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28 Sep, 2011 07:27:34
Sri Lanka leisure group rebrands hotels, raises rates
Sept 28, 2011 (LBO) - John Keells group has revamped and rebranded two hotels on Sri Lanka's south coast, sharply raising rates as it lures tourists with leopard and whale watching tours.
The group spent about 15.5 million US dollars in revamping the Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa beach hotel and the Chaaya Wild Yala game lodge, said Ajit Gunewardene, deputy chairman and president of the leisure group at John Keells Holdings.
"In the last two years we invested and committed to invest close to about 100 million dollars into the leisure business," he told a news conference at the formal launch of the two rebranded hotels which are to open on November 01, 2011.
Jayantissa Kehelpannala, sector head of Sri Lankan Resorts of John Keells Hotels, a group subsidiary, said room rates are also being increased in the two new hotels which have been raised to four-star status.
The average room rate at the 60-roomed Coral Gardens Hotel, as Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa was previously known, sited on a beach with a well-known coral reef, was around 60 US dollars.
"We're planning to take it to around 200 dollars," Kehelpannala said.
Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa was revamped and expanded to 150 rooms with a total investment of 1.2 billion rupees with the JKH group aiming to make it a base for whale watching in Mirissa, further down the south coast.
The Chaaya Wild Yala game lodge, with 66 air-conditioned chalets near a wild life park on the south coast famous for leopards, was revamped with an investment of 500 million rupees.
The hotel with open boundaries to surrounding wildlife is segmented into beach chalets and jungle chalets and has a roof-top observation deck and bar offering a 360 degree view of the surrounding wilderness.
Gunewardene said the JKH group has raised room rates at the new hotels as it is offering a value-added product with better comforts and that there was no risk of being considered over-priced.
"If you are just pricing a hotel room then you can't charge much higher prices. But here we're adding value and selling an experience," he told LBO. "We're recreating a destination.
"For example, Hikkaduwa has not had much investment for 40 years. We're adding value to the destination and making use of it. We're offering an improved product so people will be willing to pay for the experience."
Gunewardene told the news conference JKH's leisure business contributed about 30 percent to profits last year and that it has about 40 percent of total assets in leisure.
"This has been the case for some time in fact except that in the past that 40 percent was not yielding much," he said. "Today that 40 percent is yielding very attractive returns."
JKH would continue to invest in hotels although its share of the group's business would remain the same as other businesses grow.
"We will continue to invest not only in increasing the size and reach of our hotel portfolio but in adding unique and districts properties to enhance Sri Lanka’s overall tourism offering," Gunewardene said.
"Through experience we have devised a formula that enables us significant efficiencies in project speeds and costs, which we believe is not easily replicated. This will be a strong advantage for us in maintaining our dominance in the Sri Lankan tourism sector amidst potential international competition."
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=18432573
28 Sep, 2011 07:27:34
Sri Lanka leisure group rebrands hotels, raises rates
Sept 28, 2011 (LBO) - John Keells group has revamped and rebranded two hotels on Sri Lanka's south coast, sharply raising rates as it lures tourists with leopard and whale watching tours.
The group spent about 15.5 million US dollars in revamping the Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa beach hotel and the Chaaya Wild Yala game lodge, said Ajit Gunewardene, deputy chairman and president of the leisure group at John Keells Holdings.
"In the last two years we invested and committed to invest close to about 100 million dollars into the leisure business," he told a news conference at the formal launch of the two rebranded hotels which are to open on November 01, 2011.
Jayantissa Kehelpannala, sector head of Sri Lankan Resorts of John Keells Hotels, a group subsidiary, said room rates are also being increased in the two new hotels which have been raised to four-star status.
The average room rate at the 60-roomed Coral Gardens Hotel, as Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa was previously known, sited on a beach with a well-known coral reef, was around 60 US dollars.
"We're planning to take it to around 200 dollars," Kehelpannala said.
Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa was revamped and expanded to 150 rooms with a total investment of 1.2 billion rupees with the JKH group aiming to make it a base for whale watching in Mirissa, further down the south coast.
The Chaaya Wild Yala game lodge, with 66 air-conditioned chalets near a wild life park on the south coast famous for leopards, was revamped with an investment of 500 million rupees.
The hotel with open boundaries to surrounding wildlife is segmented into beach chalets and jungle chalets and has a roof-top observation deck and bar offering a 360 degree view of the surrounding wilderness.
Gunewardene said the JKH group has raised room rates at the new hotels as it is offering a value-added product with better comforts and that there was no risk of being considered over-priced.
"If you are just pricing a hotel room then you can't charge much higher prices. But here we're adding value and selling an experience," he told LBO. "We're recreating a destination.
"For example, Hikkaduwa has not had much investment for 40 years. We're adding value to the destination and making use of it. We're offering an improved product so people will be willing to pay for the experience."
Gunewardene told the news conference JKH's leisure business contributed about 30 percent to profits last year and that it has about 40 percent of total assets in leisure.
"This has been the case for some time in fact except that in the past that 40 percent was not yielding much," he said. "Today that 40 percent is yielding very attractive returns."
JKH would continue to invest in hotels although its share of the group's business would remain the same as other businesses grow.
"We will continue to invest not only in increasing the size and reach of our hotel portfolio but in adding unique and districts properties to enhance Sri Lanka’s overall tourism offering," Gunewardene said.
"Through experience we have devised a formula that enables us significant efficiencies in project speeds and costs, which we believe is not easily replicated. This will be a strong advantage for us in maintaining our dominance in the Sri Lankan tourism sector amidst potential international competition."
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=18432573
