TUNE HOTEL IPOH OFFICIALLY OPENS

Mark Lankester, explaining the five star quality bed a guest will get, when they stay at Tune Hotels during the Official Opening of Tune Hotel Ipoh yesterday to Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General, Tourism Malaysia

(From left to right, Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels Group, Dato’ Haji Roshidi Haji Hashim, Mayor of Ipoh, Dato’ Seri Dr. Abdullah Fadil Cik Wan, Orang Besar Jajahan Kinta and Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia)

Opening of hotel marks Tune Hotels new brand standards

 

Ipoh, 18 April 2012 – Tune Hotel Ipoh was officially opened yesterday and guest of honour, YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, launched the branded value hotel chain in Perak. This marked the 11^th Tune Hotel in Malaysia and represents the global chain’s first hotel featuring the brand new redesign of its Brand Standards. Several months in the making, the new Global Brand Standards encompass everything from top to bottom and has involved significant feedback from loyal guests.

Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels Group, said; “As we grow globally, it’s becoming more and more important that we have a universally common design DNA. We’ve worked closely with a bunch of really talented designers to come up with a look and feel that we like and most importantly, what our guests like. More fun, funky and sleek. The Tune Hotel Ipoh is the first Tune hotel on the platform to ‘wear the new clothes’ and we’re delighted with the results. Over time all the current Tune Hotels will slip on the new look and all new hotels in development will likewise have the new Brand Standards.”

“In support of Visit Perak Year 2012, Tune Hotel Ipoh provides an option to local and international visitors to Perak to stay in a world-class accommodation at extremely affordable rates, providing the essentials for a good night’s sleep. Our centrally located properties in Malaysia, provide convenient, comfortable and value-for-money accommodation for leisure or business travellers. The addition of the Ipoh Tune Hotel represents the extension of Tune Hotels’ progressive visibility across Malaysia”, added Lankester.

Tune Hotel Ipoh offers 121 rooms including 80 double rooms, 40 twin rooms and one wheelchair-friendly room. In catering to guest comforts, the new family-friendly interconnecting rooms provide convenience to guests traveling with young children and families. The hotel will also house commercial retail outlets including an AirAsia Travel & Service Centre that will cater to the travel needs of residents of Ipoh and the surrounding areas. The hotel is ideally located on Horley Street, in the bustling heart of Ipoh, within a short walking distance to the well-known Ipoh eateries, including the infamous “beansprout chicken rice” eatery and the D.R. Seenivasagam Park, formerly known as Coronation Park, ideal for brisk walks and family outings.

YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia at the Official Opening ceremony said; “The trend in traveling has become increasingly affordable and Tune Hotels have redefined the hotel landscape for offering its ‘value-for-money’ limited service concept in its chain of hotels spanning across Malaysia and the UK, Thailand, Indonesia and The Phillippines, with 30 more Tune Hotels opening globally in the next 12 months.”

YBhg Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng added that with the opening of its Ipoh property, Tune Hotels has aligned itself with the rapid growth and development of tourism in Malaysia, catering to the demands of local and international leisure and business travellers, looking for affordable, yet comfortable accommodation option with a strategic location. The global tourism sector continues to evolve over the years as tourists’ behaviors change, in the light of intense competition and changing tourists’ expectations. As such, Malaysian hospitality companies need to carve a unique niche to ensure market dominance and accelerate entry into new tourism market opportunities by providing new products including non-conventional products and services to garner a bigger share of the tourism market. Tune Hotels sets this example in the industry and has gained recognition in revolutionizing the accommodation business in Malaysia and internationally.

Tune Hotels currently operates ten hotels in Malaysia, two in Bali, Indonesia, two in London, England, three in The Philippines and two in Thailand. Tune Hotel Ipoh will be the chain’s 11^th hotel in Malaysia with the others being Kuala Lumpur, Penang, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor Bahru, Kota Damansara, Bintulu, Kota Bharu and Kulim.

Tune Hotels continues to expand within the UK, with the opening of Tune Hotel Paddington on 25 June 2012 and Tune Hotel Kings Cross on 9 July 2012.

Tune Hotels has successfully pioneered a branded value hotel brand with the concept of pay-as-you-use that has become hugely popular amongst travelers from across the world. Under the concept, guests only pay for room rates with the option of adding on other amenities like towels & toiletries, air-conditioning, in-room Wifi and satellite TV service at selected hotels.

Calling on guests to stay connected with Tune Hotels via the social media networks Facebook and Twitter, Lankester pointed out that about 30 new Tune Hotels will be opening globally in the next 12 months. “More Tune Hotels are scheduled for opening in Asean, the UK, India and Australia, that will give our guests even more options for travel destinations. With these new hotels, our number of guests will grow even faster and we expect to reach the five millionth mark by mid-2012. We encourage guests to stay tuned for Tune Hotels’ latest openings and promotions via Facebook and Twitter.”

Tune Hotels is part of Tune Group, a lifestyle business conglomerate co-founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, who are the Group CEO and Deputy Group CEO respectively of Asia’s largest low cost carrier AirAsia.

For real-time updates and promotion alerts, guests can stay connected with Tune Hotels via Facebook at www.facebook.com/tunehotels and on Twitter via www.twitter.com/tunehotels.

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com.