Oh no, I hear you say, not another new hotel in the city that never seems to run out of new hotels.

No, no, this one is not new, like totally new. It's old made new. And it has a new name.

Yes, the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur was officially launched on December 6 at an "intimate" affair attended by a handful of media and a gathering of select guests.

The re-branding of the hotel, once known as the Hilton when it first opened more than 30 years ago, comes after a RM93 million refurbishment of its 565 rooms and facilities.

It is clear that the hotel's owners, Tradewinds, has high expectations of the re-branding. Chairman Datuk Seri Megat Najmuddin Khas spoke of the glory days of the early 70s when the hotel was the icon of Kuala Lumpur.

"I was here when the hotel opened in 1972, it was the number one hotel in Kuala Lumpur and it became the meeting point of the city," he recalled with nostalgia.

Over the years, he admitted, it lost its positioning "and now we want to bring back the glory days and that's why we are partnering with the best company known for its world class service standards".

It is clear that by placing the Crowne Plaza brand on the hotel – its first in Malaysia – InterContinental Hotels Group has its sights firmly focused on making the hotel a different kind of meeting point.

Billing itself as "the place to meet" with Philip Riley, regional general manager of Malaysia & Vietnam using the tagline at least a dozen times in his presentation and interviews with the media, the hotel wants to capture a slice of the growing meetings market in Malaysia.

Its weapon – Crowne Plaza's Meeting Success products and services which include a Meetings Director, a two-hour response to all meeting enquiries and other services tailored for the meetings market.

It is also banking on its location and the opening of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre as impetus for growth.

Riley said the Crowne Plaza brand has always led the market in the meetings business, wherever it operates. He cited Beijing, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne as cities where Crowne Plaza had made its mark as a meetings brand.

Riley, who worked at the hotel as a young front office manager when it was the Hilton 21 years ago, said Kuala Lumpur, as a city, had matured tremendously. "I find it a lovely balance between Jakarta and Singapore. It has the efficiency of Singapore and the contrasts of old and new," he said.

Bruce Ryde, area director of sales & marketing, Malaysia & Vietnam, said the timing was right for Crowne Plaza to enter Kuala Lumpur. After years of oversupply, lagging demand and poor room yields, he believes the city is ripe for a turnaround.

"The market is on the up," says the Australian, who was transferred from Sydney three months ago. "The market is improving quite strongly. The KLCC is also key to that and our brand, which revolves around the meetings product, fits particularly well with the centre.

"We have a whole series of brand keys that revolve around the meetings product."

Ryde said he would work with the KLCC as well as with corporate clients. "Our location will stand us in good stead and the brand enhancements will make us an attractive proposition."

Being the first in Malaysia, the Crowne Plaza Mutiara will be a brand defining hotel as the brand expands in Asia/Pacific. It will grow from 34 to more than 40 next year.

On the photo above:
Tradewinds' chairman Datuk Megat (second from left) and Philip Riley, area general manager, Malaysia and Vietnam, Crowne Plaza (second from right), unveiling the new brand.


The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.
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