Ally Bhoonee, founder of tour specialist World Avenues Malaysia, has expanded his portfolio to include hotel and resort management services through the establishment of a new company, WA Hospitality Management in Kuala Lumpur, of which he is the company director.
WA will provide services such as market study and impact analysis, strategy development, hotel positioning, financial planning and cash flow projections, marketing planning, pre-opening scheduling and procurement.
Some of the first clients are Langkasuri and DYKS Holdings. With Langkasuri, WA has signed a three-year contract to manage Camar Resort in Langkawi, a 90-key, four-star business class beach hotel which will begin operations in March 2018.
With DYKS Holdings, WA will manage the 150-room, four-star Kensington Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and the four-star casino Morow Hotel in Siem Reap. Both properties are scheduled to open in 2020.
Ally, a travel and tourism industry veteran with more than three decades of experience, said: “Expanding the business into hospitality is a natural progression. The travel industry is saturated with small profit margins and massive competition from OTAs. On the other hand, South-east Asia’s hotel industry is booming.”
He hopes to grow the company’s hotel management services in the region, and is closely watching Vietnam and Myanmar for hotel management opportunities.
