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Final countdown
Galaxy Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group’s new flagship property in Cotai, is speeding up preparation to open its doors, although officially the company continues only to say it will open in “early 2011”.
“There is still no concrete date we can possibly reveal at this moment,” Raymond Yap, senior vice-president for international premium market development told Macau Business. “We are still sticking to our promise that it will be early 2011.”
Besides Galaxy Macau, parcels five and six from Sands China are the only two other gaming properties currently under development. Last August, Sands delayed the opening of the first phase to the fourth quarter of this year. Then in November, it said “until adequate labour quotas are received, the timing of the completion of phases I and II [parcels five and six in Cotai] is currently not determinable with certainty.”
It is likely Galaxy Macau will be the only property to debut this year, which can only further increase the property’s potential. Mr Yap admits Galaxy Entertainment has a “bullish outlook” for the resort but he doesn’t disclose estimates.
Mr Yap says the company is now completing the last touch-ups and cleaning up the site. “Fit out is almost completed and we are marching into the inspection stage,” he says. “Very soon, we are going to announce the definitive opening day.”
In advance of the launch, the company is in talks with junkets to operate VIP rooms. Negotiations are “running smoothly,” says Mr Yap, without elaborating. However, he confirms the company will also be targeting premium direct business at the property.
Staff training is also wrapping up with the resort needing close to 8,000 workers to operate at full speed. For now, the company can import up to 2,000 workers, with the condition it hires at least 4,000 Macau employees in return.
“We hope to have enough manpower,” says Mr Yap. “The Macau labour market is certainly quite tight but we will fully follow the government guidelines in providing a lot of job opportunities to the locals.”
Rooms and restaurants
Sitting adjacent to the Venetian Macao, the property will include the 1,500-room Galaxy Hotel, a 500-room Hotel Okura Macau and Banyan Tree Macau, which will offer 246 suites and 10 floating villas. The resort will also feature about 50 restaurants and food stalls. Adding to that, there will be 10 bars and nightclubs and more than 30 boutiques and stores.
With an investment of HK$14.9 billion, the 550,000-square-meter Galaxy Macau includes a resort deck with a 350-ton, white-sand beach and what is dubbed the world’s biggest rooftop wave pool. In the beginning, the pool will be for stay-in guests only.
On the gaming side, the casino will have “probably 500 tables” and “about 1,500 slots,” says Mr Yap.
Galaxy Entertainment expects the resort to be fully functioning from the opening day but Mr Yap admits there will be some “phasing”, especially in hotel rooms, although all three hotels will open at the same time.
“In any large integrated resort with this size, no one will say that we will completely 100 percent open the facility. But you will not feel we are not completely open,” he says.
“In the hotels, there is no reason to open all the 2,200 rooms on day one because you need to have the demand for the additional supply to the market. But all the essential facilities that we want to show to the public and that are important to our visitors, for our stay-in guests will be made available.”
The property will also include “some” meeting and convention facilities but not on a large scale. “We will be able to cater to all type of functions,” says Mr Yap. “In future development phases, we might be thinking of about expanding into building more MICE facilities.”
It is important to remember that Galaxy Macau only occupies one third of the plot that it sits in. The company is currently drafting future development stages for the rest of the land.
Asian flavours
Galaxy Macau’s marketing strategy is anchored by the slogan “World Class, Asian Heart”. World class is a reference to the hardware, the hotel operators’ credentials and Galaxy Entertainment itself as a gaming operator. As for Asian heart, it is supposed to represent the goal of Asian hospitality, according to Asian tastes, sensibilities and design influences.
“We are very Asian centric,” Mr Yap says.
While not enjoying a first-mover advantage like the Venetian Macao or a strong entertainment offering like City of Dreams with The House of Dancing Water, Galaxy Macau says it has its own wild card.
“We have more than 50 food and beverage outlets of which more than half are very much Asian cuisine. We hope to anchor on the food; food as being an integrated part of the Asian traveller experience. Food will be the anchor that we will aggressively market on.”
The property’s amenities are aimed squarely at middle to upper class Chinese. “It has to be the key focus in an integrated resort of such a scale. This resort will obviously very much be a mass market driven property,” says Mr Yap.
He adds he is confident that there is enough demand for a huge property such as Galaxy in Cotai, which is already home to the two biggest properties in town. “We obviously have done a very detailed study of the market. We certainly will not fall into the trap of over-building, over-supplying.”
Critical mass
With Galaxy Macau, Galaxy Entertainment will extend its footprint in Cotai to two properties. The company also operates the casino at the Grand Waldo (but doesn’t own the property, as stressed by Mr Yap), the first resort to open in Cotai, in September 2006, but which has so far lacked eye-catching results.
Mr Yap says Grand Waldo’s problem was the lack of critical mass in Cotai four years ago. There was simply not enough to attract people away from the peninsula. As more properties open and the gaming zone matures, he is predicting a “spill-over effect among all properties” in Cotai.
It is an impact Sands China is unfazed by. Sands boss Sheldon Adelson said last month that Galaxy Macau’s opening would not have a big impact on Cotai since the company had been there for the past four years with the Grand Waldo and it could not be considered a success.
He also added that Galaxy was not a good operator, as most of the company’s gaming operations were in the hands of third parties (see report in this section).
Mr Yap did not comment in the criticisms. “Every company has its own business model,” says Mr Yap. “We have a very successful business model, which we are proud of.”
Big green machine
Galaxy Entertainment Group says it wants Galaxy Macau to be the most environmentally friendly resort in the territory. The company has created a special programme, “Galaxy Green”, to promote operational sustainability and environmental conservation.
It encompasses all aspects of the property’s operations, featuring more than 100 measures to minimise energy and water consumption, reduce waste and to promote recycling.
Initiatives include full insulation along the exterior of the building, to reduce heat transmission and the need for excessive air conditioning. A green design was used across the property’s resort deck, including lush landscaping, gardens and water features to also reduce overall heat load.
The resort uses LED lighting in entertainment areas and fluorescent tubes in back-of-house areas.
As for its huge swimming pool, Galaxy Macau has installed a filter system to recycle the water in use. Any wastewater will be used for irrigation and car park cleaning, according to the company.
The group’s deputy chairman, Francis Lui, said Galaxy was employing “international best practices and innovative ideas” to create a green resort.
