LE Meridien Tower, the group’s first Art+Tech property in Kuwait, has already hit occupancy levels of more than 80 per cent in its “soft opening” period, and immediately after its official opening on November 30.
Hannes Yaghi, general manager of Le Meridien hotels and resorts in Kuwait, confirmed that the Kuwait market was able to sustain the new hotel product at healthy revenues. “We are delighted with the market response so far: our occupancy rates have registered 80 per cent with a revpar (revenue per average room) of KD65 during the soft opening period,” he said.
Yaghi said that the introduction of Art+Tech rooms in cities such as London had served to raise average room yields as customers chose to pay more for the new look rooms. In addition, he stated that Le Meridien had the freedom to charge these value-added rates as the group’s properties exist outside the assumed five-star pricing structure in the country.
“By giving the Kuwait market the essentials that international travellers require, such as an adjustable bed featuring exquisite linens and duvets, free-standing shower unit with body jets, and a 32-inch interactive LCD plasma television screen plus high-speed ISDN and modem connections, we can charge an appropriate value-added rate.”
The opening of Le Meridien Tower is part of a period of rapid, yet strategic, growth for the upscale hotel group in Kuwait. Future projects include Le Meridien Residence in Salmiya which is to be launched next monthn February 2005, followed by Le Meridien Bellevue in mid-2005 and then the opening of Le Meridien Mubarakia in the first quarter of 2006.