The Kingsbury rises above price undercutting
In the wake of a number of city and resort hotels left hurt by price undercutting, The Kingsbury has been able to pull through without engaging in a price war, a senior official said on Monday.
At The Kingsbury, Hayleys Leisure Managing Director Lalin Samarawickrama speaking with the Business Times said the room rates were not discounted. “We are not into discounting (because) we want to maintain the highest possible average room rate,” he said adding that this brings in the revenue to the hotel even more than the Food and Beverage sector.He noted that currently there is a price war and undercutting was being carried out by hotels but “we try to maintain the best of standards,” and do not necessarily give the rooms cheap.
Commenting on the accusations of high room rate costs in Colombo, Mr. Samarawickrama explained “we may be high because we can’t sell on volume.” The current average minimum room rate in Colombo is US$149. He noted that the service in hospitality provided in Sri Lanka compared to that found in Malaysia and Thailand is different.
Sri Lanka being expensive has always come up, he asserted, adding that however, the recession in Europe has caused a hit on the rates as a result of which the rates were reduced by at least 20-25 per cent allowing for a “decent playing field.”Asked why star hotels didn’t have good occupancies in the past few years especially during the season though figures continue to rise, he explained that as a country there is a need to promote Sri Lanka.
He complained that Sri Lanka has continuously in the recent past ignored most of its traditional markets and have concentrated on the emerging markets. In this respect, the MD pointed out that it was the lack of promotions that resulted in the dwindling of financial results. As a result all hotels have been out to grab any traveller coming to Sri Lanka.
Mr. Samarawickrama also observed that Sri Lanka has not made a concerted effort at the country level to participate at travel industry fairs. In addition, he said the country needs to package itself as a destination and promote the country which has been one of the key areas Sri Lanka Tourism has fallen short in attracting the right tourists to the island.