Kensington aims to keep best hotel status

Kensington Hotel president and general manager Matt Park said they are planning to keep their status as the best hotel in The Marianas, based on the feedback they collected from all of their guests.

Kensington celebrated its second year anniversary last Saturday with public and private officials in attendance for the more than three-hour long celebration of fun, music, and dances that included a performance of South Korean all-girl musical group Odd Eye.

Park, in an interview with the Saipan Tribune, said that Kensington has achieved the status in a short period of time. “In two years, I can proudly say that we are evaluated by our guests—all travelers in Saipan and Guam—where we get high scores.”

“If you see online, we’re already mentioned as the best hotel in our area. Our target is to keep that status, not only in the CNMI and Guam, but hopefully the whole [region],” added Park.

He said that the challenge now is to keep that status since a number of hotels would soon open to match the high room demand on the growing tourism market.

“So, we have to keep that spirit, especially with a lot of hotels that are going to open. We will soon have plenty of competitors. We need to become better than them to achieve that goal,” he added.

He also thanked the community and their staff for their support. “This won’t be possible without the community’s support, all the people of Saipan and the CNMI. We’re not here if not for you—the community and our workers.”

“Our staff is our treasure. They give the best service possible to all our guests—local and off-island like our Korean and Chinese guests. I can only say a huge thank you to everyone. And, with these hotels coming up, we’re asking for your continued support.”

Park said E-Land, Kensington’s parent company, would continue to invest and improve their facilities. “In terms of investment, we’re planning to have a garden to educate the kids—not only the children of our hotel guests.”

“We’re going to have a fruit and vegetable garden in the western side of our land. We had already started with the project and maybe next year you could already see that great garden here at Kensington.”

Park said that Kensington, despite its distance from the Garapan tourist district, continues to enjoy an occupancy rate in the 80s. “I think that is really a satisfactory percentage for us.”

Proud of their success

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion congratulated Kensington and E-Land for their second year anniversary. “This is the first ever Kensington property opened outside of South Korea, so we are grateful that the CNMI was selected and are proud of their success.”

“The Kensington Hotel has elevated the tourist experience in the CNMI because of the high-end amenities and luxurious rooms and dining options they offer our guests. They turned the former Nikko Hotel into something unique and inviting for locals and visitors alike.”

He added that Kensington should also be commended for their contributions to the community. “Their corporate social responsibility team has adopted and maintained Paupau Beach and Coral Ocean Point Beach, they’ve built bus stops for our children, amongst many other community service gestures they’ve made in just two short years.”

“We work hand in hand with Kensington and E-Land to promote the CNMI in all our major source markets. We thank them and look forward to partnering with them to continue promoting the CNMI as a premier tourist destination,” added Concepcion.