QATAR’s sovereign wealth fund is planning to build a luxury hotel in Kuala Lumpur that will take on the brand name of Harrods, the world-famous department store in London.

Armed with US$636 million in funds, Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, will partner with a Malaysian firm, Jerantas, to develop the hotel on a 2.2ha site located within the Golden Triangle shopping district of Bukit Bintang.

Construction on the hotel, which will offer up to 300 hotel rooms, is expected to begin next year. The development will also feature apartment units and retail outlets.

Qatar Holding, which bought Harrods from Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed in May 2010, is planning further Harrods hotels in Paris, London, New York and China.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract for an existing resort hotel on Koh Samui that will operate under the Centra value brand.

Originally known as Coconut Villa Resort & Spa, the property has been rebranded as Centra Coconut Beach Resort Samui.

“We are delighted to add this beachfront property to our Samui portfolio and extend our Centra value brand to one of Thailand’s most popular tourism destinations,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts.

Located on Thong Tanote Beach, on the south side of the island, Centra Coconut Beach Resort Samui offers 55 guestrooms, including 24 deluxe pool access rooms, six sea view villas and one beachfront villa.

F&B outlets at the hotel include an all-day dining restaurant, a beachfront restaurant serving Thai and international cuisine, and a beach bar. Leisure facilities include two swimming pools and a Cense by Spa Cenvaree.

“To have our Centra value brand represented on Samui gives us a very sound marketing strategy,” said Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales & marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts.

“We are now able to offer three of our hotel brands on the island, which gives us a very strong marketing mix.”

AS PART of efforts to improve its in-house staff development and retention capabilities, Park Hotel Group unveiled a new Career Service Centre (CSC) yesterday.

An extension of the Park Hotel Academy (PHA) launched last year, the CSC comes equipped with brochures and videos, allowing the group’s employees to learn more about the various internal training workshops available at PHA.

The academy currently runs a series of upgrading courses recognised by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency under its Workforce Skills Qualifications programme.

Allen Law, CEO of Park Hotel Group, said: “Human resources are at the centre of Park Hotel’s strategy, and we hope that with our numerous initiatives including the new career centre, we will be able to tackle the problem of manpower shortages head on, and retain employees in a tight labour market.”

He added: “Our employees are our top priority, as they play an essential part in the group’s future expansion plans. We are proud to share that our turnover is below the industry average, due to our concerted efforts to continually support and develop our internal customers.”

A Park Hotel Group spokesperson told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company was quite often the subject of requests from other hotel chains keen to learn more about its human resource practices, particularly its Hotel Operations Specialist Team programme – which permits staff to be deployed across several departments on a rotational basis.

JAPAN has extended its multiple-entry visa facility for Chinese FITs to three prefectures in the Tohoku region – Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi – effective July 2, 2012.

The multiple-entry visa facility, first introduced in Okinawa last July (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 26, 2011), targets upper middle-class Chinese FITs with annual incomes of at least 3.1 million Japanese yen (US$39,000).

Following a minimum one-night stay in one of the three prefectures on their first visit, Chinese tourists can subsequently travel to other Japanese destinations for stays of up to 90 consecutive days over the next three years, although travel arrangements must be made through appointed travel agencies.

Lily Mou, the Japan division manager of Shanghai Spring International Travel Services, which has been designated to handle the multiple-entry visa applications in Shanghai, said: “As the visa is free-of-charge, this will definitely stimulate traffic to Japan. However, it is still too soon to estimate the growth, as the new ruling just took off.”

“Currently, we are refining some five-day, four-night FIT packages covering Tokyo and Fukushima – destinations that China Eastern flies to,” she added.

In 1Q2012, Japan welcomed 501,400 Chinese visitors, a 166-per cent increase over the same period last year.

– Read more in TTG Asia, July 13, 2012

MARRIOTT International unveiled yesterday its Li Yu welcome programme that features a suite of amenities and services tailor-made for Chinese outbound travellers.

Li Yu, which means “serve with courtesy” in Mandarin, will be rolled out across all JW Marriott, Renaissance, Marriott and Courtyard hotels in Asia by early next year, as well as select international hotels in key gateway cities.

“Chinese travellers are visiting international markets in record numbers, and China will be the largest source of outbound travellers worldwide in the coming years,” said Simon Cooper, president & managing director, Marriott International, Asia.

“We want our Chinese guests to know that they will be well taken care of and welcomed at our hotels in key gateway cities globally,” he added.

Marriott’s Li Yu hospitality experience kicks off the moment a Chinese customer makes a booking – guests will receive their reservation confirmation letter or email in Mandarin.

Upon arrival at the hotel, a Mandarin-speaking hotel associate will greet the guests, and assign auspicious room and floor numbers containing the numerals “6” or “8”.

With regards to in-room amenities, a variety of Chinese programmes will be featured on television, and guests will have a choice of Chinese-language newspapers. Chinese tea will be provided as a complimentary beverage selection, while Chinese cuisine will be featured extensively in restaurants and on in-room dining menus.