The ultimate VIP experience: Alvin Chau

Described as the ‘Las Vegas of China’, Macau is filled with a plethora of ritzy hotels, colourful casinos and seemingly endless entertainment options. But for those looking for the ultimate (and better yet, exclusive) experience, Suncity Group’s VIP Club has plenty to offer – from high-stakes gaming opportunities to luxury travel.

Alvin Chau is one of the Group’s founders and serves as its CEO and Director. Having worked in the gaming industry for a substantial number of years, he grasped the opportunity to capitalise on the VIP gaming market and established Suncity Group in 2007.

"I had witnessed the rapid changes in the Macau gaming industry – from a monopoly system to the new era of six concessionaires in the early 2000s," Alvin tells The CEO Magazine. "Everyone in the gaming industry realised that this was an enormous opportunity, and competition among VIP clubs was great."

The Group opened its first Suncity VIP Club in the Macau StarWorld Hotel in 2007, offering premium gaming and entertainment services. It then broadened its reach to other prestigious five-star hotels and resorts at throughout Macau before taking its business globally. It now has clubs all over the world, including Korea, Australia, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Alvin recalls one of the riskiest moves he made during this growth period. "In 2015, I decided it was the right time to expand our business to » Manila and I proposed to open four VIP Clubs at the same time: two in Solaire Resort & Casino, and two in City of Dreams Manila," he says. "Everyone, including our shareholders, staff and business partners, had their doubts, but I insisted that it was the right time and right track, since the environment of the gaming industry of the Philippines was just at its taking off stage and it had many similarities with Macau. I believed that this development would bring us a lot of opportunities, and we could be the first VIP Club to occupy the majority of the market."

"Suncity Group is growing year by year, which makes guests more confident in us."

With the demand for VIP clubs on the rise, Alvin went one step further and developed the ‘integrated entertainment’ concept; Suncity not only provided VIP services within its VIP Club, but in other non-gaming fields including exclusive travel, entertainment and food and beverage options. "It’s important to be innovative and persistent," Alvin says. "This business model has made the Group's business more diversified, promoting customer growth and attracting more types of customers. Suncity Group is growing year by year, which makes guests more confident in us."

As part of this integrated service, the Group established several business verticals including Sun Entertainment Culture Limited, which invests in concerts, and film and television productions; Sun Food and Beverage Group Limited, which provides catering services; Sun International Financial Group for financial services; Sun International Auction Limited for auctioning; Sun International Automobile for luxury cars retail and Sun Century Property for real estate activities. Not to mention the Group’s foray into the luxury goods sector with the introduction of its jewellery brand, Sunluxe.

One of Suncity’s most recent additions was Sun Travel, which delivers high-end travel services. "Sun Travel gathers the world’s finest entertainment services and provides global VIPs with diversified travel information, reservations at world-class hotels and restaurants, and VIP tickets to concerts, fashion shows and sport events," Alvin says. "They are treated to exclusive privileges when shopping

in brand stores, and gain access to exclusive entertainment venues, spas, night clubs and private clubs." With Sun Travel, members can even request tailor-made VIP services that include private jet and yacht travel, as well as private tours. In addition to its business subsidiaries, Suncity completed its purchase of Star Admiral Limited – the resort developer behind the Hoiana Integrated Resort in Hoi An, Vietnam – in July 2017. Set for completion in 2019, the resort will include a hotel, casino, golf courses, restaurants and retail stores.

Alvin adds that all these ventures were undertaken as part of the Group’s mission to transform Macau into a world centre of tourism and leisure. "I believe that as long as we adhere to our spirit of ‘innovation with diversity, strive for success’, set clear goals and keep working toward them, we will not only optimise our business," he says, "but we will also attract more tourists to Macau, prolong their stay, boost consumption, foster Macau’s tourism industry and promote vibrant development of related industries."