Starwood in talks for more hotels in Malaysia

STARWOOD, the owner and operator of the Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien, is in various stages of discussion with at least seven parties for possible hotels in Malaysia, including a new brand - Four Points by Sheraton.

"We are in negotiations ... two are in advance stages and five are under discussion," Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts Pte Ltd's regional vice-president for South East Asia Peter Frawley said, adding that each of the hotels will have 300-odd rooms.

Frawley added that the hotels include a mixture of existing hotels and building completely new ones.

While declining to reveal the exact location of the hotels, he hinted that Starwood is inclined to have more representation in Peninsular Malaysia.

When asked where else Frawley would like to see a Starwood hotel, he said: "It makes eminent sense for one (hotel) in Johor Bahru. Penang would also be an area we would like to look at."

"The brands that are most attractive to owners in Asia Pacific at this point are the Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Le Meridien and Westin," he said.

He added that Four Points by Sheraton, which is equivalent in service to the Sheraton, a top four-star hotel minus the specifications, is also receiving a lot of interests.

The hotel basically offers full services but costs less to build and is able to compete with a broader range of the market.

Frawley expects the earliest possible date for its ninth hotel in Malaysia to take at least three years.

"Most conversion or greenfield sites would take at least 36 months (to take-off)," he told Business Times in an interview.

Moreover, new openings took into account factors ranging from opportunities, continuing stability of the economy and returns the hotel can generate.

"Sometimes it is prudent to wait for a development and do it at the right time," he said.

Starwood opened its first hotel, the Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort in Langkawi, in 1991. Today, it has a total of eight hotels in Malaysia, two of which - Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur and Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu - were added following the takeover of the Le Meridien chain by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

The other hotels in the group include Sheraton Imperial, Sheraton Subang Hotel and Towers, The Westin Kuala Lumpur,The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa and Sheraton Labuan.

All the Starwood hotels in Malaysia, with the exception of the two Westin hotels, are undergoing or will undergo renovation or refurbishment.

According to Frawley, all the hotels record gross operating profit (GOP). GOP is the cost of doing business or gross revenue (from rooms, food and beverage, laundry or business centre) minus cost of operations (wages, electricity and amenities).

In fact, he said that the alliance to Starwood name makes a difference to a hotel's performance.

"When Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur's 2006 performance is compared to that of 2005, we are able to see a significant jump in rate and occupancy of the hotel, which was disproportionate to the growth in city (compared to the growth of other city hotels). It is logical that this is a result of the business generated by the Starwood channel," he said.

Meanwhile, when asked if Starwood found it worth its while operating a hotel in Malaysia when comparatively it would be able to fetch better rates in other countries in the region, Frawley, who is also in charge of the Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines operations, said yes.

"Ours is a business of managing other people's hotel. It is important as a global company to have a significant footprint where our customers (from other parts of the world) want to go, and to service these customers," he said.

Starwood also operates St Regis Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, and elements Inspired by Westin and Bliss.

Sources

Le Meridien's 200,000 Assorted Candy Fountain

Sweet treat for children

CHRISTMAS gets a little sweeter for Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur this year as they have created a dazzling Christmas Candy Charity Fountain in the lobby of the hotel filled with some 200, 000 assorted candies.

During the launch of the fountain recently, the two-year-old hotel also invited children from the Trinity Children’s Home to share the spirit of Christmas.

“Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur is moving in line with Starwood Cares, a Starwood organisational culture, that endeavours to bring joy, care and excellence in whatever we do and we hope to share part of that success with the community,” said Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur deputy general manager Alex Riva.

According to Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur communications director Cheryl Lum, the idea of having a candy fountain for Christmas was well received by all the staff.

Lum also said that each associate was given the duty to purchase a gift for a child from the home.

Besides the colourful fountain, a donation box has also been placed at the lobby for guests to put in donations with all proceeds going to Trinity Children’s Home.

In the fountain are 1000 pieces of ‘lucky candy’ and guests who pick up these will stand a chance to win exclusive dining and accommodation vouchers from the hotel.

“The Christmas Candy Charity Fountain is also a Christmas treat that speaks volume of our appreciation to our guests for their continuous support,” said Riva.

The candy fountain is open to the public and children can walk up to the fountain and grab as much candy as they want from 8am to 9pm until Dec 29.

“I have not seen so many sweets before,” said Diana Rayapan, who was the first to run up to the fountain to collect as many sweets as she could.

The children present were then treated to an early brunch at the hotel’s One On One Restaurant.

Source : STAR

[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news]

Le Meridien Showcase the Traditions of Christmas

International Xmas offering in pipeline
By BAVANI MPhotos by SAM THAM

Chef Rodriguez said the hotel is planning a party that will showcase the traditions of Christmas around the world.

Le Meridien Hotel - Level 5

Kuala Lumpur

2 Jalan Stesen Sentral

KL Sentral Tel: 03-22637434

One On One: Christmas Eve Buffet Dinner- RM138++(adult) & RM68++ (Child), Christmas Day Brunch-RM128++(adult) & RM68++(child), New Year's Eve Buffet Dinner-RM208++(adult) & RM88++(child), New Year's Day Buffet Brunch-RM128++(adult) & RM68++(child).

Prime: Christmas Eve 5 Course Dinner-RM498++ per person, & Christmas Day Six Course Lunch-RM368++ per person, New Year's Eve 6 Course Dinner-RM618++ per person, New Year's Day Six Course Lunch-RM368++ per person.

AL Nafourah: Christmas Eve Set Dinner-RM168 per person or RM368++ per person (min 2 person) in a private Arabian tent or RM268++ per person (min 8 person) in the private dining room, Christmas Day 4-course Set Lunch-RM118++ per person, New Year's Eve BBQ Buffet Dinner-RM318++ (adult) & RM158 (Child), New Year's Day Set Lunch-RM118++ per person.

Christmas traditions are about decor, gifts and food! But importantly, Christmas is also about family and friends coming together to share the yuletide season.

Realising the significance of this special occasion, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur's award-winning chefs are working their magic and putting on their creative hats to ensure that customers have a Christmas and New Year celebration that will be remembered for a long time.

Executive chef Antoine Rodriguez said the hotel is planning a Traditional Christmas Galore party that will showcase the traditions of Christmas from around the world.

“In Europe for instance, people enjoy all types of seafood dishes for Christmas.

“In other parts, cakes and pastries such as Mince Pie, Christmas Pudding and Gingerbread Parfait are popular during this time so each outlet will be featuring its Christmas speciality,” said Rodriguez.

The One on One Restaurant will be offering a traditional Christmas Eve buffet dinner and Christmas Day brunch featuring an international spread of Christmas delights, while posh steak restaurant Prime will be offering a specially prepared Christmas meal.

Al Nafourah’s Arabian-inspired setting.At the Nafourah, which serves Arabian delights, Christmas will be something to remember as the outlet is preparing something adventurous.
Chef Ibrahim promises an Arabian Night experience, complete with tents, veiled beauties, armed guards with sabres, and more.

The media was recently treated to a sneak preview of what is in store for Christmas.
The sampling was hosted in the lavish setting of Prime and lunch took off with an assorted platter of starters.

There were homemade smoked salmon with sour cream, onion rings, capers, and a selection of seafood featuring Canadian oysters, prawns, slipper lobster, crab and caviar.

A selection of sushi, negiri and maki are some of the seafood offering from One On One.This, said chef Rodriguez, was a sample of what One On One has to offer.

Next was a selection of Lebanese appetisers served with three types of sauce from Al Nafourah.
For main course, Prime offered Grilled Australian grain beef striploin served with roasted Idaho potatoes, Portobello mushroom and green asparagus.

“The meat is of prime stock as the beef is grain fed hence it is tender and succulent,” said Rodriguez.

To end the meal, all restaurants served five types of festive desserts, which included Chestnut crème brulee, chocolate ganache yule log, Christmas pudding with Vanilla sauce and gingerbread parfait.

Source : STAR

[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news]