Air India Inaugurates Daily, Non-Stop Flights To Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

GURUGRAM / KUALA LUMPUR, September 2024: Air India, India’s leading global airline, yesterday inaugurated its daily, non-stop flights between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The inaugural flight, operated by Airbus A320neo aircraft, landed at Kuala Lumpur at 2043 Hrs local time on 15 September 2024.

Kuala Lumpur makes Air India’s sixth destination in Southeast Asia, further strengthening its presence in the region and a steadily expanding global route network. Air India’s service to Kuala Lumpur offers a new flight option to an increasing number of travellers between India and Malaysia, and it opens new connections for Malaysian travellers to access Air India’s worldwide network that spans five continents. 

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: "As we inaugurate our Delhi-Kuala Lumpur route, we are not just connecting two cities; we are contributing to the growing exchange between two rich cultures and supporting bilateral trade and tourism. We look forward to welcoming guests aboard from India and Malaysia, as well as from North America and Europe who will now find a convenient way to connect to and from Kuala Lumpur via our hub in Delhi."

Air India’s new flights to Kuala Lumpur enable seamless, same-terminal, one-stop connections for travellers from North America and Europe via Delhi.

Andrew Nisbet Appointed General Manager At Hilton Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

In his new role, Nisbet will oversee the day-to-day operations and spearhead the growth and development of the property.

Boasting more than two decades of hospitality experience for the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand, he previously served as the cluster general manager at Hilton Hanoi Opera and Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi since 2015.

In 2014, Nisbet was based at Hilton Melbourne on the Park (now Pullman Melbourne On the Park) as general manager. He has also held positions in the areas of F&B, conference & banqueting sales, operations and general management.

Prior to that, Nisbet fast-tracked from the role of director of operations to hotel manager and finally to general manager in 2012 when he led the team at Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa and Kawarau Hotel

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Courtyard by Marriott Penang takes brand into Malaysia

Marriott has announced the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Penang – the first Courtyard property to debut in Malaysia.

Located along the bustling Jalan Macalister in the heart of Penang’s UNESCO-listed George Town, the new 199-room Courtyard by Marriott Penang is set to provide the best hotel experience for guests to pursue their personal and professional passions while on the road.

“We are thrilled to continue to grow our presence in Malaysia with the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Penang,” said Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific, Marriott International.

“Designed for today’s ambitious and enterprising traveller, the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Penang marks Marriott International’s 17th brand in Malaysia and further compliments our growing footprint in the country.”

Malaysia's first Kimpton Hotels in 2023

HG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has signed a management agreement with LQ Retail Sdn Bhd to open Malaysia's first Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in 2023 at The Exchange TRX – a new experience-led lifestyle destination. Kimpton now operates in more than 70 hotels and 85 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations around the world. From its playful and sophisticated design to award-winning restaurants and bars, Kimpton is known for creating immersive guest moments that are all about genuine human connections. The 471-room design-led Kimpton Kuala Lumpur, with its youthful and playful brand personality will reinvent a sophisticated and highly personalised lifestyle experience expected by today's modern travellers that is aligned with TRX's profile as the capital city's new CBD.

The property will feature three food and beverage outlets including a rooftop bar & restaurant and a deli-grocer café. Guests can enjoy the views from the outdoor rooftop swimming pool or break a sweat in the gym. There will be a range of unique meeting and event spaces to cater to a wide range of activities, from small intimate gatherings to larger energetic social events.

“We’re excited to be partnering with LQ Retail Sdn Bhd to bring our heartfelt approach to hospitality with Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants to Kuala Lumpur as we continue to expand across the region into new markets. We believe the ‘dream’ element of experiential travel will become even more important once people can travel again and this hotel will deliver a great boutique experience to those guests.”

— Rajit Sukumaran, Managing Director of South East Asia & Korea for InterContinental Hotels Group

Time for the Hotel Industry to “Remove the Box”

The hotel industry is one of the worst-hit industries during this crisis. A lot of studies have been conducted to help us understand the impact on the economy and our organization's bottom-line. Industry experts, through their various associations, have predicted that the average hotel occupancy in Malaysia for the year will stand at around 25% or less.

According to a recent study by Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH), the industry is looking at a potential loss of RM6.3b in rooms revenue alone. Assuming rooms revenue accounts for 60% of the total hotel revenue, with F&B and other income accounting for the remaining 40%, the industry is facing a RM10.5b in potential losses.

MAH represents about 1,000 hotels out of the 4,880 hotels registered with the Ministry of Tourism Arts & Culture (MOTAC). However, these 1,000 hotels with 164,000 rooms represent 56% of total rooms inventory available throughout Malaysia.

 The number of hotels closing for business is increasing by the day, indicating not only loss of business, but also loss of jobs. The current estimate is that 1 million travel industry personnel (including hotel, airline, cruise and travel agents) will lose their jobs by the end of this year.

While we take stock and moan how the hotel industry's poor prospects, let us focus our attention on what we can, and should, do moving forward.

According to a study by the University of Singapore Technology and Design, China is expected to be the first to get back to normalcy while Malaysia's magic date is predicted to be July 6. Whether we like it or not, we should look at China as one of our main feeder markets, besides the domestic market of course. Consider appointing representatives or affiliates based in key cities in China to work with online platforms and mainstream travel agents there and start re-promoting Malaysia as a destination. Hoteliers need to actively prepare for this, and as soon as China reopens its doors, hotels must already be "Chinese friendly" at all service touch points

A financial reprojection is necessary to understand your hotel's new breakeven point. We often hear that the breakeven point (BEP) in an operating hotel is at 40% occupancy levels

At least for the short to mid-term, hotels will be looking at domestic travellers as a main source of customers. This will indeed be the fastest strategy to regain some occupancy. Malaysians still love the "Cuti-Cuti Malaysia" short getaways

Hotels may in the near future need to be certified "Social Distance Compliant" by authorities after they have practised and passed SOPs set by authorities. This is going to be very similar to the HALAL certification we see displayed on public areas. This could be something we will all be used to in the near future.

STAAH Introduces Ringgit, the Local Malaysian Currency As a Payment Option for Malaysian Clients

STAAH, the leading cloud-based technology solutions provider for hospitality industry, has recently taken its first step towards offering local currency payment option for its Malaysian partners. This new and better payment option will help STAAH partners save money on international exchange rates and transfers.

The new payment option through Malaysian Ringgit, not only complements STAAH’s localised services, but is also a testament of the company’s commitment to support Malaysian properties during these difficult times.

Cutting the pain of dealing in international currency and its volatility, Malaysian properties will now be able to pay in their own currency, thereby saving on exchange rates. This payment option is sure to be seen as a better deal by the customers, as they will be able to balance their fixed costs and not be thrown off guard by the fluctuating exchange rates. This move will also help further, in strengthening the company’s partnerships with properties in those markets.

With a great selection of clients in the area and their unflinching support, STAAH looks forward to continue providing excellent solutions and services to the hospitality industry in Malaysia.

New Hotels News & Announcements

Hyatt to Expand Luxury Portfolio in Asia Pacific with 21 New Hotels by 2020

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that 21 new luxury hotels and resorts are planned to open in Asia Pacific by the end of 2020, fueling Hyatt’s brand expansion in the region. This expansion is comprised of seven Park Hyatt branded properties, six hotels each under the Grand Hyatt and Andaz brands and two Alila branded resorts, boosting Hyatt’s luxury portfolio in the region by more than 25%.

Travelodge Plans 17 New Hotels For 2019

Travelodge is planning to open another 17 new hotels across the UK in 2019, which it said would create more than 350 additional jobs. The new hotels, costing around £115 million, will be developed by third party investors, it said. They will grow Travelodge's hotel network to 595 in the UK, Spain and Ireland.

High Street Hospitality to launch two new hotels in the north east

Newcastle-based High Street Hospitality has announced plans for two new hotels in the north east of England.

New World Hotels & Resorts launch with first property in Malaysia

Rosewood’s Hong Kong-based arm New World Hotels & Resorts can lay claim to having opened their inaugural hotel, the New World Hotel Petaling Jaya in the Malaysian city of Petaling Jaya, right outside Kuala Lumpur.