HILTON Worldwide yesterday announced the signing of management agreements with Eden Group for five Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties in Myanmar.
Under the agreements, two of Eden Group’s recently opened properties in Naypyidaw and on Ngapali beach in Rakhine State will be rebranded as Hilton Nay Pyi Taw and Hilton Ngapali Beach Resort respectively. They are scheduled to welcome their first guests as Hiltons this October.
Three other hotels will open in the next three years, namely Hilton Bagan and Hilton Inle Lake in 2016, and Hilton Mandalay in 2017.
The 200-room Hilton Nay Pyi Taw will open in time for the ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Plus Summit 2014 in November. The hotel spans more than 404,000m2, and will feature three F&B outlets including an all-day dining restaurant, as well as meetings and events spaces.
Hilton Ngapali Beach Resort, located on the popular beach destination overlooking the Indian Ocean, offers 51 guestrooms. The beachfront property also features an all-day dining outlet, a hotel bar and function rooms.
Hilton Bagan will offer 220 rooms; Hilton Inle Lake, 180; and Hilton Mandalay, 300 with a spacious 1,000m2 ballroom.
Citing 2013’s statistics from Myanmar Tourism, Hilton said in its press statement that the country witnessed about two million tourist arrivals in 2013, a significant increase of over 90 per cent visitors from 2012, and that it is likely demand for rooms will outpace supply in the next five to 10 years.
Andrew Clough, Hilton Worldwide senior vice president of development, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, told TTG Asia e-Daily design adjustments to the hotels in Naypyidaw and Ngapali are being carried out to meet Hilton’s brand standard.
U Chit Khine, Eden Group chairman, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Although Thingaha (the existing brand for the Naypyidaw and Ngapali hotels) is quite a reputable brand in the country, we still need to learn a lot about hospitality. This is also the right time to bring such a big international hotel chain into Myanmar to promote the quality of services and to access the international market. It is very important for Myanmar to reconnect with international communities.”
Eden Group is one of Myanmar’s largest private companies founded in 1990. Its key business sectors include construction, banking, hospitality, energy and agriculture.
