However, the path to opening Lloyd’s Inn KL was not without its obstacles. Construction faced considerable delays caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which also dealt a harsh blow to international tourism demand and cash flows across the hospitality industry.
“It was an immensely challenging period, no doubt,” Chang, who is Singaporean, candidly admitted. “Not only for this KL project, but for our overall business operations which were heavily impacted by the muted tourism climate affecting the entire sector.”
But the determined co-founder persevered, once again collaborating with the visionary team at Farm, the acclaimed design firm responsible for conceptualising the striking aesthetic of the brand’s Singapore and Bali properties.
“We worked with Farm again as they intimately understand and helped shape the unique identity of the Lloyd’s Inn brand from the very start,” Chang explained. “The core design ethos – encompassing the outdoors, facade, finishes, guestrooms and more – remains fundamentally the same. But it was adapted and supersized for KL in the form of a high-rise tower, marking our first such vertical property.”
