Opening Soon: Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City

WHAT’S NEXTMAY 2019

Members’ lounge at Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam’s first Kafnu will open in the second quarter of this year and the pre-opening team has been hard at work getting ready for the opening of Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City.

“As we near the opening date, I am extremely proud of the team in HCMC for their hard work and dedication over the last few months. Pre-openings are always a hectic period but the team has bonded together as a family and we all look forward to welcoming our first Kafnu members in Vietnam!” said acting General Manager, Chris Edwards.

Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City’s Soy Restaurant, helmed by Chris Fong, will serve modern Asian cuisine, and the hip and stylish Habitat bar will be the social epicentre for members to relax and enjoy a cocktail or two. In addition to the F&B offerings, the 2,440sqm Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City will have 8 guest rooms including a lounge area for guests to interact or simply hang out.

Workspaces are spread out over four floors and these include hot desks, fixed desks and private offices, a soundproof phonebooth and five meeting rooms with video conferencing capabilities. On top of that, it has an expansive event space which is ideal for corporate functions, meetings and workshops. A rooftop terrace offers city skyline views and a virtual fitness studio will give members more than 1,500 classes to choose from.

Members will have 24/7 access to the facilities and can also look forward to concierge services, exclusive community events, as well as regular business seminars, skills workshops, discussions, and social events curated around monthly themes.

Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City is housed within an 8-storey building, just 5 minutes from District 1 and 2, right in the heart of the city. It will be the fifth Kafnu property in Next Story Group’s operating portfolio.

The A team: (L-R) John, Hai Ha, Nguyen, Chau, Chris Edwards, Diem, Khuong, Aimee, Clémence, Chris F, Trung & Binh.

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We are deeply saddened by the series of devastating explosions targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that began on Easter Sunday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

All Next Hotel Colombo team members and their families are safe, and we are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Colombo City Centre, where Next Hotel Colombo is located, was closed as an added precaution.

We will keep you updated on the evolving situation.

Situation in Sri Lanka

Kiridara Luang Prabang bags sustainability award

Congratulations to Kiridara Luang Prabang for winning the Lao PRD Sustainable Tourism Development Best Practice Award!

The award recognises the team’s efforts, which include:

• Promoting sustainable tours with the Luang Prabang Elephant Conservation Centre, which keeps elephants in their natural habitat instead of caging them in urban areas.

• Promoting sustainable eco-tourism with Tiger Trails.

Next Hotel Brisbane team celebrating their cultural diversity with respective cuisines.

Celebrating cultural diversity on Harmony Day

Next Hotel Brisbane and Sage Hotel Wollongong marked Harmony Day on 21 March with celebrations that strengthened camaraderie and highlighted the importance of diversity at the workplace.

Next Hotel Brisbane encouraged staff to bring in foods that represented their heritage, while the Sage Hotel Wollongong team shared a meal and also made a Team Harmony Tree.

Staff used finger paints to fil l out a ‘tree’ with their multi-coloured fingerprints and also penned a few details on their cultural background. The exercise was particularly poignant as Harmony Day was less than a week after the terrorist attacks in Christchurch.

Sage Hotel Wollongong team, wearing black ribbons in solidarity with Christchurch.

• Donating clothes and necessities to the Attapeu Province flood victims.

• Donating blood.

• Supporting City Big Cleaning Day and monthly clean-ups as a member of Trash Hero.

• Championing composting and energy conservation, and maintaining a vegetable garden to generate produce for the hotel’s use.

Well done, team!

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WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

General Manager James Coleman and the Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood team celebrating the achievement

Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood registered an RGI of over 100 for March – a milestone achievement that the team can be proud of!

“ Whilst we have a beautiful property that delights guests upon arrival, it is our team who makes the hotel outstanding. They create that emotional connection with guests that keeps them coming back and that is the key to our success,” said General Manager James Coleman.

He added that many guests are regulars who consider Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood their home away from home. The hotel enjoys high occupancies during the week and is often fully booked well in advance.

To celebrate their achievement, James and his team enjoyed a well-deserved afternoon tea.

Congratulations to the team!

RGI hits an all-time high

British-Thai Formula 1 driver Alexander Albon made a pitstop at Riva Arun Bangkok recently. En route to Australia for his first Grand Prix, Alexander dropped in for a private cooking class at Above Riva, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.

After Chef Pong took him through the basics of making Phad Thai , the racecar driver and his Toro Rosso colleagues tucked into a sumptuous lunch, while enjoying the views of the river and the temples of Wat Arun and Wat Po.

Red Bull organised the visit as part of their promotional events for their new driver and Riva Arun Bangkok is now featured in their promotional video.

Riva Arun Bangkok hosts F1 driver Alexander Albon

Kafnu member Soomanna Mandepanda is intent on finding the perfect blend of coffee for Kafnu. As the owner of Humble Bean Co., this former banker is partnering Kafnu Bengaluru to create a signature blend that will be offered across all Kafnu locations.

Ongoing coffee trials began last December, with members and potential members lapping up various caffeinated brews. They were also pleased to find that the trials included an assortment of pastries to go with their coffee.

The initiative has proven to be a great example of how Kafnu can help open doors for its members.Not only that, it has enabled Kafnu Bengaluru to give back to the community because the beans come from small-scale coffee plantations.

Caffeine perks ups Kafnu member experience

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WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

Wendy Yoong is the lastest Commercial Cookery student from Stanley College, Perth to have the opportunity to learn from experienced professional chefs at an award-winning restaurant.

Each year, Julio’s restaurant at Sage Hotel West Perth accepts about 5 or 6 interns who complete 10-week placements. Since the hotel’s partnership with the college began in April 2017, 14 interns have learned the ropes at Julio’s.

Executive Chef Simone Ariano makes sure that they learn essential cooking techniques, how the kitchen functions efficiently, usage of kitchen equipment, food storage and helping out during busy services.

Julio’s serves up learning opportunities

(From L-R) Intern Wendy Yoong, Sous Chef Dilan Abeyaratne, Executive Chef Simone Ariano, and Chef Gianluca Lepori

Ask Darren

WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

All your questions answered by Darren Edmonstone , CEO, Next Hotels & Resorts.

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Q. What does success look like for Next Hotels & Resorts?A. As previously communicated over the last year, Next Story Group is in a phase of evolution that will best position us to realise our vision. We have gone through some organisational changes, which at times have not been easy. We have placed a lot more emphasis on revenue generation and cost control, and these initiatives are showing positive results. What we need to focus on now is growth. While our current inventory is predominantly in Australia, which will always be our key market and where we are currently evaluating several opportunities, we also see potential growth opportunities throughout South East Asia and South Asia. If we successfully evolve Next Story Group into a company that is highly respected in the South East Asian/Asian/Oceanic markets for our strong values, flexibility, innovative approach to hospitality, strong and well-defined core brands, as well as for being highly profitable and a leading employer of choice, then we can celebrate a job well done!

Q. What are the plans for Kafnu in 2019?A. 2019 will be an exciting year for Kafnu. In February, we opened our first Kafnu in Australia and it is receiving strong interest in the market. We are also making our mark with steady membership growth. In the second quarter, we will open Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City, a property with a unique offering and the potential to be outstanding. That will bring the number of operating Kafnu properties to 5. Currently, we are also evaluating a number of other Kafnu opportunities in various locations.

Q. Was it always one of your goals to become a CEO? A. Throughout my career, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to nearly all aspects of the hospitality business, in many countries. I quickly realised that what drove me career wise was being able to make a difference. Having worked at only a few companies throughout my career, my longevity with those companies enabled me to grow professionally through the trust I was afforded. I have been very fortunate to have had fantastic mentors, with none more inspirational than those at Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, where I spent 12 years. They taught me the value of making a difference in my job and the power of strong company core values. Over the years, as I climbed the career totem pole, I was exposed to greater levels of making a difference and it became quite addictive. That is why I joined Next Story Group. It is not about the title but more about what we can achieve as a company that makes it all worthwhile.

Every quarter, teams of volunteers from Riva Surya Bangkok and Riva Arun Bangkok distribute packed meals to the homeless who congregate at Baan Aun Jai, a shelter run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Office.

The hotel teams collaborate with the Mirror Foundation Food for Friends, with the shared aim of uplifting the less fortunate in the community. Besides food, they have also distributed drinking water and basic medicines.

The Bangkok teams are proud that so many team members have been willing to roll up their sleeves to lend a hand whenever distribution day rolls around.

Delivering meals to Bangkok’s homeless

Guest Service Agent James Matters from Next Hotel Brisbane has been doing such a great job that happy guests are sending in glowing testimonials.

When Liz Murray checked into the hotel after her flight was redirected, James took it upon himself to keep

her and other displaced travellers updated on the situation. Liz commented that he went above and beyond to make a frustrating situation much more pleasant.

James also left an impression on guest Matthew Cullen, who was grateful that he was eager to help and able to fix the television in the room.

Top guest reviews

Guests Mary and Roger White stayed at Next Hotel Brisbane when they were in town to celebrate Roger’s 82 nd birthday. They were delighted with the team – particularly F&B Manager Risko Isic, F&B Attendants Jade Smith and Tenise Boland, and the Front Office team – who made their stay special and memorable. Well done, team!

F&B Attendant Tenise Boland

F&B Attendant Jade Smith and F&B Manager Risko Isic

Welcome to the world

Guest Service Agent Yessica Darmawan from Sage Hotel West Perth gave birth to a baby boy –Ralph – on 19 March.

Sage Hotel Adelaide’s F&B Supervisor Wilson Gatakamani and his wife Ragita welcomed baby Jason on 4 April .

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WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

Leona Yeo has joined our Singapore Office and will be providing commercial transactional support and legal guidance.

The best thing about being half Japanese and half Chinese is being trilingual i .e. English, Chinese and Japanese. It is really handy when I travel and it is a great ice-breaker.

The achievement I am most proud of is conquering Mount Fuji . It took me 9 hours to reach the summitand 4 hours to descend. I was surprised to see young children climbing too, which motivated me to keep going. It had rained that day, which affected visibility, but watching the sunrise from the summit made everything worth it. My biggest fear was altitude sickness as I did not want to give up halfway. Having said that, the only preparation I did was to stock up on chocolates and nuts. I should have done some training instead!

I run marathons and I also enjoy petting cats. I used to go to cat cafés in Japan, where you pay $10 an hour to play with cats. If you want to feed them, you have to pay extra.

When I was in school, I was the pitcher of the softball team, from age 13 to 16. I enjoyed being in a team and working towards a common goal.

I joined Next Story Group because I wanted to challenge myself by working in a different field and to gain more exposure. I previously worked for an IP law firm in Osaka for 3 years, handling Japanese and foreign trademark matters and commercial matters. I look forward to contributing to Next Story Group.

Meet Leona, our new Legal Counsel A warm welcome to our new

colleagues:

Singapore Office• Annie Que Libei, Accountant

Sydney Office• Daphne Ng, Financial Accountant

Kafnu Taipei• Tiffany Chen, Senior Manager, Finance & HR

Sage Hotel Adelaide / Chifley on South Terrace• Samuel McDonnell, Maintenance Handyperson• Alina Cronin, Guest Service Agent (part-time)• Oji Dallas, Guest Service Agent (part-time)

Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood• Simone Bulluss, Guest Service Agent

Sage Hotel West Perth• Shekhar Bhute, F&B Supervisor• Dilan Abeyaratne, Sous Chef

Careers at Next Story Group

Check out these latest career opportunities:

Country Comfort Perth• Guest Service Agent (part-time)

Next Hotel Brisbane• Maintenance Supervisor• IT Officer (part-time)• Marketing & Communication Executive (part-time)

Kafnu Alexandria & Chifley Apartments Newcastle• Hotel Accountant

For more information or to apply, reach us at careers@nextstory.com.

Congratulations to:• Sunil Charabarty, Assistant Front Office

Manager, Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood

• Avinash Chandramohan, Restaurant Manager, Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood

• Caley McLeod, F&B Supervisor (part-time), Country Comfort Perth

Promotions

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WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

Employee Spotlight: Clémence LeBorgne, Project Operations Manager

I joined Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City on 18 March. I am currently working with our Chef and F&B director on critical planning, concepts, operations guidelines, and service standards. I also collaborate with Sales, Events and Community Managers to ensure that we deliver the best experience, and service that is reflective of our brand.

Being part of the opening team at Kafnu Ho Chi Minh City has been exciting and challenging. This ismy first time working in Vietnam. Every day is a new learning experience! We have an amazing team – dynamic, proactive, focused, and multi-skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds.

I grew up in France and developed a passion for

(centre) Clémence LeBorgne performing on stage

China when I was 12. I decided to learn Mandarin and a few years later, I enrolled at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

While studying, I directed a musical for an audience of 1,500. In my final year, I was discovered at an event. Within weeks, I was singing on CCTV1’s Avenue of Stars. My group made it to the Finals and we subsequently spent two years touring China.

Following that, I worked in the spirits industry, before joining Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and then Kerry Hotel Hong Kong. Next Story Group’s values, brands and business direction resonated with me and I am extremely happy I made the decision to join the team.

Kiridara pool party makes a big splash

Kiridara Luang Prabang celebrated the Lao New Year (Boun Pi Mai Lao) and the water festival – which coincides with the hottest time of the year and is often associated with water fights – with a pool party that attracted 350 revellers.

The partygoers included hotel guests, locals, and expatriates who live in the area. From 1pm to 8pm, they beat the heat by hanging out and playing games in the pool. There was also a bubble zone for children.

The hotel team created special dishes just for the occasion and they also engaged a well-known DJ, Mr. Luly, to keep everyone entertained.

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WHAT’S NEXT MAY 2019

WHAT’S NEXT

We look forward to hearing all about your triumphs and your team’s significant events and achievements. Send

your stories and photos to: news@nextstory.com

Submission deadline for the next issue: 15th May 2019

Championing women and girls

Make an impact on the lives of thousands. Support a great cause. That is what Director of E-Commerce Emily Shum does in her spare time.

As a member of the UN Women Australia National Committee, Emily supports its fundraising activities and acts as liaison between UN Women and its partners to provide digital and technical advice, governance approvals of apps, websites, systems integration mappings, and acceptance testing for digital products that are made for UN Women events.

UN Women is the United Nations entity responsible for promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality. Emily started with UN Women in 2018 and her first project was International Women’s Day 2019, one of the largest events that UN Women participates in.

She also supported social media partnerships with Nobody Denim, which collaborated with UN Women National Committee Australia to design a limited-edition women’s T-shirt. All profits go towards championing equality, addressing sexual

Emily Shum (second from left) with the UN Women Australia National Committee

As a partner of Doncare, which helps children and families in crisis, Sage Hotel Melbourne, Ringwood offers the charity organisation complimentary conferencing support for their events. The hotel also donated all their hotel room quilts when they were replaced with new bed runners. Nothing has gone to waste and now, 120 quilts have happy new owners.

harassment, and improving safety in public spaces via the Safe Cities for Women and Girls – Sanap Wantaim program.

Emily’s top tips on how you can get started:

1. Familiarise yourself with current issues on education, employment and pay equality related to women, violence against women and child marriage.

2. Participate in UN Women events. Buy a ticket. Show up at a march. Follow its Instagram accounts.

3. Become an Empowerment Champion. (https://unwomen.org.au/donate/)

4. Purchase a Nobody Denim T-shirt. (https://nobodydenim.com/international-women-day-tee)

5. Work for companies that have a genuine social footprint, a 50/50 women in leadership plan, and a corporate responsibility act. Make informed decisions.

MAY 2019

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Come and experience our Next, Sage and Chifley brands as a guest. Stay from Friday to Sunday using the promo code NSGWEND and enjoy up to 55% off . T&Cs apply.

Book now at www.nexthotels.com.

Special weekend promotion for staff