SINGAPORE – Hilton International is exceeding its growth targets in Asia/Pacific and is upbeat about its positioning in the region, said Simon Barlow, vice president, operations – Asia.
“There has been a refreshing of the Hilton brand image in this part of the world, and this is demonstrated in the BDRC survey,” he said.
The independent survey held among 1,200 business travellers across Asia showed that Hilton is a well-known hotel brand in Asia with the highest prompted awareness.
Barlow added, in the same vein, more hotel owners are seeking Hilton out to manage their properties.
Hilton would have added ten new hotels by 2004, four are expected for 2005 and eight are in the pipeline for 2006.
“Generally the market is strong with good increases in revenue and conversion to profit,” said Barlow.
Post-SARS, seven of Hilton’s properties most affected by the endemic have rebounded strongly, reporting increased revenue of 30 to 40 percent for 2004 over 2003.
Another feather in their cap is Hilton’s performance in Kuala Lumpur. The new Hilton Kuala Lumpur that opened September 21 had occupancy of almost 50 percent and turned a profit for the first month of operations.
Read full report in TravelWeekly’s November 19 issue