Tune Hotels eyes UK, Asia Pacific, Middle East additions
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Tune Hotels is plotting an expansion throughout the UK, Asia Pacific and Middle East as part of its global plans.
Speaking to Travel Daily on Friday, Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels revealed the company will opened a hotel in Edinburgh this December, with locations in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Leeds also under consideration. Tune opened its fourth hotel in London today but has previously announced it wants 10-15 hotels in London.
In other markets, Tune has signed an agreement to develop 30 hotels in India. The first of these will open in Ahmedabad in the first quarter of 2013, with further Tunes planned for destinations including Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi and Trivandrum.
“We play at the base of the pyramid, addressing the needs of the larger market,” Lankester said. “Don’t be fooled by the stories of Indian airlines going bust; there are some really strong low-cost airlines expanding in India. Corporate business is expected to be the key, and we will cater to domestic and regional business travellers. The friends and family market is also an important, as are uni students. Indians are very price sensitive”.
The brand will also roll out in Australia, with a 250-room hotel currently under construction at Sydney airport and a 235-room in Melbourne city centre and discussions over one in Perth.
The CEO also revealed that Tune’s first Bangkok property, which will be located on the Thai capital’s Sukhumvit Soi 14, is likely to open earlier than expected on 14 September this year.
“Hat Yai was a great entry point for us, due to the strong traffic from Malaysia. But as we understand the needs of Thai domestic travellers more, we become braver,” he said. Lankester added that developing properties in Thailand’s regional hubs such as Chiang Mai, Khon, Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima and Udon Thani “makes an awful lot of sense”, and that Tune could also “do another six or seven hotels in Bangkok”.
In the Middle East meanwhile, Tune has signed a joint venture agreement in Qatar, and is planning to roll-out the Tune brand in Doha, as well as locations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. “Now is the time to be more aggressive,” Lankester said.
