Dawn Teo, owner of Amara Hotel Singapore, wants to build ‘good hotels, handsome buildings in thriving cities’

Anyone who has recently set foot in Amara Singapore on Tanjong Pagar Road will know that the hotel is not what it used to be. After a four-month long cosmetic refresh, the lobby has emerged looking au courant, with living room-like seating areas; an updated, neutral colour palette; and real trees that take advantage of the double volume space, as well as soften the setting.

But the starkest difference lies in where the four reception counters used to be. Now in their places stand a full-fledged wine bar with a wood-panelled backdrop, lending a decidedly ski lodge vibe. As the hotel transitions to an online check-in system, the reception counters have been scaled back (only two are left) and relocated to a more discreet area of the lobby.

The idea here was to create a more vibrant, social setting that encourages hotel guests, passers-by, and residents of Tanjong Pagar to mix and mingle. Or at least that was the brief given to international hospitality design firm Studio HBA, a division of Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), who orchestrated the redesign. It’s a far cry from the hotel of old, which saw its last refresh in 2000.

Amid Amara’s long-overdue revitalisation, we find Dawn Teo, 46, officially the senior vice president of Amara Hotels and Resorts and director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development for Amara Holdings, an SGX mainboard-listed company.

Unofficially, she’s the fourth-generation member of the Teo clan who’s boldly charting a new course for the business founded by her great-grandfather, and currently helmed by her father, Albert Teo.

When it opened in May 1986, Amara Singapore was a pioneer, being one of the few hotels in Tanjong Pagar built to cater to business travellers and those in the shipping industry. A notable neighbour/rival at the time was the Hong Leong Group’s Harbour View Dai-Ichi Hotel at Anson Road – today known as M Hotel.

Teo was eight at the time and recalls her grandfather toiling over building plans in his office. “I’ve grown up with this business, so I have this deep connection, this sense of purpose with the business. In many ways, hospitality is in my blood – as cheesy as that sounds!” she says with a laugh.

Today, Tanjong Pagar is home to scores of Michelin-starred restaurants – such as the three-starred Zen and two-starred Thevar – alongside progressive, world-class cocktail bars like Sago House, ranked 32nd on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, plus Jigger & Pony, ranked 14th on that same list and located right on the premises of Amara Singapore.

But 37 years ago, the neighbourhood was much less polished. Teo said: “My dad shared with us that when we first opened, this was more of a ‘gangster’ area. On the day of our brewery opening, our windows were smashed, gangsters came in and asked for protection money. It was a very different area back then.”

ACCIDENTAL HOTELIERS

Amara Hotel Singapore was built and developed by the Teo Teck Huat Group, a construction firm established by Dawn’s great-grandfather, Teo Teck Huat, in the 1930s. The firm is behind such projects as the Cathay cinema on Handy Road. It was Teo’s grandfather, Teo Joo Lai, who made the decision to diversify the family business by venturing into property and hotel development.

“We have this running joke [in the family] that we’re accidental hoteliers,” she said.

Teo relates that when her great-grandfather migrated to Singapore from China, his first home was a dingy shophouse unit in Craig Road. Later, when the family business branched out into real estate and were looking for sites to develop, the plot at 165 Tanjong Pagar Road came up during a URA land sale. It was zoned for hotel use in the master plan. Her grandfather and father placed a bid anyway – as a tribute to the elder Teo’s roots – and won.

The Group currently owns and operates four hotels in the Asia-Pacific region – Amara Hotel Singapore, Amara Hotel Bangkok, Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, and Amara Signature Shanghai. In addition, there are also the 100 AM shopping malls in Shanghai and Singapore (which adjoins the hotel). The latter was formerly known as Amara Shopping Centre.

“When I tell people that I work at Amara, they always have an anecdote to share, like how they went roller-skating [at Amara Shopping Centre] in the 80s,” Teo remarked. “We had a whole roster of tenants. We had a nightclub. The first-ever Charles & Keith store was here. The NUS Guild House was here.”

Before joining the family business in 2015, Teo – a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania – worked in investment banking and wealth management. She spent 15 years in the field, including stints with UBS and Credit Suisse.

“That fundamental background in finance has been very helpful,” she proclaimed. “On top of being hoteliers, we’re also running businesses. The discipline in finance, whether it’s capital management or mergers and acquisitions, is still very relevant.”

Having worked with numerous business leaders and entrepreneurs during that time, what left the biggest impressions on Teo were the candid conversations they shared: Personal stories about how they built their businesses, overcame failure, and performed succession planning for their families.

“Those stories have really shaped how I look at business today. It’s better than any podcast you can listen to or case study you can read!”

As for what drew her back into the fold – which, she tells us, a decision made entirely of her own volition – it was a deep-seated sense of purpose. “I wanted to build my own business, rather than be in professional services. I felt it was time to serve my family, rather than serve others. So, I decided to take the plunge. No looking back!”

THE METAMORPHOSIS

On Amara Hotel Singapore’s refresh, Teo explains that the intention was to do something transformative, to catapult the property and the brand into the next decade and beyond. The lobby is the first space to be completed. The hotel’s 384 rooms are still undergoing refurbishment, as are facilities like meeting rooms and event venues. Renovations are expected to be completed by Sep 2024.

“We are very keen on this green and sustainable trend. We’re trying to bring in that biophilic design with more nature. You see the trees as you walk in. When our meeting rooms on level 3 reopen, they will make use of more natural light. On level 6, where we currently have a little pavilion, we’re going to launch an event space [that’s designed to be] like a garden setting.”

With the rise of “bleisure” – part business, part leisure – traveller, Teo’s direction was for the rooms to accommodate a blend of work and play. Thankfully, the generously sized rooms (starting from 32 sqm or 344 sq ft) allow for different zones, such as resting, working and lounging.

In the next few months, Teo plans to kickstart programmes like Amara Moments, which aims to introduce guests to the Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood, its community, and its hidden gems.

Despite a strong recovery in Singapore’s tourism sector – visitor arrivals in 2023 were 71 per cent of 2019’s levels, according to the Singapore Tourism Board – those in the hospitality industry still face a raft of challenges.

For next-generation leaders like Teo, the task of modernising the family business remains a hurdle. “Things are moving and evolving so quickly,” she said. “It’s a very delicate balance, trying to respect the tradition and legacy we’ve inherited over the generations, while trying to evolve it to be relevant today.

“It’s how you bring this startup mentality – this nimbleness in today’s environment – to a very established organisation and culture. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of messaging and communication, trying to explain that shared vision, and the purpose behind all of it.”

Convincing the rest of the hotel’s management team to let Jigger & Pony set up shop in the Amara lobby, for example, took “a lot of sensitive messaging, persuasion and delicate introductions”. Back in 2018, the impetus to change was not there but the cocktail bar’s success was a turning point, paving the way for the hotel to partner with other F&B operators.

Teo’s agility stems from her experience running Objectifs – Centre for Photography and Film in Middle Road as co-founder and director. She started Objectifs in 2003 with friend and fellow Wharton alumnus Emmeline Yong, and in the 21 years since, produced a community of visual arts enthusiasts across Southeast Asia.

When the idea for Objectifs was seeded, the local visual arts scene was just taking off. The co-founders knew that there was no time like the present, so they seized the opportunity. Today, the independent, non-profit space runs about 65 programmes a year, including exhibitions, talks and workshops.

Teo also shares that they will be launching an Objectifs Junior Lab in May. “With this Lab, we’ll be working with NGOs, the underprivileged, students with special needs and so on, to have more of a visual arts education available to them. We’re also doing art accelerators. For artists who want to hone their business skills, there will be more networking sessions, plus workshops on how to do arts applications and arts marketing.”

FATHER FIGURE

Teo works closely with her father. She remembers how he would bring her along to construction sites on weekends, instead of playgrounds and parks. Naturally, he is her mentor and “a big influence”, whose actions sometimes inspire her more than words.

Recalling an incident that took place when Amara first opened, Teo shares how her father once spotted a wad of chewing gum on the floor as he stepped out of the lifts. “He bent down to scrape the gum off the floor. One of the staff members rushed over to say, ‘Let me do it, boss,’. But he replied, ‘No, no, I’m not the boss. We’re all workers’.

“That tells you a lot about our work ethic: We’re very hands-on, very meticulous, and we pay a lot of attention to detail. Where there's something that needs to be done, we’re not afraid to get our hands dirty.”

In a family business, Teo maintains, there are no boundaries between work and leisure. “The conversation with my dad is constant. We don’t set up meeting times. If we’re having Sunday lunches with home-cooked food, we could be talking about investments and new projects. When we’re at the office, we’re also talking about our family, about grandfather’s vision at that time. Everything is a constant and close dialogue.”

Teo’s mother, a housewife, is her “village”, helping to raise her three children who range in age from eight to 14. Her husband, meanwhile, is her “sounding board” for when things get tough.

Outside of her roles in Amara and Objectifs, Teo commits her experience and expertise to several hospitality and related groups. For example, she’s the second vice president of the Singapore Hotel Association, and the chairperson of the WSH Council (Hospitality and Entertainment Industries Committee). She also serves on the board of SHATEC Institutes, and on the School Advisory Council for Republic Polytechnic School of Hospitality.

How does she juggle it all?

“One is having a village because it takes a village to raise a child. I’m fortunate to have my mother and a lot of help to support this. The second thing is a killer spreadsheet that takes care of all your kids’ activities,” she quipped.

“I probably have as many schedules for hotel feasibility studies as I have children’s schedules! Running a household is not too different from running a company, I guess. Except that your bosses are under 14 and a lot more demanding!”Her advice to other female entrepreneurs or business leaders: “There are many, many balls to juggle. If you happen to drop them once in a while, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

ON THE HORIZON

As Amara Hotel Singapore continues its renovation, Amara Sanctuary is also undergoing a refurbishment. There, the Group is working with local design agency FARM to remodel the rooms and suites, as well as Shutters, the all-day dining venue, and the lobby. Works are expected to be completed by the end of May or June. The property will also welcome a new bar concept in Q3.

Teo shares that for the Group as a whole, partnerships and collaboration continue to be key. “Hoteliers are generalists, whereas today’s travellers are looking for specialised experiences,” she maintains. To that end, she says she welcomes any partners that are aligned in their vision, and who treat guests as family – bonus if they’re proudly Singaporean.

“As we look forward, the priorities for me would be to continue to build on this rich legacy, using the same DNA to grow the portfolio outside of Singapore. Good hotels, handsome buildings in thriving cities,” she said.

Sadly Teo’s grandfather is no longer around to witness the fruits of his labour. He passed away in the late 80s. But if he were alive today, what would his reaction to all the changes be? “His mind would be blown!” Teo said.