Concorde KL to undergo RM40m refurbishment

[nazrey]

Concorde KL to undergo RM40m refurbishment
By Vasantha Ganesan
May 5 2006
BusinessTimes


The number of rooms will be reduced to 488 to have
bigger rooms in order to capture the up-market guests


THE Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur will undergo a RM40 million refurbishment over the next four years, to better compete with new hotels mushrooming in the city centre.

"We plan to spend RM40 million over the next four years starting this year to upgrade the hotel," Concorde Hotels & Resorts (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Syed Yusof Syed Nasir said.

"We probably have to reduce the number of rooms. Currently, we have 575 rooms. We want to reduce the number to 488, and have some bigger rooms in order to capture the up-market guests," he added.

This is also in line with the changes to people's lifestyle and the opening of new hotels such as Impiana KLCC & Spa and the soon-to-be-opened Traders Hotel.











The four-star Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, previously known as Merlin Hotel, was bought by Syed Yusof in 1990 and has undergone some RM100 million in renovations over the years.

The hotel, which ran at an average room rate (ARR) of RM190 last year, expects the rate to be around RM205 this year.

"There is an increasing trend (to open new hotels), which is good. The composition of tourists we are looking at is also the up-market group," he said.

Syed Yusof also owns the 288-room Concorde Inn Sepang, which is running at an ARR of RM90 and an average occupancy of 85 per cent, while the 385-room Concorde Hotel Shah Alam has an ARR of around RM140 and an average occupancy of 55 per cent.

However, Syed Yusof said business at The Lakehouse in Cameron Highlands has about 50 per cent occupancy rate.

Syed Yusof and his team are also behind the success of the Hard Rock Cafe and the Planet Hollywood outlets in Kuala Lumpur. While there are plans to expand the Hard Rock Cafe chain, there are none for Planet Hollywood.

[nazrey]

Just bigger room!

[nazrey]

by phalinn

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[nazrey]

by phalinn

image hosted on flickr

[dengilo]

Again!!!!

[nazrey]

Before refurbish!
by Brad Sharples Photography

[nazrey]

Concorde KL gets facelift
By Sharen Kaur
Published: 2009/07/15



The four-star Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur will undergo a RM40 million facelift over the next three years to be among the first to benefit when the economy recovers.

The project has been divided into three phases. Phase 1, which is currently underway, saw the closure of five floors of the hotel on June 15 for the refurbishment of 207 rooms.

The project's first phase will cost RM5 million, said its director Tan Sri Syed Yusof Syed Nasir.

It has allocated another RM15 million to refurbish the remaining 363 rooms and the rest to refurbish its support facilities such as the ballroom and gallery meeting rooms over the next two years.

"Once completed, the hotel will feature comfortable room layout, exquisite carpet and wall coverings, spacious dressing area with bathrooms with the latest in shower offerings," Syed Yusof told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur recently.

"The rooms are redesigned not only to satisfy the demands of the discerning, but also to nurture and inspire the individual," he said.

Syed Yusof said while the current global economic slowdown has affected the hotel's occupancy levels, it has also brought benefits in terms of lower building material prices. This in turn has lowered construction costs.

"The good thing about this recession is interest rates are down, costs of raw materials are falling, and crude oil prices are down. When things are down, it will be a matter of time before they head back up. So we believe in spending now," Syed Yusof said.

He said Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur remains on track to meet its 2009 revenue of RM60 million.

"We saw a slight shortfall of 5 per cent in all our hotel properties against our revenue in 2008. But looking at the second quarter, things should improve and there are signs showing that," he added.

The 19-storey Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, formerly known as Merlin Hotel, on Jalan Sultan Ismail features 570 rooms with a strong domestic clientele.

Syed Yusof and his business partner Ong Beng Seng, founder of Singapore's Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), bought the property in 1990 and refurbished it for some RM100 million.

No major refurbishment has been carried out since then, Syed Yusof said, adding that the hotel spends three per cent of its annual revenue on maintenance.

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur's occupancy currently hovers around 80 per cent to 85 per cent, with an average room rate of RM250 per night which it expects to maintain throughout this year amid the renovations and economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, the Concorde hotel chain also has plans to refurbish the 14-year-old Concorde Inn Sepang for RM4 million in the second half of 2010.

"When we upgraded Casa del Mar in Langkawi and Concorde Hotel Shah Alam for RM10 million last year, sales shot up. We expect the same (results) from Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur and Concorde Inn Sepang," Syed Yusof said.

» RELATED STORIES

Hotel Properties plans to expand in Sabah
By Sharen Kaur
Published: 2009/07/07



Businessman Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir says the company sees opportunities to buy hotels and resorts in Sabah at a discount

Singapore-based Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) plans to expand its hotel portfolio in Sabah, with a view to snap up distressed hotels there.

Businessman Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir said the company sees opportunities to buy hotels and resorts in Sabah at a discount from their existing owners who have been hit by the current economic slowdown.

HPL, which is controlled by founder and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, manages Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Concorde Shah Alam, Concorde Inn Sepang, Casa Del Mar Langkawi and The Lakehouse in Cameron Highlands.

"There are always expansion plans within the HPL group. We will buy, if the price is right. By doing so, we will be creating new employment.

"In hospitality, it is sad to see hotels close or a big (number of) staff being laid off," Syed Yusof, who is a shareholder of HPL, told Business Times in an interview.

The company is looking to buy small properties such as boutique hotels as they offer gross operating profit (GOP) of over 40 per cent.

For instance, the GOP for Casa Del Mar and Concorde Kuala Lumpur were 45 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, higher than the 35 per cent for the remaining properties.

"I don't think we should miss the boat. (Sabah's) eco-tourism is booming. If we buy a property in Sabah and keep it unique, it should sell like hot cakes," Syed Yusof said.

HPL is also mulling to set up a Hard Rock Cafe in Kota Kinabalu and buy a resort in Sipadan Island.

"These plans are still preliminary. If we can manage the resort in Sipadan Island professionally, there will be good money," Syed Yusof said.

While the plans look good on paper, Syed Yusof is aware that hospitality is not an easy business to run and is vulnerable to terrorism, diseases and a recession.

"Malaysia will always be indirectly affected when the world is in crisis. Hospitality is a vulnerable business, with slow returns and huge capital. A lot of hard work is involved to keep the business afloat. It's not all that rosy as one may think it to be," he added.

Syed Yusof said the most important things in this business are dedication and cash flow to make it work.

"To succeed, one must also have good partners, management and staff. For instance, our partner, Ong, is internationally recognised and thus, we have no qualms about buying properties in good or bad market conditions," he said.

On why he has been staying in the business for over two decades, Syed Yusof said it was because of his passion for the industry.

Concorde Kuala Lumpur, formerly Merlin Hotel, on Jalan Sultan Ismail is Syed Yusof's first hotel venture in 1990, after halting from property development activities temporarily.

"Our partners (referring to Ong and Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor) are dedicated in tourism. Our group is ready to assist the Tourism Ministry in new developments for the sector," he said.

[nazrey]

baru nak facelift ...atau facelift sekali lagi!?

habis..bilerrr nak bina Four Seasons Place plak!?

[nazrey]

RM20mil renovation plan for hotel
Saturday July 25, 2009



Impressive backdrop: (From left) Syed Yusof with general manager Gary Lee.
The Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur is in the process of being upgraded.

THE tower wing of Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur is set for a new look with the announcement of a RM20mil renovation plan.

Hotel director Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir said the tower wing renovation would be carried out in three phases.

The first phase started on June 15 with the closure of five floors and an estimated RM5mil spent.

He said over the next two years, another RM15mil would be spent to complete the entire renovation of 363 Standard, Superior and Superior Executive rooms and support facilities such as the ballroom and Gallery meeting rooms.

The finished product will feature a comfortable room layout, exquisite carpet and wall coverings, spacious dressing area and bathroom with the latest shower offerings.

“The rooms are redesigned not only to satisfy the demands of the discerning but also to nurture and inspire the individual,” said Syed Yusof.

“We see this renovation as timely as we see the synergistic opportunity in the areas of material costs and labour,” he added.

[Jim856796]

Mods, please delete post. Thanks.

[Vrooms]

is this the hotel across the road from shangri-la?

[rizalhakim]

hard rock cafe

[patchay]

Spotted again some renovation??

[dengilo]

Second oldest hotel in KL after federal hotelI wonder if they solved the flooding problem?

[davidwsk]

In fact, they plan to demolish and rebuild a new Concorde...may be that's why taking them so long...

Proposed Concorde Hotel KL
( Feb 2012 )

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


http://duoedgedesignstudio.blogspot.com

[World 2 World]

wow nice.

[patchay]

roughly about 30 storeys.... anxiously waiting for this to come true...

[davidwsk]

Developers like to plant trees on building nowadays....what if the trees fell....haha

[patchay]

From the rendering it seems the location is different from the current one?

[davidwsk]

Yea...facing direction seems a bit weird...

but the location is right...