SWISS-Garden International (SGI) Hotels, Resorts & Inns continues to expand aggressively through Malaysia with the addition of six more properties to its portfolio, bringing the total number of hotels and serviced apartments to 18.
According to Kem Siew, SGI’s vice president of sales and marketing, this bumper addition will increase the group’s total room inventory by 70 per cent, from its existing 2,500.
She said: “We are expanding our portfolio in tandem with demand and we want to increase our overall presence in Malaysia.” Siew added that the current occupancy rate for SGI’s city hotels stands at 80 per cent.
The six new properties, which are slated for completion within the next three years, are: Swiss-Garden Hotel Malacca, Swiss-Garden Hotel & Residences Cameron Highlands, D’ Majestic serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur, Swiss-Garden Resort Residences Kuantan, Pavilion-Garden Suites in Kota Bharu and Damai Laut Sea Villas.
Siew said SGI was seeks to tap the “increasing demand” for serviced residences from both leisure and business travellers.
“Families that travel in big groups want to stay together instead of booking three or four hotel rooms, and there are corporate travellers who want to book a place for several months.”
According to Siew, SGI’s properties are largely popular among travellers from Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and that 70 per cent of SGI’s guests are from Asia, while 30 per cent belong to the Europe and Australia markets.
The bulk of SGI’s properties are concentrated in Malaysia, with the exception of one in Sydney.
Siew said: “Right now we want people to think of Swiss-Garden when they come to Malaysia, whether for a hotel or apartment experience. But in the long run, we definitely want to expand out of Malaysia into countries like Vietnam and China.”
