Financial Times

Mum’s the word on the ‘name’
John Keells launches new brand of hotels
It’s more a coincidence than pitching it for the two major trade fairs.
When the Cinnamon Brand of hotels under John Keells Holdings (JKH) was ready to be launched, it so happened that the World Travel Mart in London was taking place at the same time and so the directors decided to launch it there.

For its second brand of hotels in the 3-4 star range – mostly the resort hotels in the JKH chain, the group is similarly launching it at the ITB 2006 travel fair in Berlin on March 8. The Berlin fair is global tourism’s biggest industrial event.
“It was not planned to launch it there. It was more a coincidence,” noted Jayantissa Kehelpannala, Executive Vice President of the Leisure Sector of John Keells Holdings. But come what may, he refuses to divulge the name of the new brand. “Sorry, I can’t tell you. We want to unveil it in Berlin,” he smiles to a persistent Sunday Times reporter, trying to get a good peg for his story. “Sorry,” he says again, as the reporter comes back to the same question in a round-about-way.

“All I can tell you is that it has a kind of ethnic identity and relates to many things we know,” he said, trying not to give much away. Not much to go by anyway!

The new brand will differentiate itself by strongly highlighting the ‘individuality’ of each of its hotels and showcasing and packaging the varied ‘experiences’ these different venues and properties provide. “We are looking at providing a range of ‘off-the-beaten’ activities in this brand. For example staying in one of these hotels could include a visit to a village to meet the people, learn the culture, etc. It all depends on the location,” he said.

The role out plan is to brand The Village Habarana (re-developed at a cost of Rs 250 million), The Citadel Kandy and Yala Village in Sri Lanka and the Hakuraa Club in the Maldives (in which $3.2 million was spent on rebuilding it after the tsunami) before the end of 2006. The rest of the portfolio would be branded once the required investments are made.

Other hotels that would come into the segment later are the 100-room Hotel Bayroo, Club Oceanic in Trincomalee and Coral Gardens, Hikkaduwa. The company has also signed an MoU acquiring another Maldivian property with a 3-4 star status.

“Our 3 to 4 star properties have rich cultural or natural settings and some unique product attributes. After an in-depth study of their individual merits, we are convinced that bringing them under a common denominator of service quality while showcasing the uniqueness of each hotel would create ideal holiday experiences for each clientele. The new brand is entirely homegrown and has been conceptualized with an ear to the ground,” Kehelpannala said, separately, in a statement.

He said the brand team has benefited significantly from knowledge transfer from working with international consultants during the group’s first branding initiative. This has enabled the team to combine best practices with local strengths to create the ideal ‘home brand.’

The statement said the creation of multiple brands of John Keells is a strategic move based on the identification of distinct segments of the tourist market, as Sri Lanka grows as a destination.

The new brand will extend the overall profile of the group’s portfolio, while consolidating its position as the largest hotelier in Sri Lanka in terms of inventory. A multi-franchise strategy aimed at different market segments will also present the group with greater opportunity to enter other regional destinations, it said.

On the prospects for tourism this year, Kehelpannala said February was a much better month that expected while March is also looking good. ‘The summer season (July-October) also looks promising,” he said, adding that the industry was hoping for a brighter 2006 than the tsunami-affected 2005.

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