Steering a legacy: How Carolyn Choo is transforming the future of her family’s hospitality group

At the crux of the issue was the Asia Radio Building on Bencoolen Street, which was “halfway completed and being converted into a hotel”, says Choo. “We took over the loan and completed the property. It was our first Hotel 81 in Bencoolen. When the plot ratio density increased ten years ago, we converted it into Hotel Mi Bencoolen.”

Shouldering such important responsibilities in her mid‐twenties was undoubtedly challenging, and Choo acknowledges the stress it brought her. “Working in the family business meant I didn’t have the peer support I had when I was [at] the bank, [with] hundreds of colleagues providing friendship and support.” Joining WWHG also necessitated adopting a more professional demeanour. “I had to show I was professional, and couldn’t joke around. It was lonely at times,” she lets on, adding that she placed pressure on herself to over‐perform. “I felt that I needed to show that I’m the most capable and competent, and that [I wasn’t there] just because I’m the boss’s daughter.” These early sacrifices have yielded results, with Choo becoming a leading figure in the hospitality industry, driving the transformation of WWHG and establishing it as a key player in affordable hospitality.

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 that same year, 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. “We’re trying to broaden our customer base so that we can cater to a more diverse group of clients and give them some form of more differentiated experiences,” she says.

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. “It was supposed to be under one of our own brands, but we decided to change the model of the franchise, working with Accor to launch it,” says Choo, who notes that the collaboration leverages Accor’s extensive membership base and global recognition to bolster business while maintaining WWHG’s hallmark of efficient cost management. “We were able to maintain our key competency, which was the cost management part, as we manage the properties ourselves. We can keep the costs low and push revenue higher,” she shares.

These strategic expansions align with WWHG’s overarching plan of acquiring and augmenting its hotel portfolio, particularly focusing on a moderate price range. “We’re looking for assets to acquire so that we can solidify our position as a leading player in the mid‐tier segment in Singapore and hopefully Asia Pacific, and eventually, worldwide. The target is to acquire another 20 hotels in the next five years,” Choo shares, though she admits that “to scale up, it’s very difficult to rely on acquisition alone”.

Such rapid expansion inevitably comes with growing pains. For instance, Choo reveals that gaining her father’s support for WWHG’s transition to a franchise model required patience. “It took a little bit of time to convince my father because [he believes] we should grow our own brand. But he accepted it as he could see the rational benefits,” she says.

The pressure on Choo and her desire to honour her father’s vision become clearer considering the immense legacy he has built in the business and hospitality worlds. The hotel tycoon’s success story is well told. Dropping out of school as an adolescent, he hustled by selling ice cream and fish before venturing into textiles. By 21, he secured a bank loan to acquire his first shophouse unit, paving the way for subsequent investments. This early entrepreneurial journey culminated in the opening of the inaugural Hotel 81 budget chain outpost in Geylang in 1995.

Reflecting on her father’s indomitable spirit and leadership traits, Choo praises his unwavering work ethic and dogged perseverance. “He’s very hard‐working,” she says. “His staff [members know] that if he wants to solve a problem, he’ll see it through until the end.”

During the Covid‐19 pandemic, she found solace in her father’s wisdom. “It was an uncertain time for the hospitality industry,” she recalls. “I was a relatively young CEO and anxious about the future. We had 900 staff [members], just started corporatisation and hired massively the year before, and began our overseas investments two to three years before the pandemic. The lesson he taught me is to focus on the long‐term. His steadfastness calmed me down. We didn’t make short‐term impulsive decisions. We didn’t cut staff pay or retrench anyone. I was still paying my staff overtime pay when there was no overtime to be done. We even paid bonuses during the second year of Covid‐19,” she shares.

Navigating her path as a burgeoning CEO while upholding her father’s legacy might seem like a delicate dance, but the only daughter of the older Choo’s four children says she “never wanted to challenge him or show that I’m better than him”. She explains: “Maybe it’s the [dynamics] between father and daughter. I’ve always tried to align WWHG’s vision with his values. I always tell my staff this: if you’re right, I’ll listen to you, but if ‘Boss’— referring to my father at work—is not wrong, we should listen to him. With his experience, he may see things in a way we hadn’t originally thought of.”

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. “But this takes a long‐term horizon, as we need to establish sufficient presence in all the key markets. 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.”

Speaking of the third generation, Choo contemplates the aspirations her family holds for the future. “My father always says the business is for his children, their children and, [subsequently], their grandchildren, but it’s really about the long‐term sustainability of the businesses,” she muses.

When asked about the prospect of her three children taking over the business one day, she expresses a neutral stance. “I hope for it, but I won’t force them. I tell them it’s their choice,” she shares. “My role is to ensure that I build a very strong foundation to pass on to the third generation, who must then be equipped to pass on to the fourth generation. It’s a big burden. [My successors] must have the right experience, competence, and values of hard work, honesty and humility. Most importantly, they must have passion. If they don’t, it’s difficult to succeed. I’d rather the business be managed by a professional CEO.”

It is this same pragmatic and efficient manner that led us to conclude the photo shoot for this cover story way ahead of schedule. At the day’s start, upon hearing that we planned to wrap up at 4pm, Choo firmly stated: “We need to finish this by [noon].” With no hesitation, we accelerated our efforts, working at maximum efficiency to fulfil her directive. And indeed, we did, earning her beatific smile as our reward.

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