft opening of Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson, the Group’s signature property. The Lexis brand currently manages four properties, three of them in Port Dickson. Lexis Port Dickson is a charming 272-room resort designed with a tropical Balinese touch. Every guestroom and water chalet comes with private balcony and bathtub. Situated next door is Grand Lexis Port Dickson, a Balinese-resort styled sanctuary offering unparalleled superior surroundings where each of the 317 Balinese-inspired villas comes with its own private pool.
As an entrepreneur with a heart, Mandy always believe in giving back to society. She holds dear to the adage where the more you give, the more you will receive.
The iconic Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson resembles the national flower of Malaysia and each of its 639 pool villa is equipped with private pool and steam room, giving guests convenience and total privacy. The name and concept of Lexis Hibiscus came from a vision to create something that has never been done before and something that is symbolic to Malaysia’s identity. “The whole resort is designed very similar to the shape of a hibiscus, Malaysia’s national flower. The idea was from a collaboration between the architect and our owners. The design and planning process took about two years while the construction process took one and a half year to complete”, reveals Mandy. Lexis Hibiscus is the only resort with the holder of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS for achieving “The most swimming pools in a resort at 643” and “The most overwater villas in single resort at 522”. These records were determined by a research which was verified on 14 October 2016. Additionally, it is also the recipient of World Luxury Hotel Awards – Luxury Water Villa Resort (Southeast Asia) category.
The triumphs by Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson further strengthens its commitment to promote tourism in Port Dickson, which continues to see increased demand for luxurious accommodation from discerning travellers, covering business and leisure segments from both local and overseas.
Meanwhile Lexis Suites Penang is only ten minutes’ drive from Penang International Airport. Located on the idyllic beach at Teluk Kumbar, it is the only hotel in the Pearl of the Orient offering guests the luxury of private pool and steam room in every of its 222 suites. The guestrooms offer a commanding seaview from its private balcony.
Under Mandy’s leadership, the Group has achieved about RM100 million turnover for Lexis Hibiscus and RM200 million in total with the other three resorts in 2016. For 2017, an increase of 15 per cent is anticipated. Financial statistics aside, Mandy has steered Lexis Hotel Group in clinching the coveted Brandlaureate SMEs Best Brands Awards 2016-2017 – Best Brand in Hospitality (Hotels and Resorts) and Asia Best Employer Brand Awards. Gratifying achievements like these are what make it worthwhile for her. With plenty of job opportunities being offered to the locals, the Group has contributed positively towards the tourism industry. As to date, the properties within the Lexis Hotel Group have attracted more than 3.6 million tourists from across 126 countries. It has also brought in tourism dollars to the state. Assuming a conservative expenditure figure of just RM1,000 per guest, Lexis have already contributed more than RM3.6 billion in tourism receipts.
“Currently we are still relatively small compared to the big boys but that keeps us very focused on our goals and objectives. We want to make sure that our first few hotels create a success story before we grow and venture into other parts of Malaysia and overseas. Being small means we can revisit and tweak our strategies whenever the need arises, and also have the flexibility to adjust and cope with changing market trends and different types of guests. In any environment, one needs to give some room for trial and error and to adapt accordingly.”
To date, the majority of its guests hail from China, Taiwan and Singapore. It plans to target Australia, New Zealand and various countries from other parts of the world. Moving forward, Lexis Hibiscus will focus on broadening their publicity. Mandy is enthusiastic in telling the world that there is an iconic resort here in Malaysia that is uniquely different. The Group have been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia as well as other parties for overseas roadshows and international promotional campaigns. In keeping up with the times, the Group’s marketing campaigns have also included digital advertising, e-mail blasts and social media – in platforms such as Facebook, Wechat, Youku, Baidu, etc., effective promotional campaigns that helped a lot in generating awareness for the properties within the Group.
In tandem with Lexis Hotel Group’s tagline ‘Hospitality Is Our Passion’, Mandy believes in instilling her team members to do things with zeal, and to think positively. “When we love what we do, it becomes less of a ‘job’ and more of an enthusiastic venture. We strive to bring our individual expertise, creativity and passion together as a team.” While opportunities are given to groom and mould the younger employees, staffs who have been with Lexis for a long time are given due recognition and justifiably rewarded. These, according to Mandy, are just some of the many ways Lexis retain its pool of talents.
As an entrepreneur with a heart, Mandy always believe in giving back to society. She holds dear to the adage where the more you give, the more you will receive. Within the Group, she will ensure that the staffs’ welfare is always well taken care. Lexis also engages employees who are physically challenged and they are placed in suitable departments according to their abilities. Within the community where each of the resort is located, regular Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities are held, especially during major festive seasons. When she is not chairing meetings and mentoring her team, Mandy enjoys travelling and reading. Being a ferocious reader, Mandy asserts there are lot we can learn from books while travelling lets one embrace other cultures and to think creatively, an important trait in order to stay ahead in the hospitality world.
OUTSTANDING CATEGORY
Mandy Chew Siok Cheng
President
Incorporated in 1995, Lexis Hotel Group provides discerning leisure and business guests with practical and luxurious accommodations across various properties in Malaysia. It is steadfast in offering professional management services for hotels and resorts, and has successfully built a strong, profitable and visible premier niche brand in the hospitality industry especially in managing award-winning unique water chalets as well as pool villas.
Helming the company is Mandy Chew Siok Cheng, President of Lexis Hotel Group. Having grew up and spent her early years in Penang, the vibrant and vivacious Mandy is the second of six siblings. A Bachelor of Economics (Hons) in Business Administration graduate from University of Malaya, Mandy has more than three decades of professional hospitality experience. She joined the renowned Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur in 1985 and subsequently became the Director of Human Resources.
Eleven years later Mandy was appointed as Vice President of Business Development in Metroplex Holdings Sdn Bhd (Leisure Division) before being promoted to President. During her tenure at Metroplex, Mandy was instrumental in overseeing five hotels and resorts, a shopping mall, a timeshare company promoting vacation membership, a hospitality college and as well as a centralised laundry. In addition, this highly capable generalist oversaw the inflight catering for the very first AirAsia flight. Mandy then left Metroplex in 2011 to join Sunway International Hotels and Resorts as the CEO. Among her main roles include overseeing the profitability and smooth running of its 2,786 hotel rooms in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia. While at the conglomerate, she was also the Director of Sunway International Vacation Club and Sunway Healthy Lifestyle.
Mandy assumed the role of President of Lexis in 2015, in time for the soft opening of Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson, the Group’s signature property. The Lexis brand currently manages four properties, three of them in Port Dickson. Lexis Port Dickson is a charming 272-room resort designed with a tropical Balinese touch. Every guestroom and water chalet comes with private balcony and bathtub. Situated next door is Grand Lexis Port Dickson, a Balinese-resort styled sanctuary offering unparalleled superior surroundings where each of the 317 Balinese-inspired villas comes with its own private pool.
Lexis Hotel Group
11, 8, Jalan Damanlela Menara Milenium,
Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+60 3-2082 0333
www.lexis.my
As an entrepreneur with a heart, Mandy always believe in giving back to society. She holds dear to the adage where the more you give, the more you will receive.
The iconic Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson resembles the national flower of Malaysia and each of its 639 pool villa is equipped with private pool and steam room, giving guests convenience and total privacy. The name and concept of Lexis Hibiscus came from a vision to create something that has never been done before and something that is symbolic to Malaysia’s identity. “The whole resort is designed very similar to the shape of a hibiscus, Malaysia’s national flower. The idea was from a collaboration between the architect and our owners. The design and planning process took about two years while the construction process took one and a half year to complete”, reveals Mandy. Lexis Hibiscus is the only resort with the holder of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS for achieving “The most swimming pools in a resort at 643” and “The most overwater villas in single resort at 522”. These records were determined by a research which was verified on 14 October 2016. Additionally, it is also the recipient of World Luxury Hotel Awards – Luxury Water Villa Resort (Southeast Asia) category.
The triumphs by Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson further strengthens its commitment to promote tourism in Port Dickson, which continues to see increased demand for luxurious accommodation from discerning travellers, covering business and leisure segments from both local and overseas.
Meanwhile Lexis Suites Penang is only ten minutes’ drive from Penang International Airport. Located on the idyllic beach at Teluk Kumbar, it is the only hotel in the Pearl of the Orient offering guests the luxury of private pool and steam room in every of its 222 suites. The guestrooms offer a commanding seaview from its private balcony.
Under Mandy’s leadership, the Group has achieved about RM100 million turnover for Lexis Hibiscus and RM200 million in total with the other three resorts in 2016. For 2017, an increase of 15 per cent is anticipated. Financial statistics aside, Mandy has steered Lexis Hotel Group in clinching the coveted Brandlaureate SMEs Best Brands Awards 2016-2017 – Best Brand in Hospitality (Hotels and Resorts) and Asia Best Employer Brand Awards. Gratifying achievements like these are what make it worthwhile for her. With plenty of job opportunities being offered to the locals, the Group has contributed positively towards the tourism industry. As to date, the properties within the Lexis Hotel Group have attracted more than 3.6 million tourists from across 126 countries. It has also brought in tourism dollars to the state. Assuming a conservative expenditure figure of just RM1,000 per guest, Lexis have already contributed more than RM3.6 billion in tourism receipts.
“Currently we are still relatively small compared to the big boys but that keeps us very focused on our goals and objectives. We want to make sure that our first few hotels create a success story before we grow and venture into other parts of Malaysia and overseas. Being small means we can revisit and tweak our strategies whenever the need arises, and also have the flexibility to adjust and cope with changing market trends and different types of guests. In any environment, one needs to give some room for trial and error and to adapt accordingly.”
To date, the majority of its guests hail from China, Taiwan and Singapore. It plans to target Australia, New Zealand and various countries from other parts of the world. Moving forward, Lexis Hibiscus will focus on broadening their publicity. Mandy is enthusiastic in telling the world that there is an iconic resort here in Malaysia that is uniquely different. The Group have been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia as well as other parties for overseas roadshows and international promotional campaigns. In keeping up with the times, the Group’s marketing campaigns have also included digital advertising, e-mail blasts and social media – in platforms such as Facebook, Wechat, Youku, Baidu, etc., effective promotional campaigns that helped a lot in generating awareness for the properties within the Group.
In tandem with Lexis Hotel Group’s tagline ‘Hospitality Is Our Passion’, Mandy believes in instilling her team members to do things with zeal, and to think positively. “When we love what we do, it becomes less of a ‘job’ and more of an enthusiastic venture. We strive to bring our individual expertise, creativity and passion together as a team.” While opportunities are given to groom and mould the younger employees, staffs who have been with Lexis for a long time are given due recognition and justifiably rewarded. These, according to Mandy, are just some of the many ways Lexis retain its pool of talents.
As an entrepreneur with a heart, Mandy always believe in giving back to society. She holds dear to the adage where the more you give, the more you will receive. Within the Group, she will ensure that the staffs’ welfare is always well taken care. Lexis also engages employees who are physically challenged and they are placed in suitable departments according to their abilities. Within the community where each of the resort is located, regular Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities are held, especially during major festive seasons. When she is not chairing meetings and mentoring her team, Mandy enjoys travelling and reading. Being a ferocious reader, Mandy asserts there are lot we can learn from books while travelling lets one embrace other cultures and to think creatively, an important trait in order to stay ahead in the hospitality world.