Bye Traders, and hello Hotel Jen!

Hotel Jen embraces the concept of "staying with a friend", and encourages the guests to explore the local food and culture of the city. [Photo by Una Wei/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Traders Hotel Upper East Beijing moves on today as Hotel Jen, to better suit the growing needs of the younger generation. The rebranding is part of its managing group Shangri-La's plan to reshape its business-orientated Traders Hotels collection, by adding more fun and interactive features.

Designed especially for independent-minded business and leisure travelers, the new brand Hotel Jen is the first large corporate Asian brand to specifically target the millennial market, and is rolling out quickly in major cities in Asia Pacific.

The first Hotel Jen was unveiled in Singapore in September, 2014, and the Hotel Jen Upper East Beijing is the brand’s debut in the Chinese mainland.

According to the hotel, "Hotel Jen is inspired by the virtual persona Jen - a professional hotelier who loves life, travel and the adventure of discovering new places. Hotel Jen takes care of guests with efficiency and care, while also giving them informed access to the best a particular destination has to offer."

"We recognize the growth of Chinese travellers with a 'millennial' mind-set who seek simple pleasures, easy efficiencies and the opportunity to indulge their sense of adventure when travelling for leisure or business," said Greg Dogan, president and CEO of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. "We are proud to introduce the Hotel Jen brand in key cities in China to meet the needs of our existing and new Chinese customers."

"Hotel Jen Upper East Beijing will still bring guests the same level of quality as before, but now with a more intuitive service attitude and relaxed, friendly style," said Alan Ang, the hotel's general manager.

Embracing the concept of "staying with a friend", guests will notice the extra fun touches during their stay, including the welcome drink upon checking in, the vending machine in the lobby, bicycles available to explore the neighbourhood and the snack-box-to-go available after breakfast.

"Jen" also understands that cutting-edge technology is key to the highly social, young-at-heart travellers. In the hotel, free WiFi is available everywhere, and convenient mobile charging stations are available in the lobby. Over 2,500 online publications are free to read through the PressReader app in the guestroom's tablet, replacing the traditional morning newspaper.

Guests will also easily find other simple pleasures, such as wash-and-fold laundry service for as many items as you can squeeze into the laundry bag for only 200 yuan ($32).

So far, the roll-out has seen Traders hotels in Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Penang, Johor Bahru, Manila, Maldives and Beijing rebranded to Hotel Jen. The second Hotel Jen in the Chinese mainland is expected to be unveiled in Shenyang at the end of this month.