Carolyn Choo

Carolyn Choo is forging her own path while honouring the legacy of her father, billionaire hotelier Choo Chong Ngen, the founder and chairman of Worldwide Hotels Group (WWHG), which oversees brands like Hotel 81, Hotel Mi, V Hotel, Venue Hotel, Hotel Boss, Value Hotel, and Icon Hotel.

Since taking on the roles of CEO and managing director of WWHG in 2017, Choo has launched numerous ambitious projects. In 2018, 23 years after the opening of the first Hotel 81, she consolidated the group’s six hotel brands under an umbrella entity. Currently, the group prides itself on a diverse portfolio of seven hotel brands, encompassing more than 41 properties strategically located throughout the city. It also owns 11 hotels in Australia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, run by external operators such as Accor, Oakwood, Holiday Inn, Swiss Garden and Travelodge.

One of WWHG’s pivotal transformations under Choo’s leadership is its strategic acquisitions and foray into franchise models to fuel its expansion. In July 2023, it acquired ParkRoyal on Kitchener Road and rebranded it as Novotel Singapore on Kitchener in a significant deal valued at $525 million, marking the largest single‐asset hotel transaction in Singapore, and the second‐largest in the Asia‐Pacific region, for 2023.

In November 2023, WWHG launched Hotel Mi Rochor, its second Hotel Mi property, targeting the social and adventurous “next‐gen” members of Generation Z as well as young millennial travellers with its features of commissioned artworks by local art collective Ripple Root and eco‐conscious elements. A month later, WWHG announced its partnership with Accor to launch the world’s largest Mercure hotel in Singapore: the 989‐key Mercure Icon Singapore City Centre, which opened this April.

In April 2024, Carolyn oversaw the launch of Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre, the world’s largest Mercure in terms of room count.

At present, Choo is advancing her father’s legacy by broadening WWHG’s reach across the globe. “We’re focusing on strengthening our business foundations and capabilities so that we can embark on our third phase of management, which is international hotel management,” says Choo. “We need to build our management capabilities and talents in the key markets. It’s a foundation I’m laying for the third generation to spearhead.”

Beyond her business pursuits, Carolyn is actively involved in philanthropy through the Worldwide Hotels–Choo Chong Ngen Foundation, which has contributed more than S$14 million in bursaries to support underprivileged students at local universities, polytechnics, and institutes.