Home-grown brand sets to open 15 hotels across London by 2017

KUCHING: Tune Hotels.com’s (Tune Hotels) plan to open 15 hotels in greater London by 2017 sets an upbeat tone for its global expansion into the UK, and eventually into Europe.

FIRST ROLL-OUT: Tune Hotels plans to launch its Westminster hotel in the first quarter of this year.

The group recently inked a strategic agreement with London-based private investment holdings Queensway Group Ltd (Queensway) towards the investment and development of these hotels, which carried an allocated value of RM746 million and would involve around 1,500 rooms.

The plan would commence with the launch of Tune Hotels’ Westminster in the first quarter of this year.

“The UK and London, in particular, is a crucial part of our expansion plan, on top of our organic growth in Asia,” said its group chief executive officer Mark Lankester.

“From London, we already set our eyes on Europe, the Middle East and America. The London profile lends us so much higher credibility and reputation, as it plants a flagpole in one of the most visited cities in the world. It will be a springboard for further and more rapid potential partnerships globally.”

Lankester further revealed that the group’s foray into the UK market signified another breakthrough for a home-grown Malaysian brand, apart from its business affiliate Air Asia X, a long-haul low-cost unit of AirAsia Bhd.

“Tune Hotels wants to be an important player in London’s hospitality and tourism sectors. We are pleased to be working closely with organisations such as Visit Britain, Visit London, Think London and Visit England.

“We will market our UK properties vis-a-vis our existing hotels in Malaysia, Bali and the rest of Asia in the future. With London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, the opening of Tune Hotels Westminster this cannot be more timely.

“We believe our dynamic pricing model will provide a strong call to action that will be hard to ignore,” he added.

Concurring with Lankester, Queensway’s group managing director Nick Jivraj commented, “Queensway Group is extremely excited about partnering with Tune Hotels to develop the London hospitality market. Their association with AirAsia and Lotus Racing provides a unique platform for marketing strategies, while their strong brand and marketing expertise in generating room nights online aligns with trends revealing the internet as the prime channel for travel purchase decisions.”

Tune Hotels’ UK venture is part of its target of operating 100 hotels globally by 2015. In this respect, it has forged partnerships with Apodis Hospitality Group to launch 20 hotels in India by 2012.

Additionally, it will open 44 hotels across Thailand, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia under a collaboration with Evolution Capital Plc, a real-estate investment advisory frim listed on Stock Exchange of Thailand.

First launched in 2007, the hotel group currently operates seven hotels located nationwide including Kuching, and two in Bali.