The Tune Hotels low cost hotel chain marks their London Launch with £35 rooms.
The Malaysian hospitality group is aiming to revolutionise the European hotel market by applying Ryanair-style pricing to rooms, including charging for everything from towels to room cleaning.
Tune Hotels is set to open its first UK hotel in Central London at then end of this month. It will offer standard rooms with ensuite at £35 a night. It plans to generate the bulk of its revenue from supplementary charges. Towels will cost £1 a throw, room cleaning £7.50 (or you can do it yourself), luggage storage £2 and using a hair dryer £2.
Following the opening of the Westminster Bridge Road hotel on August 30, there are plans to roll out a further 15 hotels across the capital by 2017. This will create an additional 1,500 rooms and represent a £150million investment in the London’s hospitality sector.
The company’s chief executive Mark Lankester said: “It’s all about choice. We say consumers should assemble the experience as they see fit.
“We aim to provide whatever suits the customer in terms of timing, price and the comfort people require.
“If you want to stay in a five-star hotel there are plenty of them in London. But if you are worried about price then we are going to be relevant.”
The hotel chain’s founder Tony Fernandes is also behind budget, long-haul airline AirAsia as well as a string of budget hotels in Malaysia and Indonesia, which offer rooms for as little as £2 a night.
Lankester added: “While London’s global reputation as a leisure and business destination will be enhanced by the Olympic Games in 2012, sterling’s current weakness works in London’s favour in attracting overseas visitors and spend.”
“And in times of continuing economic uncertainty, superior value for money remains key.”
“Our limited service concept encourages guests to spend less within the hotel itself, driving more spend outside the hotel, within the local business community.”
Lankester expects half his London hotel’s visitors will be British, with the remainder being European and Malaysian.
The basic concept of Tune Hotels is that they offer 5 star beds at 1 star prices.
The Tune beds feature high quality spring mattress beds with pillows, pillowcases, bed sheets and 250-thread count duvets, custom-made by bedmakers who supply 5-star hotels – the basis of their promise for a 5-star bed.
Each of their rooms feature ensuite (attached) private bathrooms with high-pressure, heated Power Showers. So even though you’re paying minimal room rates, you’re still enjoying premium showers in maximum privacy.
All Tune Hotels.com hotels are strategically located close to major shopping, sightseeing and business destinations. Nearby each hotel, you’ll find established convenience store operators and food & beverage outlets to give you reliable facilities within easy reach.
They provide housekeeping services to ensure you have a clean and pleasant stay.
Through their affordable pay-as-you-use system of add-ons for energy-consuming facilities and amenities, they try to help you conserve both your funds as well as the earth’s resources.
The hotels use electronic key card access into rooms, CCTV cameras, round-the-clock on duty reception staff and no access to the main lobby without a keycard past midnight.
Tune Hotels in concerned about energy consumption and the environment and therefore rewards you depending on how much or how little electricity and energy you use. If you spend most of your day out of your room, you are charged accordingly. You are able to reuse your towels and bedding and save water in the cleaning process. All lighting is controlled by your rooms keycard to optimal light usage is upheld.
For more information, simply visit Tune Hotels.com.
Source: Tune Hotels
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