No More Admin Fee as Tune Hotels Celebrates Bintulu Opening

Special comfort package to give guests better value

BINTULU, 5 January 2011 – The pioneering limited-service hotel chain Tune Hotels is celebrating the opening of its latest property in Bintulu by permanently eliminating the administration fee for room reservations across all of its existing 12 hotels from today (5 January 2011).

“The New Year comes with good news for our guests as Tune Hotels is removing the RM10.90 admin fee across our entire chain for good. Guests now only pay for the room and opt for our special comfort package to enjoy greater savings. As we open more hotels we experience better economies of scale and become more cost efficient. We eventually found the admin fee no longer relevant and would like to pass on the savings to our guests,” said Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester.

Commenting on the Tune Hotel Bintulu opening, Lankester said: “Tune Hotel Bintulu is testimony to our commitment to Sarawak and we hope it will further promote and develop the state’s tourism and travel industry, in particular within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). The opening of Tune Hotel Bintulu will not only provide more convenience and comfort to tourists and holidaymakers to the ‘Gas Town’ but also those on business trips there. As we anticipate more corporate guests from the oil and gas industry, rooms at the Tune Hotel Bintulu are designed for longer stays and are slightly bigger that our other hotels.”

Strategically located in central Sarawak, Bintulu is connected by air to Kuala Lumpur, Kuching as well other towns. It sits on the massive Trans-Borneo highway trail that links Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, presenting enormous potentials for the tourism and travel industry. Bintulu is also an important access point to Bakun, Southeast Asia’s largest hydroelectric dam. The Similajau National Park, which is just 30 minutes away, offers nature lovers activities like jungle trekking, canopy walk and a wealth of flora and fauna. With various tribal ethnics inhibiting the Bintulu area like the Iban, Orang Ulu and Melanau, visitors will also discover a myriad of traditional and ancient cultures that are well preserved in the many villages and longhouses.

Opening its doors on 3 January 2011, the 101-room hotel is Tune Hotels’ second property in Sarawak, making it the only state other than Selangor to have more than one Tune Hotels. The first Tune Hotels in Sarawak opened at the Kuching Waterfront in 2009.

“We will be opening Tune Hotel Kota Bharu in Kelantan with 173 rooms, on 23 January 2011. Tune Hotels’ presence in Malaysia is now complete as we cover the central, northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the country,” added Lankester.

At hand to welcome the inaugural guests at Tune Hotel Bintulu was Tune Hotels General Manager of Marketing and Corporate Communications Karen Thong.

Thong said: “Tune Hotels is rolling out a special campaign to commemorate the admin fee removal. Our gift for guests in 2011 is better prices and making things simpler for consumers to experience the Tune Hotels hospitality. Guests can now enjoy a comfort package that includes 12-hour of air conditioning and towel rental for only RM15, with a further 20% saving for online booking. We always listen to our guests and strive to meet their needs and expectations whilst at the same maintain our limited-service model in order to give them better value for money.”

Tune Hotels previously charged RM5 for towel rental and RM13 for 12 hours of air conditioning.

The opening of Bintulu and Kota Bharu brings Tune Hotels’ number of operating properties in Malaysia to 9, and 12 globally. Tune Hotels’ existing hotels in Malaysia are located in Kuala Lumpur, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Kota Damansara, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu; Kuta and Legian in Bali, Indonesia and London, England.

For real-time updates and promotion updates, guests can stay connected with Tune Hotels via Facebook at www.facebook.com/tunehotels and on Twitter via www.twitter.com/tunehotels

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com