Two Mutiara hotels rebranded

BY LEOW WEE JONN

Arena Target Bhd, a subsidiary of Tradewinds Corp Bhd - formerly Pernas International Holdings Bhd - has appointed Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) to manage two of its hotels. 

The appointment will involve the rebranding of two of Arena Target’s hotels, Mutiara Kuala Lumpur and the Mutiara Beach Resort in Penang, over the next few months, Tradewinds group chief executive officer Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid said. 

Mutiara Kuala Lumpur will be known as Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur and Mutiara Beach Resort as InterContinental Resort Penang. 

“This partnership will enable us to leverage on IHG’s global infrastructure, expertise and extensive network to add value to our properties,” he said before the signing of the management agreement between Arena Target chief executive officer Amir Abdul Rahman and IHG Asia Pacific managing director Patrick Imbardelli in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. 

British-based IHG has over 3,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries and is one of the fastest growing hotel brands in Asia Pacific. 

However, Arena Target has no plans to rebrand its other hotels for now and would still maintain the Mutiara brand for the other hotels under its umbrella, Redza told a press conference after the signing ceremony.  

Amir Abdul Rahman exchanging documents with Patrick Imbardelli after the signing ceremony. With them are (from left) Arena Target chairman Abdul Jaabar Abdul Majid, Tradewinds chairman Datuk Seri Megat Najmuddin Khas and Mohd Redza Abdul Wahid.

The company owns 10 hotels and resorts nationwide. 

On why Arena Target is rebranding again after two years, Redza said this move would enable the company to reposition its Mutiara brand.  

“We have found our niche market, which is the mid-upscale market. This is where our strength lies and we will target that market.  

“The Mutiara brand will still be around,” he added. 

Redza also said the partnership with IHG would still provide the management training to the locals and would not involve major changes in the management and staff. 

Amir said Malaysia registered about eight million tourists in the first six months alone and was on target to hitting 13 million by year-end.  

“Our hotel group has achieved an average occupancy rate of 61.2% in the first seven months, which is close to our target of 62%. We are confident of achieving our target by year-end,” he said. 

Redza said Tradewinds, which is undergoing a restructuring exercise, is planning to shift its concentration from debt reduction to business improvement. 

“We want to focus on improving our businesses so that they create better yields for us,” he said. 

Tradewinds expects to reduce its existing RM1.8bil debt by another RM100mil-RM200mil by year-end. 

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