EVERY HOUSE
IS ITS OWN STORY
The House Collective is a group of refined, highly individual properties. Each house is unique, and created by talented creatives to reflect the unique qualities of their surroundings.
WHERE IT
ALL STARTS
EAST Hotels are lifestyle hotels that are bright, energetic and inspiring, bringing their community and sustainability-orientated mindset to the most dynamic areas of their cities.
The mission of Swire Hotels is to create authentic, unscripted and unforgettable experiences across its two brands: The House Collective and EAST. The Group manages distinctive hotels in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland for travellers who seek originality, style and personalised service.
The House Collective is a group of refined, highly individual properties. Each House is unique, and created by talented architects and creatives to reflect the unique qualities of their surroundings. The EAST brand consists of lifestyle hotels that are bright, energetic and inspiring, bringing their community and sustainability-oriented mindset to the most dynamic areas of their cities. Both brands have their own approaches to putting SD into action, which mirror their individual, original DNA.
Encouraging Creativity and Innovation for our 50TH Anniversary
As part of Swire Hotel's commitment to innovation and creative transformation, the EAST brand has launched the “Ideas To Wake Up To” speaker series. This series is periodically hosted across all EAST hotels, bringing together like-minded business leaders and creatives to connect, co-create, learn, and spark new ideas. In 2022, three sessions were hosted with one in Hong Kong and two in Miami, all centred around topics pertaining to sustainable development (“SD”).
The Think Differently Awards were launched across Swire Hotels in 2021 to encourage all team members to share their innovative and interesting ideas. In 2022, the awards were focused on SD spanning three themes: water conservation, energy conservation and waste management. A total of 164 submissions were received.
Both the “Ideas To Wake Up To” speaker series and the Think Differently Awards reflect the spirit of originality that Swire Properties celebrated during our 50th anniversary.
Five Pillars
Vibrancy
The House Collective runs a biennial art programme called “Encounters Across Cultures”. Every two years, a new series of art pieces tells the story of each House...
Health and Safety
In line with Swire Properties’ Zero Harm Commitment to the health and safety of our people, guests and other stakeholders, The House Collective ran...
Customers
This year, Swire Hotels introduced several digital improvements to our services designed to streamline and personalise the guest experience and make...
Hotel Sustainability Technical Guidelines
In 2022, we rolled out new Hotel Sustainability Technical Guidelines. These incorporate Swire Hotels’...
Expanding The House Collective brand
Swire Hotels consistently sets benchmarks for success and continuously works to attract guests, visitors and diners through high-quality experiences. In 2022...
Energy
In 2021, the entire Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu complex, including The Temple House, became powered by 100% renewable electricity (a mix of...
Livelihood
At EAST Hong Kong, our Community Ambassadors continued a charity initiative launched in 2020 – the “A Spoonful of Love” campaign, which raises money for...
Waste Reduction
This year, we intensified our commitment to reducing single-use plastics. In line with Swire Hotels’ vision, a wide range of initiatives have been implemented to...
Internal Zero Lost Time Injury Rate (“LTIR”) Awards
The Opposite House - 500, EAST Beijing - 500 Days, The Temple House - 180 Days, EAST Hong Kong and EAST Residences Hong Kong - 180 Days
Suppliers
In 2022, Swire Hotels worked to incorporate the updated Swire Pacific Sustainable Procurement Policy and...
Wellbeing
All our hotels offer unique and comprehensive wellness programmes for guests and staff alike. The Upper House offers wellness residencies in Hong Kong, featuring holistic therapies, yoga and meditation sessions, fitness...
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Partnering with a Brewery to Save Bread – and Make Beer!
EAST Hong Kong has partnered with a local craft brewery in Hong Kong. The brewery takes leftover fresh-baked goods from the hotel’s Domain Café and uses it to make...
Diversity and Inclusion
In June 2022, in cooperation with Christian Action, our EAST Hong Kong operation hired two team members with refugee identities. One, from Sri Lanka, was hired...
Water
The Middle House joined an annual water balance testing programme. The hotel’s engineering team installed six water meters in guest room areas, all...
Resilience
Between February to October 2022, EAST Hong Kong became a designated quarantine hotel to support the government’s quarantine arrangements for inbound persons from overseas – a crucial part of the city’s...
Talent Management
This year, we launched our Operations Management Trainee Programme throughout the Swire Hotels portfolio. Personalised according to a candidate’s...
Green Kitchens
The restaurant has installed and initiated numerous waste reduction measures: Kitchen waste from all outlets is sorted. ORCA technology is then used to turn up to 270kg of food waste daily into liquid that can be...
Staff Engagement
Regular activities were held throughout the year across all Swire Hotels properties to boost staff morale and share positive news updates. The Middle House hosted two...
Wellness
Swire Hotels offers employee assistance programmes to help its team members avoid, recognise and resolve...
Volunteering
At The Upper House, our ongoing soap recycling programme collected 387kg of bathroom amenities for an NGO. Its mission is to collect lightly used soap and...
The House Collective runs a biennial art programme called “Encounters Across Cultures”, which invites artists from different backgrounds to collaborate on creative artistic expressions. In 2021, the Houses invited artists from around the world to come together to create and explore the concept of space and movement. Designed during the pandemic, the programme was realised through interactive video installations that– coupled with varying styles of dance – complemented the work of the esteemed architects behind each House.
“Art at EAST”, launched in 2019, was the first art programme at EAST Hotels. At EAST Hong Kong, an interactive exhibition called “City Symphony” transports guests on a sound-based journey across the Taikoo neighbourhood using eccentric wooden sculptures.
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In line with Swire Properties’ Zero Harm Commitment to the health and safety of our people, guests and other stakeholders, The House Collective ran several health and safety training courses this year; while EAST focused on employee safety – in particular, a slip, trip and fall prevention campaign was organised. From June to November 2022, three series of videos weekly that cover six-level slip, trip and fall prevention course were posted explaining how to enhance static and dynamic balance to reduce and prevent potential work injuries. Boosted by fun facts, quizzes and lucky draws, the course completion rate achieved 100%.
The Upper House also provides regular first aid training to ensure team members’ first aid skills and knowledge remain current. In July 2022, we invited external trainers to deliver our annual Occupational Health and Safety (“OHS”) refreshment training, which was mandatory for all team members.
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This year, Swire Hotels introduced several digital improvements to our services designed to streamline and personalise the guest experience and make back-of-house operations more efficient. For example, the new House Collective WeChat “mini programme” allows WeChat users to access information and offers across the four Houses on a single platform, creating a faster and smarter guest experience.
EAST Hong Kong launched digital menus at its restaurants. Diners can order food and drinks by scanning a QR code using their personal devices, and have receipts texted or emailed to them, creating a paperless dining experience.
At The Upper House, guests can now scan a QR code in their rooms to enable a range of guest services, including room service and laundry. These create greater convenience and have decreased phone call volumes considerably. Also, at The Upper House e-shop, customers can purchase merchandise directly from the website, creating a seamless user experience.
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In 2022, we rolled out new Hotel Sustainability Technical Guidelines. These incorporate Swire Hotels’ sustainability aspirations and vision, starting from the design and construction of new developments to the hotel operations stage. The guidelines encourage teams to collaborate, innovate and create opportunities that will advance our sustainability performance locally and globally across our portfolio in several aspects:
- Sustainable hotel certification
- Building management systems and submetering
- Energy efficiency
- Water efficiency
- Indoor environmental quality
- Management for circularity
- Sustainable transport
- Interior finishes and materials
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Swire Hotels consistently sets benchmarks for success and continuously works to attract guests, visitors and diners through high-quality experiences.
In 2022, Swire Hotels announced a growth plan to extend the established hotel brands into other cities on a management agreement (“HMA”) basis. Two new hotels will be operated under this business model. The first hotel will open in Shenzhen in 2025, while another new hotel in Tokyo is scheduled for completion in 2027.
The new hotel in Shenzhen, under The House Collective Brand, will offer 115 guestrooms and 44 serviced residences with stunning views of Shenzhen Bay. It will be a major component of a premium mixed-use development comprising Grade-A office towers and an events and exhibition space.
The Company also entered into a collaboration with Tokyu Corporation and Tokyu Department Store (“the Tokyu Group”) and L Catterton Real Estate (“LCRE”) to develop the new hotel in Tokyo under The House Collective brand. Located on the site of the iconic Tokyu Department Store’s flagship store, the new House will be part of the Shibuya Upper West Project on the edge of the fashionable Shibuya district.
The project aspires to become Tokyo’s first true “urban retreat” – an enclave of peace and relaxation amid the bustle of the city. As well as combining a hotel and residences with high-quality retail, unique dining and arts and cultural facilities, environmental and sustainability objectives are central to the project, which aims to secure international certifications.
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In 2021, the entire Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu complex, including The Temple House hotel, became powered by 100% renewable electricity (a mix of hydropower, solar and wind power). The complex is a clean energy leader – one of the first entities in Sichuan and the first in Swire Properties to achieve net-zero carbon in its annual electricity consumption for landlord and tenant operations. This achievement has set a high bar for our other properties and for the industry.
Green building certifications
The Middle House
- Gold (LEED for Building Design and Construction)
- Two Star (China Green Building Label)
The Temple House
- Platinum (LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings)
- Gold (LEED for Neighbourhood Development)
- Two Star (China Green Building Label)
EAST Beijing
- Gold (LEED for Building Design and Construction)
- Platinum (LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings)
EAST Hong Kong
- Gold (BEAM Plus New Building)
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At EAST Hong Kong, the Community Ambassadors continued a charity initiative launched in 2020 – the “A Spoonful of Love” campaign, which raises money for people in need in Hong Kong and provides a tasty and nutritious bowl of soup at the same time. The EAST Hong Kong team sourced ingredients to create their own special soup packets. Altogether, 2,261 soup packets were sent to families through 11 NGO partners. We also delivered 5,900 soup packs to doctors, nurses and staff at Eastern Hospital, sending the frontline medical carers a simple message: We Are All in This Together!
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This year, we intensified our commitment to reducing single-use plastics. In line with Swire Hotels’ policies, a wide range of initiatives have been implemented to reduce the consumption of these plastics in operations.
EAST Hong Kong, EAST Beijing and The Upper House retrofitted over 800 rooms with an in-room water filtration system, eliminating the need for plastic bottled water in rooms, which helped to save the use of over 2.7 tonnes of plastic bottles. They also installed a filtered water dispenser in The Upper House’s gym.
The Temple House, The Middle House and EAST Hong Kong phased out all single-use plastics – replacing all straws, hampers, room amenity wrappers and toothbrushes with products made from biodegradable materials. The hotels’ Eco-cup initiative uses reusable coffee cups made from materials such as coffee husks, bamboo powder and other natural plant fibres. Guests receive promotional rewards if they purchase a drink with these cups.
Waste reduction initiatives at The House Collective included:
- Replacing plastic room keys with wooden cards at The Temple House and, The Middle House, and with bamboo cards at The Opposite House.
- Offering single-use toiletries on request only at The Opposite House.
- Replacing paper coasters with leather ones at Salisterra.
- Upcycling bed linens by turning them into T-shirts.
- Recycling waste glass bottles into eco-pavers at The Continental.
- Recycling coffee capsules at The Opposite House – turning coffee grounds into soil and reusing the capsule casings.
- Processing coffee beans with solar power and packaged in biodegradable materials.
- Using ecoSPIRITS at several hotels – an innovative closed-loop distribution system that nearly eliminates packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain.
EAST also works to reduce waste in numerous ways:
- Paperless check-in and check-out.
- Replacing plastic room keys with wooden cards at EAST Hong Kong and EAST Beijing
- Over 500 rooms at EAST Hong Kong and EAST Beijing have now been retrofitted with a water filtration system to phase out plastic water bottles.
- Contactless ordering service for guests to request room service or order in-room dining by scanning the “StayMenu” QR code with their mobile device – this has reduced about 70% of menu paper usage in the hotel’s restaurants and bars by reducing the need for unnecessary printouts such as entertainment lists and in-room dining menus.
- Recyclable dispensers for body care products.
- Bamboo material bathroom amenities, available on request.
- Reusable shopping bags, paper hangers, canvas laundry bags and courtesy slippers as greener alternatives.
- Recycling of plastic, aluminium, glass, coffee grounds and bath linens.
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The Opposite House :
500 Days
500 Days
EAST Beijing :
500 Days
500 Days
The Temple House :
180 Days
180 Days
EAST Hong Kong and EAST Residences Hong Kong :
180 Days
180 Days
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In 2022, Swire Hotels worked to incorporate the updated Swire Pacific Sustainable Procurement Policy and Sustainable Food Policy into our purchasing procedure guidelines.
Our daily sourcing practices adhere to the principles of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), and we tried our best to request sustainable products such as FSC-certified paper products, and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (“ASC”) and Marine Stewardship Council (“MSC”) certified seafood from suppliers.
Most Swire Hotels restaurants aim to purchase fresh produce, live fish or dairy products from local suppliers and farmers in order to reduce the carbon emissions created by shipping food over long distances. In 2022, The Opposite House was supplied with edible flowers, tomatoes and fresh herbs from two local farms; while fresh fish and homemade caviar came from two aquafarms in the Chinese Mainland. The Temple House used a local farm for its vegetables, and The Upper House used a local aquaculture business for fish and an organic farm for its vegetables. At EAST Beijing, all craft beers were brewed in Beijing and 50% of the hotel’s cheese selection was produced locally.
Most Swire Hotels restaurants use sustainable seafood that meet guidelines set out by the WWF-Hong Kong Seafood Guide or the ASC, and follow Swire Pacific’s Sustainable Food Policy that mandates strictly avoiding the purchase of any unsustainable food items such as shark fin or snake. In Hong Kong, 40% of the hotel seafood was certified to ASC or MSC standards. We aim for this figure to reach 50% by 2030.
Swire Hotels restaurants are also offering more vegan and plant-based meat alternative menu options. At The Opposite House, our restaurant Union launched a vegan menu in late 2021, using plant-based meat across the entire menu. EAST Beijing now offers plant-based meat on its menus, while FEAST at EAST Hong Kong offers plant-based and vegetarian menus. All restaurants also added vegan or organic wines to their drink menus this year.
Farm-to-table dining concepts are also taking hold at our Hotels – EAST Hong Kong, The Upper House, The Middle House and The Temple House all use cage-free eggs; and an on-site garden at The Temple Café at The Temple House supplies around 10% of its vegetables and produces around three kilograms of herbs to be used at the hotel’s restaurants each month.
EAST Hong Kong also collaborated with a social enterprise dedicated to promoting urban farming in Hong Kong to build an urban garden in a corner of the hotel’s pool deck.
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All hotels offer unique and comprehensive wellness programmes for guests and staff alike. The Upper House offers wellness residencies in Hong Kong, featuring holistic therapies, yoga and meditation sessions, fitness classes and in-room treatments, some of which are conducted in partnership with well-known sports and wellness brands.
The Temple House provided regular wellness initiatives throughout the year, from healthy menu selections at the hotel’s restaurants to cross-brand collaborations and unique wellness-themed experiences for guests. These included exercise parties to promote stillness, happiness and wellbeing, and livestreamed yoga classes for staff and “House friends” during the lockdown period. One session attracted over 500 followers to participate.
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EAST Hong Kong has partnered with a local craft brewery in Hong Kong to take leftover fresh-baked goods from the hotel’s Domain Café and use it to a lager beer. After the surplus bread is collected and delivered to the brewery, it is blended into crumbs and used to replace a portion of barley malt. Following a two-month fermentation process, the leftover breadcrumbs and grains are then sent to a local farm to be used as animal feed and fertiliser, promoting the idea of circularity. This arrangement has saved approximately 40kg of surplus bread from going to landfill.
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In June 2022, in cooperation with Christian Action, EAST Hong Kong hired two team members with refugee identities. One, from Sri Lanka hired as a guest experience host and another, from Pakistan, was recruited as a public area attendant. The Upper House also hired two team members holding refugee identities as servers at its restaurant Salisterra, one from Rwanda and another from Indonesia.
The Upper House collaborated again this year with The Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association on our well-established “UPSTAIRS” training and work experience programme. This year, 10 members participated, went through the training and gained work experience in five hotel departments.
EAST Hong Kong worked with the Jockey Club Sarah Roe School to provide special vocational training to children with learning disabilities. The students gained on-the-job experience, working with the team on tasks such as folding serviettes, greeting guests, preparing table seating, and packing guest amenities bags.
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The Middle House joined an annual water balance testing programme. The hotel’s engineering team installed six water meters in guest room areas, all restaurants and the hotel’s public areas. The water consumption in each area has been analysed monthly, with leaks identified quickly and problems fixed immediately. It is expected that water consumption in each area will be reduced by 2% and consumption per guest night lowered to within 0.61m3 per guest night – the hotel’s water reduction target – by the end of 2022.
A grey water treatment and recycling system has been in place to collect and reuse shower water, cooling tower water and rainwater at The Temple House since 2017. The system saves approximately 7,300m³ of water annually. Across all EAST hotels, flow controllers have been fitted onto guest room water taps and showers. At EAST Hong Kong, this has saved an average of 1,040m3 of water daily.
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Between February to October 2022, EAST Hong Kong became a designated quarantine hotel to support the government’s quarantine arrangements for inbound persons from overseas – a crucial part of the city’s overall pandemic strategy at that time.
During the soft lockdown period in Chengdu, The Temple House distributed mooncakes to the government community office that provided daily COVID-19 testing to the surrounding neighbourhood. The hotel also donated 215 boxes of mooncakes to charities during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Meanwhile, our hotel teams received care packages at their staff dormitories, while hotel guests were also given special packages daily including wine, cheese, Mi Xun hotpot, special cocktails and puzzle games to ensure they remained well in a positive and upbeat environment.
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Swire Hotels launched the Operations Management Trainee Programme throughout the Swire Hotels' portfolio. Personalised according to a candidate’s strengths and aspirations, the programme opens up opportunities for trainees to work across various departments and locations in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. After 12 to 18 months of on-the-job training, our trainees gained a well-rounded understanding of the hotel business and insights from a management perspective.
In July 2022, The Upper House launched a new one-hour SD workshop mandatory for all team members, discussing sustainability at Swire Hotels and how everyone can live a sustainable lifestyle. Other SD-related workshops will be explored in the future.
The GroPRO and LeadPRO talent development programmes were run at EAST Hong Kong to support team members and team leaders respectively. Both offered tailored programmes to develop individuals’ qualities and strengths. Cross-exposure to programmes such as the “How to Run a Project” workshop and a coaching workshop were also arranged to support their personal development.
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Waste Reduction at FEAST at EAST Hong Kong
The restaurant has installed and initiated numerous waste reduction measures:
- Kitchen waste from all outlets is sorted. ORCA technology is then used to turn up to 270kg of food waste daily into liquid that can be discharged for sewerage treatment. With this technology, EAST Hong Kong was able to prevent up to 2,000 kg of food waste per month going to the landfills
- Sensor-enabled refrigerators, the doors of which shut automatically when no customers are around, keep food fresh for longer and reduce spoilage.
- FEAST partners with the Nature Conservancy to convert oyster shells into oyster reef substrate materials to build new reefs, which act as natural water filters and play an important role in stabilising shorelines. Since January 2022, the restaurant has provided over 2.2 tonnes of shells.
- The restaurant collaborates with a company to recycle used cooking oil into biodiesel.
- FEAST uses ECOSpirits, as described in the Waste Reduction subsection.
- Used coffee grounds are collected to be used as fertiliser by the hotel’s in-house gardener.
Green Kitchen Initiative
All Swire Hotels food and beverage outlets actively participate in the Swire Properties Green Kitchen Initiative.
Swire Hotel Restaurants with Green Kitchen Initiative Green Leaf Awards
Restaurant | Portfolio | Leaf rating | Year obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
Domain | EAST Beijing |  | 2020 |
FEAST | | 2020 | |
Domain | EAST Hong Kong | | 2020 |
FEAST | | 2020 | |
Salisterra | The Upper House | | 2021 |
The Continental | | 2021 | |
Frasca | The Opposite House | | 2020 |
Superfly | | 2020 | |
Frasca | The Middle House | | 2021 |
Sui Tang Li | | 2021 | |
Café Gray Deluxe | | 2021 | |
The Temple Café | The Temple House | | 2021 |
Tivano | | 2021 | |
Mi Xun Teahouse | | 2021 |
Two of our restaurants at EAST Hong Kong, FEAST and Domain, have received a Three-Leaf rating from the Green Kitchen Initiative for their active efforts to reduce energy, water and waste and for sustainable renovation decisions that have been made, which include:
- The installation of variable-speed exhaust blowers to reduce electricity usage.
- The installation of water economisers on all water taps, adjusted for optimal flow rate.
- Rolling out paper straws and biodegradable corn powder takeaway packaging to replace single-use plastics.
The initiatives have yielded outstanding results. Comparing the second half of 2019 to the same period in 2021, the restaurants achieved:
- 6% reduction in electricity usage (excluding air-conditioning consumption)
- 31% drop in town gas usage
- 19% reduction in water consumption
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Regular activities were held throughout the year across all Swire Hotels properties to boost staff morale and share positive news updates. The Middle House hosted two townhall meetings for all team members, at which the general manager shared hotel performance notes, updates and details of upcoming events. Fun games and lucky draws were also held for the team members and leadership teams.
At EAST Hong Kong, team members were also invited to participate in the virtual “Trash to Treasure” bazaar, where they brounght in items that were new but no longer in use to other colleagues, giving a second life to the preloved items.
The Opposite House hosted a staff workshop organised by a bird-related charity discussing how to protect the environment and give birds a better home in the city. Participants learned practical ways to create a better balance between people and other creatures in the urban environment.
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Swire Hotels offers employee assistance programmes to help its team members avoid, recognise and resolve personal, psychological, social, familial or work-related concerns; improve their physical and mental health; and maximise their potential and job performance.
Swire Hotels continues to work to contribute to and improve staff wellness in any possible way. Throughout 2022, The Temple House held regular movie nights, celebration days for staff birthdays and “special deliveries” of treats to staff such as cool drinks on hot days. The hotel also conducted regular activities for interns as part of a six-month hotel trainee programmey, including management team exposure, role-play training, a video production and a graduation party.
At The Temple House, a staff relaxation corner was added where staff can enjoy their break in a quiet environment while using a massage chair. At The Upper House, the “Monday Wellness Programme” for all team members provides different wellness activities every Monday, exploring important themes related to work-life balance and wellness.
During the Shanghai lockdown, The Middle House organised virtual yoga and karaoke sessions for our employees, helping the team to release stress and connect with each other, and promoting health and mental wellbeing during a time of difficulty.
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At The Upper House, the ongoing soap recycling programme collected 387kg of bathroom amenities for an NGO. Its mission is to collect lightly used soap and bottled amenities to be recycled and distributed to those in need.
EAST Hong Kong donated unwanted office furniture to 10 Hong Kong NGOs after moving offices, including many chairs and cabinets along with tables and electronic equipment.
The Opposite House worked with a local community organisation, inviting disabled students and their teachers to visit the hotel, participate in team activities during festivals and allowing the students to sell handmade handicrafts to our team members. The Temple House donated used clothes to charities and hosted a charity bazaar with all revenue donated to a local animal shelter.
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