The talk of the ASEAN Tourism Forum was not about so
much about ASEAN tourism but about The Empire Hotel &
Country Club, the former Jerudong Park Hotel, whose name is
legendary in hotelier circles. For the first time, the
international travel trade had a glimpse of a hotel whose
reputation has spread far and wide, for good or bad. This
was the project which was built pre-crisis, when money was
plentiful and when opulence was in fashion. This was the
hotel which saw several management changes, left idle for
two years and then revived last year when Brunei decided to
get serious about tourism and when it also needed a
facility to host, and impress, APEC leaders who met in the
sultanate last October. This is the hotel about which other
hoteliers talk about. The grandeur of its lobby and
furnishings and finishings, the luxury of its rooms, the
splendour of its restaurants. This is the hotel about
which, it is said, ran US$1.2 billion over budget and which
contributed to the much-publicised quarrels in the royal
family. This is the hotel which today wants to welcome
foreign guests to experience its splendour and a scale of
luxury that is unmatched in Asia. Is The Empire a
hotelier's dream or nightmare? Yeoh Siew Hoon talks to the
executive director, Dayangku Rose Bte Pg Hj Hitam, who has
looked after the Brunei Investment Agency's hotel
interests, including The Dorchester in London, Beverly
Hills in Los Angeles and Nusa Dua Beach Resort & Spa in
Bali; and Mark Hennebry, deputy general manager.Q: What impressions of the Empire would you like ATF
delegates to leave with?
DK Rose: That this hotel is out of this world. The
amount of money that has been spent - I want it to be on
the map. I have worked with the finest hotels in the world
but in terms of standards and facilities, The Empire is out
of this world. As a hotelier, what more can I ask? It's got
cinemas, a theatre, golf, country club, spa.
I only wish I could bring it somewhere else, and not in
Brunei - Brunei is such a new destination.
Q: Could one say The Empire is a bit of an overkill then
for a destination like Brunei?
DK Rose: It matches the rest of what Brunei has to offer
- the Royal Palace is far grander than The Empire and we
give a taste of what is home to the world's richest man.
They blend together.
Q: How much has gone into The Empire?
DK Rose: I can't say. Q: Is it a hotelier's dream or
nightmare?
DK Rose: In the right country, it would be a dream. But
it is not a nightmare either. It is a challenge. How do we
put Brunei on the map as a place to come to? As a young
Bruneian, I welcome that challenge and this is my chance to
contribute to the country. Give us time - time will tell
everything. We have a good team in place and we will work
with the government and the travel industry to put Brunei
on the map.
Q: Could The Empire be sold as a destination in itself,
beyond Brunei?
DK Rose: They are one and the same thing. They are one
image. We could sell it as a destination within a
destination. I am also looking at working with the other
BIA hotels and perhaps create a package where guests stay
two days each in Los Angeles, London, Bali and Brunei.
Something like the "Best of Brunei" package.
Q: Why not market it as the most expensive hotel ever
built? That could be quite a strong attraction for
visitors.
DK Rose: The money that has been spent, we cannot
recuperate anymore. Now we have to work on how to complete
it and how to make it happen. We know we cannot be more
expensive than hotels in Singapore. If we can get a S$200
(US$115) average room rate, that would be nice for us. For
that, you get best hotel, best service, good rate.
Q: What markets will you try and tap?
Hennebry: In the short-term, we will go for the
shorthaul out of Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. We will
also go after Australia, Europe and the Middle East. We are
also interested in meetings and incentives, but that will
take a little more organisation.
Plans to build the Grand Banquet Hall, which will be
able to take between 1,500 and 2,000 seated, are under
review.
The three-screen cinema is opening in a month and we
will have four restaurants offering a range of different
cuisine. We are looking for local Bruneians to support our
restaurants and we will also be creating local weekend
packages and special events for the local market. We want
to create The Empire as a destination for Bruneians as
well.
Q: Is this the biggest challenge of your career?
DK Rose: Yes, that's why I don't sleep well. The biggest
difficulty is I have to start where someone else left off -
it's not as though I have a clean sheet of paper to work
with. The biggest challenge was to complete the project and
we had a mandate to finish by the APEC meeting in
November.
Now the challenge is to have more guests and make more
money. We must get to breakeven point in three years.
Q: Was getting staff a challenge as well?
DK Rose: We have 950 staff. The first challenge was to
attract Bruneians to come to work in a hotel. We have 50
percent Bruneian staff and the rest from overseas. This is
a new industry in Brunei and we need expertise to teach
Bruneians. We can create a job market for young Bruneians.
Eighty percent of Bruneians work within the government now
and we are trying to create more private sector employment.
Q: In terms of operations, Mark, what's the biggest
challenge?
Hennebry: Size. It's a large place. You can't be
everywhere at the same time. The challenge is to generate
enough business to keep people focused on service and to
keep it consistent with wildly fluctuating occupancy
levels.
DK Rose: We have 400 acres of land. Sometimes the staff
are missing and we don't know whether they are sleeping or
not.
Q: What are the issues Brunei needs to address if it
wants to get serious about tourism?
DK Rose: We need more airlines to come in. We need a
more relaxed immigration policy. We should relax visa
requirements from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Australia.
There should not be visas within Asia.
We need to improve on infrastructure - transportation is
a problem; taxis are not easy to find.
Brunei is looking at becoming a financial hub in Asia,
therefore it must relax restrictions. We need Bruneians to
open themselves up, to welcome tourists.