January 21, 2010 at 9:49 pm
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Tune Hotels.com – the limited service hotel brand providing a “5-star sleeping experience at a 1-star price”, is set to open Tune Hotels.com – KB Sentral, Kota Bharu by the end of this year. The company today held a Groundbreaking Ceremony officiated by the Deputy Menteri Besar of Kelantan, YB Dato’ Haji Ahmad bin Ya’kob.
The Tune Hotels.com – KB Sentral hotel will be built under a partnership agreement between Tune Hotels.com and HLK Group, which has set up a special purpose vehicle company HLK Ventures Sdn Bhd to undertake the development and operation of the hotel.
Located in the heart of Kota Bharu next to the state capital’s popular landmark the KB Mall, the new Tune Hotels.com will offer 150 rooms with attached bathrooms comprising 104 double rooms, 45 twin rooms and 1 wheelchair-friendly room. Guests will find the hotel’s location very strategic and convenient as it is within close proximity of established shopping outlets and will allow visitors to experience the rich food and cultural heritage of Kelantan.
Tune Hotels.com – KB Sentral, Kota Bharu is one of five new hotels that the company expects to open in Malaysia this year. Tune Hotels.com hotels in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru; Kota Damansara, Selangor; Miri and Bintulu in Sarawak are also scheduled for opening within 2010. Its existing hotels are located in Kuala Lumpur, KLIA-LCCT, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Tune Hotels.com has also recently opened its first two hotels outside Malaysia in Bali, Indonesia located at Kuta and Double Six, Legian.
Tune Hotels.com’s aggressive regional expansion plans include their recent strategic partnership with Evolution Capital Public Company Limited to franchise a roll-out of 44 Tune Hotels.com hotels across Thailand, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines & Indonesia and Apodis Hospitality Group to invest in, develop and operate 20 Tune Hotels.com hotels across India by 2012. Together with its expansion plan within Malaysia, Tune Hotels.com expects to have 100 hotels operational by 2013.
Mark Lankester, Group CEO of Tune Hotels.com said,
“With more people travelling due to the proliferation of low cost carriers such as AirAsia, travellers are challenged by full service hotels that charge high rates for accommodation when they arrive. Our guests are savvy, active travellers who are out and about for most of the day; either enjoying leisure attractions or conducting business outside the hotel. We are delighted to be in the heart of Kota Bharu, Kelantan and we are hoping to make Kota Bharu a major destination for travellers which will be beneficial for Kota Bharu and Kelantan as a whole.”
Deputy Menteri Besar of Kelantan, YB Dato’ Haji Ahmad bin Ya’kob applauded Tune Hotels.com’s initiatives to support the state’s focus on development and growth. He welcomed the limited service brand’s arrival in Kota Bharu, saying,
“Tune Hotels.com’s innovative concept is exciting in that it is expanding all over the world and it is great to be a part of Tune Hotels.com’s network of cities and shows how Kota Bharu is increasingly becoming a major destination. Tune Hotels.com has always been smart about its choices in location and this bodes well for Kota Bharu with them opening here. Kota Bharu is developing and will continue to grow as a business and leisure destination.”
The partner for Tune Hotels.com – KB Sentral, Kota Bharu, HLK Group, is a construction company that has diversified into the consumer electronic appliance business in recent years via its HLK Chain stores now numbering over 20 outlets nationwide. HLK Ventures Sdn Bhd is a special purpose vehicle company setup to undertake the development and operation of Tune Hotels.com – KB Sentral, Kota Bharu. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, the Tune Hotels.com in KB Sentral is targeted to be operational by the 4th quarter of 2010.
TS Ting, Managing Director of HLK Ventures Sdn Bhd said,
“The Tune Hotels.com’s business model clicked well with us. The concept is relevant with today’s lifestyle and travel mode. Their product provides value for money and will help to boost tourism and business activities in Kelantan with guests who are perceived as smart rather than thrifty travellers. TuneHotels.com is an extremely exciting hospitality model and we are delighted to be rolling out this new experience across the region.”
Kelantan that has been actively promoting itself as an Islamic tourism destination offers tourists and visitors a lot of attractions. The Kelantan Cultural Centre in Kota Bharu is where visitors can try their hands at traditional games, watch ‘wayang kulit’ shows and try kite flying. The daily open air night market at Wakaf Che Yeh offers visitors a wide variety of crafts, silverware, jewellery, batik and songket products at bargain prices. For history buffs, they can check out Kota Bharu’s various historical sites while the many riverside cafes along the Kelantan River offer an ideal spot to catch the scenic sunset. Pantai Cahaya Bulan just out of Kota Bharu is a popular beach while Rantau Panjang, about 40 km from Kota Bharu is a shopping heaven bordering Thailand.
On Tune Hotels.com’s model, Mark Lankester adds, “We receive comments from our guests saying that Tune Hotels.com gives them far greater right over the management of their resources, not just financially but also environmentally. With the spread of environmental conscientiousness there is a corresponding interest in ecologically-responsible consumption and our pay-as-you-use system for air-conditioning, laundered towels, and other energy-consuming amenities allows travelers to opt in or out of services which have an impact on the environment. These add-ons are available for a small fee, and should guests choose not to take these options, not only do they save money but also contribute to preserving earth’s resources. This directly encourages a less wasteful and a more conscientious lifestyle, which an increasing number of travelers and consumers are keen to adopt.”
Savvy consumer, Mr. Jeffrey O’Neill from Australia said, “To me it seems fair that the guests who use the most power pay the most”.
Similar to low-cost carrier airlines, Tune Hotels.com employs a self-service online booking system that encourages guests to book as far in advance as possible on www.tunehotels.com to enjoy exceptionally low prices. Tune Hotels.com’s rates are kept low by employing a ‘limited service’ concept where underutilised hotel-operated facilities like swimming pools and gyms are omitted and cost savings are passed on to the guest. All Tune Hotels.com hotels feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: 5-star beds and powerful hot showers. Though minimally priced, the strategically located hotels still provide daily housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, 24-hour CCTV and manned security, and no access into the main lobby without a keycard past midnight. Through Tune Hotels.com’s ‘Less Waste, More Earth’ pay-as-you-use system of add-ons for air-conditioning, laundered towels and other energy-consuming facilities and amenities, Tune Hotels.com aims to help guests conserve both their funds as well as the earth’s resources.
Tune Hotels.com continuously offers promotional prices and is currently offering rooms from RM15 onwards for their Kuching, Penang & Kota Kinabalu hotels. Tune Hotels.com has recently launched 2 new hotels in Bali, Indonesia and rooms are available from approximately RM35 (Rp98,000) onwards for their Double Six, Legian, Bali hotel. All promotional prices are applicable for the stay period from 2 February to 30 April 2010.
Since the brand was first launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2007, more than 500,000 guests have stayed at a Tune Hotels.com hotel, and it was recently named as one of ‘7 Compact Hotels Big on Style’ in a global list by Fast Company, a publication that focuses on innovative companies sparking change in the marketplace.
Source: Brunei fm