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he JKH group, lead player in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, will continue to invest in the leisure industry, Mr. Ajit Gunawardena, Deputy Chairman of the group and President of its hotels sector said last week.
He was speaking at a press conference held to launch the group’s two extensively refurbished southern properties on which US 16.5 million had been invested – Chaaya Tranz at Hikkaduwa and Chaaya Wild at Yala.
Chaaya Tranz is the successor to the old Coral Gardens Hotel sited at what was once the Hikkaduwa Rest House until the 60s, now transformed into a 150-room four-star beach hotel with an investment of Rs. 1.2 billion.
``Are you happy that you failed in your effort to sell Coral Gardens?, Gunawardene was asked at the press conferece.
``Very happy,’’ he chuckled. ``But the people who talked to us (about buying it), must be very sad.’’
Gunawardene indicated that they will be selling the Chaaya Tranz rooms at USD 200+ against the $ 60 they commanded before it was closed for the makeover.
What was once Yala Village has been re-branded as Chaaya Wild where a game lodge with a beach front has been created.
JKH has invested close to US$ 100 million in the leisure business during the last two years and the group is confident that both properties upgraded to four-star level by extensive refurbishment will command top dollars.
``We are selling not just accommodation but an experience, Jayantissa Kehelpannala, sector head of JKH’s resort hotels commented.
Gunawardene indicated that a few more projects involving 200 to 300 rooms will be revealed in the next six months.
which was nowHe explained that about 40% of JKH’s total portfolio was invested in the leisure segment yielding attractive returns. This was not the case in recent years.
He estimated that leisure contributed about 30% of the JKH’s bottom line in the last financial year. Asked what he expected in the current financial year, Gunawardena declined to answer saying "I don’t want to go to jail!" (He was obviously alluding to `insider information’ laws of the SEC).
He was confident that they could sell their resort property rooms at much better rates than earlier because they were not just pricing a room but adding value and selling an experience.
Chaaya Tranz with 150 rooms now will be an excellent launching pad for whale watching at Mirissa and also for visitors to the Kaneliya rain forest near Galle which was as unique as Sinharaja.
Both revamped hotels upgraded to Four Star status will focus on the natural attributes of their locations – the corals at Hikkaduwa, nearby Kaneliya and whale watching at Mirissa while game watching will plus sea and sand will be on offer at Chaaya Wild.
Gunawardena said that the launch of the refurbished and expanded hotels was the beginning of the country’s new tourist products. Their new Chaaya Bey at Beruwela is being completed five months ahead of schedule and they expect to open it next June.
"Our philosophy is to be the trend setter in the hotel trade," he said. "We are investing significantly in the hardware (the properties) as well as the software with huge investments going into training and exposure of staff to international standards."
(http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=35909)
Points to note
1)About 40% of JKH’s total portfolio was invested in the leisure segment
2)Leisure contributed about 30% of the JKH’s bottom line
3) Most importantly there are people who understands that insider dealing is illegal and SEC is powerful !!!!!!
He was speaking at a press conference held to launch the group’s two extensively refurbished southern properties on which US 16.5 million had been invested – Chaaya Tranz at Hikkaduwa and Chaaya Wild at Yala.
Chaaya Tranz is the successor to the old Coral Gardens Hotel sited at what was once the Hikkaduwa Rest House until the 60s, now transformed into a 150-room four-star beach hotel with an investment of Rs. 1.2 billion.
``Are you happy that you failed in your effort to sell Coral Gardens?, Gunawardene was asked at the press conferece.
``Very happy,’’ he chuckled. ``But the people who talked to us (about buying it), must be very sad.’’
Gunawardene indicated that they will be selling the Chaaya Tranz rooms at USD 200+ against the $ 60 they commanded before it was closed for the makeover.
What was once Yala Village has been re-branded as Chaaya Wild where a game lodge with a beach front has been created.
JKH has invested close to US$ 100 million in the leisure business during the last two years and the group is confident that both properties upgraded to four-star level by extensive refurbishment will command top dollars.
``We are selling not just accommodation but an experience, Jayantissa Kehelpannala, sector head of JKH’s resort hotels commented.
Gunawardene indicated that a few more projects involving 200 to 300 rooms will be revealed in the next six months.
which was nowHe explained that about 40% of JKH’s total portfolio was invested in the leisure segment yielding attractive returns. This was not the case in recent years.
He estimated that leisure contributed about 30% of the JKH’s bottom line in the last financial year. Asked what he expected in the current financial year, Gunawardena declined to answer saying "I don’t want to go to jail!" (He was obviously alluding to `insider information’ laws of the SEC).
He was confident that they could sell their resort property rooms at much better rates than earlier because they were not just pricing a room but adding value and selling an experience.
Chaaya Tranz with 150 rooms now will be an excellent launching pad for whale watching at Mirissa and also for visitors to the Kaneliya rain forest near Galle which was as unique as Sinharaja.
Both revamped hotels upgraded to Four Star status will focus on the natural attributes of their locations – the corals at Hikkaduwa, nearby Kaneliya and whale watching at Mirissa while game watching will plus sea and sand will be on offer at Chaaya Wild.
Gunawardena said that the launch of the refurbished and expanded hotels was the beginning of the country’s new tourist products. Their new Chaaya Bey at Beruwela is being completed five months ahead of schedule and they expect to open it next June.
"Our philosophy is to be the trend setter in the hotel trade," he said. "We are investing significantly in the hardware (the properties) as well as the software with huge investments going into training and exposure of staff to international standards."
(http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=35909)
Points to note
1)About 40% of JKH’s total portfolio was invested in the leisure segment
2)Leisure contributed about 30% of the JKH’s bottom line
3) Most importantly there are people who understands that insider dealing is illegal and SEC is powerful !!!!!!
