KUALA LUMPUR: GuocoLand (M) Bhd, a part of the Hong Leong group of companies, is hoping that its hospitality segment will eventually contribute around 37% to its bottom line following the rebranding of two of its hotels under UK’s Thistle brand, according to its managing director Paul Poh.
 
“This endeavour demonstrates GuocoLand’s commitment to the Malaysian hospitality industry. This partnership with Thistle proves our commitment to continue to enhance the value of our properties,” he said.
 
Contribution from its hotel segment now accounts for about 30% of overall net profit.

The Thistle brand is part of the Guoman Hotel Management (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GuocoLeisure Ltd. Both companies are members of the Hong Leong group.

The group has so far poured RM50 million into refurbishing the two hotels in Port Dickson and Johor Bahru, with the former due to open in June and the latter a month later.

Thistle Johor Bahru general manager Paul Skitch said both would be positioned as five-star hotels, despite Thistle hotels in the UK being mostly four-star and three-star.

“My philosophy is not to focus too intently on star ratings, instead what we want to emphasise is the quality of the rooms and service. But the Thistle hotels here will comply to Malaysian five-star standards,” said Skitch.

The hotel in Johor Bahru was formerly under the Hyatt brand, and commanded the highest average room rate in the city, according to reports. Skitch said with the rebranding, he expected that to continue.

“We are looking at over RM200 average room rate and aiming at around a 70% occupancy at the hotel when it opens,” said Skitch. For the Port Dickson resort hotel, the target is 65%.

Asked why the Hyatt group had exited, Poh said the parting was amicable.

“We had a 15 plus 15-year contract with the Hyatt, but after the first 15 years, we decided to part ways. They did a reasonable job but the hotel still needed some renovations.

“However, ultimately we already have the Thistle brand in our group and wanted to bring it back to Malaysia,” said Poh.

Poh said that GuocoLand was also looking at opening a Thistle hotel in the Klang Valley at its mixed-commercial development located in Damansara Heights, which is due for completion in 2011.
 
“We are looking at around 250 rooms but it is still in early stages. We are looking to build and open the hotel around 2011 or 2012,” said Poh.
He added that the group was also concentrating on hotels in China, specifically in Shanghai and Beijing.

For the hotels in Malaysia, Poh expected to see a return on asset in around four years.

On how the group saw the economic downturn impacting business, Skitch said while there was concern, he saw opportunities in Malaysia. “Especially for Johor Bahru, its close proximity to Singapore presents us with a good market,” he said.