One is making its
foray into Malaysia for the first time while the other
plans to position its Kuala Lumpur property as the flagship
in the region. Both are opening within a month of each
other and both are promising a "full opening" - no softie
soft launches for them.
And by the way, Le
Meridien Kuala Lumpur and Hilton Kuala Lumpur, are just
beside each other. Corinne Wan (Hilton KL) and Natalie Chen
(Le Meridien KL) spoke to both general managers -
separately of course.
Kees Hartzuiker, general manager of the soon-to-open Hilton, is a man of
passion and confidence. Passionate about the new hotel, he
will steer to a full opening come September 22, and
confident that there would be no delays and with all 510
rooms, F&B outlets and other facilities
operational.
These are departures from the norm in Malaysia where
planned operational dates for hotels are not kept due to
unforeseen circumstances, and staggered opening of rooms
and facilities is common.
Hartzuiker said that he personally believes in full
opening and has full opened two hotels under the Hilton
flag during his tenure in the UAE - the Hilton Dubai
Jumeirah Beach Resort and Hilton Dubai Creek.
"With a full opening we can create curiosity on the day
we open and show the hotel in all its glory."
Hartzuiker is also confident of achieving 70 percent
occupancy by the end of the year as forward bookings are
encouraging. This positive projection "is also in line with
the rest of the city."
Hotels in KL, from budget to five-star properties, are
enjoying an unprecedented run of good business, with most
enjoying 70-90 percent occupancy, and this healthy trend
looks set to continue.
"We also believe we have good segmentation, with
conferences and meetings forming our base business,
followed by corporate business through the brand and
loyalty programmes," said Hartzuiker.
There is also a shift to focus on the leisure market as
the Hilton group, traditionally geared towards the
corporate market, is now heavy into resorts. The Hilton
Kuala Lumpur is following this shift by working with travel
agencies and tour operators to tap the leisure market.
The hotel's target business mix is 60 percent corporate
and 40 percent leisure. Inter-Asia will make up 70 percent
of its market, 10 percent of which will come from Japan,
with the balance from the "rest of the world", as
Hartzuiker put it.
He is also banking on the hotel's strategic location in
KL Sentral - comprising the city's transportation hub and a
mixed development project of corporate office suites,
condominiums, and retail complex - to bring in the
numbers.
As KL's five-star hotel rates are well below properties
of the same category in other destinations, will Hilton KL
enter at a higher rate to break this "under-priced"
circle?
"There is room for rates to increase in five-star
hotels. However when supply and demand dynamics are such
that customers have the choice to base their bookings on
price, then there is a limitation to rates. We will enter
at the highest rate possible, competing with the highest
rate of existing five-star hotels."
He said alone he can't do much but hopes others can
group together to motivate rates upwards.
Hartzuiker is positive that rates could go up especially
as there will be no new hotels opening for the next two
years, apart from the Le Meridian Kuala Lumpur,
He does not view the Le Meridian KL, situated just next
to the Hilton and due for an October opening, as
competition. "We complement one another. Together we offer
940 rooms in one location, which will be ideal for large
conferences. We share common access, such as the foyer, and
can open it up to accommodate huge global conferences."
His philosophy in running the hotel - "drive and
passion". He believes this will trickle down to his team
and from there, to guests.
"We know we have the best product. But we have to bring
the people element across that will define success."
To ensure the best service, the hotel will have a staff
of 700 to give the personal touch to all its guests.
"We did not look so much at skills and experience during
the recruiting exercise. Instead we look at personality and
attitude and they do not need to have experience working in
a hotel," said Hartzuiker.
To instil a sense of belonging, all staff are referred
to as team members. The management also ensures that the
members are well taken of and pay special attention to the
back of the house features.
"For example we give our female members the choice of
either wearing skirts or trousers for work. We have chill
out
zones in the staff centre fitted with massage chairs."
and foot massager for them to rejuvenate during their
break. There is also a library."
The hotel also keeps the organising chart as flat as
possible to invoke a sense of equality and belonging.
"We believe in the simple cliché - happy team members,
happy customers, " said Hartzuiker.
Le Meridien will
launch its first property in Malaysia when Le Meridien
Kuala Lumpur opens this October.
The hotel's general manager Brian S. Pirie said this
will be a "full launch" and "its all systems go".
"We have no intention of coming into the Kuala Lumpur
market softly, we plan to come in fully armed and
dangerous.
"There's a stigma of soft opening and we have been given
the luxury of avoiding
it. And when you have given the opportunity of not to 'soft
open' the best thing is to take it."
"We want to come into Kuala Lumpur guns blazing and want
to be a long time here."
Pirie promised that his property would be different from
what's on the market and customers would know the
difference.
"We took a long time in getting to Kuala Lumpur and our
objectives are long term and to get the right clientele and
the clientele that fits our situation in Kuala
Lumpur.
Le Meridien is looking at the KL property to lead its
expansion into Malaysia - especially Langkawi and Kota
Kinabalu.
He added that these two destinations were chosen because
of Malaysia's ongoing efforts to develop them.
"In Malaysia, the two destinations have room for
international hotel operators and a brand such as ours,
look at Kota Kinabalu, today as a destination it is growing
and air access is growing as well."
Pirie said, "An essential part of our chain is that both
the owners and operations benefit from the network of
hotels that we have available and we feel that Kota
Kinabalu and Langkawi would benefit significantly from both
Kuala Lumpur and existing resort hotels in South-east
Asia."
What can guests expect with Le Meridien's first foray
into Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia?
"When people walk into the hotel, you are going to know
you are in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia and that's going to
reflect straightaway in the overall atmosphere."
Pirie describes it as "capturing the essence of Malaysia's
rich cultural tapestry and weaves into it elements of
Moorish detail infused with French elegance".
"I would say if you took my eight direct competitors you
could lift up their hotels bring it to Singapore and
Bangkok and it wouldn't change a thing. I don't think you
can do that with our hotel as it has local character that
is very difficult to export.
"And the idea is not to export it and to bring the local
culture into a global product."
The new Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur is being marketed as a
"state-of-the-art" hotel.
Said Pirie, "In terms of safety and security and the
technical aspects, Le Meridien is far more developed than
other hotels built in the 1990s, this is a hotel built in
the 21st century and it reflects the current times we live
in."
More than RM 1 million has been spent on wireless
connectivity, with all 422 rooms, meeting rooms and public
areas providing seamless Internet access.
Another plus feature of the hotel is its central
locality, it is only 28 minutes away from the International
Airport by KLIA Ekspres.
Pirie said, "Within an hour of touchdown at KLIA, the
international business traveller can be at the hotel, check
in, unpacked and already at work in the guestroom. No other
hotel in Kuala Lumpur can offer that kind of
accessibility."
He points out that he is aiming for "balance" in guest
profile.
"We don't want to have any mass market, we want to have
a small part of
every segment coming to Malaysia." Besides the corporate
market, this would include leisure guests, stop over
traffic and cabin crew.
Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur is also hailed to transform the
city's event industry with its extensive conference
facilities. The Sultan's Ballroom can hold up to 750 guests
as well as nine other conference and function rooms for up
to 200 delegates.
The attention to the events market is further
demonstrated with a dedicated events kitchen to ensure
freshly cooked gourmet fare for up to a thousand people, an
unusual feature in Kuala Lumpur hotels. Conference
delegates and groups will have a smooth check-in as they
enjoy a private arrival lounge.
Pirie then ends the interview by hinting that there are
even more surprises in store from the new Le Meridien Kuala
Lumpur.
He warmly quips, "The beauty of the pudding is in the
tasting."