Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen’s Room with Extra Benefits offers handy™ smartphone for sustainable connectivity

Singapore, September 24, 2014: ibis Singapore on Bencoolen, located in the heart of the city’s top shopping, business and cultural district introduces its newest guest service, a handy™ smartphone which provides guests with unlimited 3G internet, local and international calls, and a complete city guide to Singapore.

In addition to offering guests great connectivity throughout their stay, handy™ also supports efforts to be more sustainable, by reducing the need for printed materials, such as in-room directories, and by providing useful information about the hotel’s full range of green facilities.

The handy™ smartphones are available, at no additional costs to guests staying in these rooms. Also included are several green amenities including recycling bins, meters to help guests measure their water consumption, access to a complimentary Bamboo Bike and EZ-link card to help them minimize their carbon print as they explore the island. The handy™ phone can be taken outside of the hotel and used throughout the guest’s stay to help them navigate Singapore and uncover some of the city’s best attractions, bars, restaurants and activities, thus reducing hefty download bills that are often associated with traveling.

”At ibis Singapore on Bencoolen, we are committed to maintaining sustainable hotel operations. We are leading the way in offering guests greener and environmentally friendlier amenities and with handy™, we are able to inform and stay in touch with guests through an innovative smartphone platform that is integrated with our hotel features. We look forward to achieving significant reductions in printing and paper waste through the handy™ phone, our new form digital communication channel,” said General Manager, Mr. Pierre de Montgrand.

handy™ devices are customized specifically for the hotel and come fully-loaded with information about Bencoolen and its surrounding neighborhoods, so guests staying at the hotel will have access to all the local information needed at their fingertips.

“handy™ is excited to partner with ibis Singapore on Bencoolen providing guests with seamless connectivity during their travels, as well, help the hotel achieve their green innovation efforts.” said Terence Kwok, CEO of Tink Labs.

handy™ is the pioneer product of Tink Labs founded and established in Hong Kong in April 2012. The company is Hong Kong’s first technology incubator of mobile travel solutions, revolutionising and simplifying the travel experience. handy™ provides hotel partners and guests with an unrivalled hotel experience through its latest smartphone platform.

Features of handy™ include:

·  Unlimited 3G internet

·  Unlimited local calls

·  Unlimited international calls (to 26 countries on both fixed line and mobile lines from Singapore)

1  Australia             15  Malaysia

2  Bangladesh        16  Netherlands

3  Brunei                 17  New Zealand

4  Canada               18  Puerto Rico

5  China                   19  Russia

6  France                  20  South Korea

7  Germany              21  Spain

8  Hong Kong           22  Taiwan

9  India                     23  Thailand

10  Indonesia           24  United Kingdoms

11  Italy                    25  United States of America

12  Japan                 26  Vietnam

13  Laos 

14  Macau 

·  Local city guide with proprietary content sourced by an in-house team  of locals, as well as guest content from well-respected local editors

·  Discounts and deals with participating merchant partners

 About ibis

As one of the economy brands of Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator active in 92 countries with more than 3,600 hotels, ibis now has over 1,000 hotels and 124,000 rooms in 59 countries. The brand innovates constantly to illustrate its values of modernity, comfort and availability. It also cultivates a spirit of service that drives each of its employees. Ibis is the first hotel brand to have obtained ISO 9001 certification – 86% of the network certified – for its professionalism and reliability. In addition, 58% of the ibis network is ISO 14001-certified, concrete proof of the brand's environmental commitment.

About ibis Singapore on Bencoolen

The award-winning hotel ibis Singapore on Bencoolen is ideally located in the heart of Singapore. Since 2009, TTG has rate ibis Singapore on Bencoolen as Best Economy Hotel in Asia Pacific. At walking distance to Bugis, CBD, Little India, Mustafa Centre and Orchard Road, the hotel is also easily reachable from the airport by MRT. A restaurant and a bar serve famous Singaporean dishes in a contemporary environment.

About Tink Labs

The unique vision in transforming travel experience came about when Founder & CEO Terence Kwok went on a trip abroad at the beginning of 2012.  He spent a frustrating week hunting for free Wi-Fi, frugally counting his international call minutes, and wishing there was a simpler way to find local spots in a new place. Knowing there had to be a better way than just building an app, or developing a portable wifi device, Terence began to investigate how he could revolutionize the way people travel.

Technology incubation company Tink Labs was launched in April 2012 with a belief in mobile technology’s capacity to simplify life’s many complications for travellers. It is the first company of its kind in the world to provide a comprehensive mobile travel platform to inbound visitors; in a nutshell, developing products that take the annoyance out of traveling. The Tink Labs team relishes in being the pioneers of fun and innovation, and in inventing products that reflect that philosophy.

In September 2012 handy was launched, the first step towards the goal of providing an immediate solution to the connectivity and information problems that all travellers face. Tink Labs maintains its zeal for problem solving with a flair for creativity, refining handy and looking for new or novel ways to redefine our travel experience.  The company continues to move forward with the same fervent gusto as its founder.