Malaysia’s Tourism Growing at 10% Says a Leading Business Hotel in Kuala Lumpur – DoubleTree by Hilton

Interview with Ian Barrow, General Manager of Double Tree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

What role does tourism play in Malaysia?

I think that for Malaysia, tourism is very important. We have seen tourism grow continuously for many years and the government has been very focused on developing tourism. This year alone, from January until July, I think we have seen 16 million arrivals, which is a growth of about 10% from last year. It has been growing continuously and it is very important as a developing nation to have a healthy tourism sector. I think the government has been very active in this sense, and we can see that in the hotels and the facilities that are available throughout Malaysia and especially in Kuala Lumpur. So the quick answer is that it is very important.

Did the industry witness further growth in 2013 and 2014? What is the outlook for 2015?

Yes, as I said we have seen that growth this year, so far there has been considerable growth which is consistent with what we have seen previously and I think that expectations are to see continued growth. We have seen about 10% growth for the first part of this year, and whether it’s those figures or not I think we will continue to see growth for the next couple of years, in all segments. Overall, arrivals into Malaysia have been very strong year on year.

Has there been a recent slow down because of what has happened?

At this stage, the statistics seem to show that business has still been coming in.

Overall, in terms of our business, we have seen growth. I think that there are always fluctuations in the market but I think that overall there has been some growth. Obviously with the recent tragedies there has been a definite impact on certain markets. I think the business market and the meetings market really continue despite this. Travellers in general are still coming in but it has had a significant impact particularly with Malaysian Airlines.

What makes Malaysia prone to becoming the next leading business destination in the region?

I think that Malaysia is an ideal location; from a business perspective, it is connected very well and it is very easy to get in. I think that there is quite a lot of support for business here; the government is very proactive to help businesses coming in.

For us in the hotel sector, where we see corporate travellers coming in, we can see that there is growth in different sectors; obviously oil and gas is a very important sector and there is growth in the banking sector. Also, from a business meeting perspective, this is also a very good location. Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur offer a lot of opportunities for people who come here to meet and to do business. It is very easy and accessible, language is obviously a big factor and this is a safe environment, on top of which this is a very beautiful environment.

How would you assess the MICE tourism in Kuala Lumpur?

Well I think MICE has been a focus for the government for quite some time.

There are different teams within the government that are very focused on bringing events into Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. We have also seen Malaysia ranked in the top 5 of convention cities in Asia Pacific. That is because of the infrastructure that is here, the connectivity, the services, etc. It is an ideal location. On top of that you have Malaysia’s culture and the beautiful landscape so from a MICE perspective it is an ideal location; you can do business and you have the ability to afterwards have some breaks to go and see some stunning sights throughout Malaysia and enjoy the food which we are very famous for. It really is an ideal place to do business and for MICE specifically. I think this is reflected in all of the rankings where we continue to be in the top 5, particularly in terms of being the most competitive city for conventions.

How does Double Tree by Hilton cater for MICE tourism in the city?

I think that we are an ideal location; when it comes to travelling into Kuala Lumpur location is obviously important. The area around where we are and the convention centre we are located near to mean that accessibility in and out of the city is a great advantage for us. We have a LRT link, so you can go completely undercover via a walkway to connect to the LRT. That then gives you the ability to move all throughout Kuala Lumpur. We have excellent meeting facilities here, which are very popular and cover about 20,000 square feet. We do a lot of regional events and conferences etc.

Double Tree as a brand is very focused on the care culture; it is a big part of what we do with all of our team in terms of the way that we focus on our service. Our cookie is obviously the signature welcome for our guests. There are many different elements that I think make Double Tree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur an ideal location for meetings and for business.

We have a unique restaurant called Makan kitchen, which really showcases the vast Malaysian food experience available here. We have an ideal venue where people can come and do business and then enjoy some of the tastes of Malaysia.

We are very proud of the facilities and services that we offer.

Can you also tell us about the other facilities you offer?

We have a total of five different food and beverage outlets. Our showcase is Makan Kitchen. It is a unique outlet. We have the availability to provide the main Malaysian foods and we provide an interactive kitchen so that the food is prepared and cooked in front of you. We have a total of three main areas: Chinese, Indian and Malay sections all separately and we also bring in some other flavours such as Portuguese flavours and also nyonya cuisine which is synonymous with Malaysia and is a mixture of Chinese and Malay influences. I think we have a great showcase in Makan Kitchen.

On top of that we have Tosca, which is an award winning restaurant by the pool-side.

We have Cellar Door where we offer a gastro-pub experience with food and a great range of beers and wines. We also have The Food Store and Axis Lounge. Thus we offer quite a variety. We have travellers from all over the world come and stay with us, it is really quite a diverse clientele and so I think we offer something for everyone.

Singapore was the biggest contributor to Malaysia´s tourism arrivals; is there any other specific segment of the market that Malaysia or you yourselves are trying to attract?

Malaysia is a very important hub in Asia Pacific. We do a lot of regional conferences and so we have business coming from Singapore and from the major countries within Asia Pacific. We do get quite a lot of business out of China, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. There is also a lot of international travel and I think that is where Malaysia has been very successful in putting itself on the map for business meetings, events and MICE tourism.

It really is quite diverse. We obviously have a very strong following being part of the Hilton worldwide family with Hilton knowledge. Double Tree by Hilton is a brand that people recognise. We therefore get quite a broad cross section of people from Asia but also people from throughout the world.

You mentioned some of the facilities in the hotel, could you tell us, what is your current position within the market?

The hotel is located very much in the heart of the business area. Most of our business is within a 2km radius. We get a lot of oil and gas and finance business. I think that one of the things that make us unique in this market apart from what we offer in the hotel and the unique restaurants is that that we are part of the Intermark. The Intermark is an integrated development with two office towers and retail space. As a traveller when you are going overseas for business and you have meetings, sometimes moving around and going places is a bit challenging but we offer a full variety of facilities within the Intermark. Apart from the hotel there are even more restaurants and food stores and supermarkets. To that extent it is a very easy place to come and do business, but it is also very easy to go out and explore especially if you use the LRT to connect to go to the airport to go to any of the domestic locations for example the beaches or the islands. Thus we are a very comfortable place to be based whether you are here for business or for leisure.

Can you mention one of your key differentiating factors, the cookie care culture?

As I mentioned before, at Double Tree by Hilton we have a care culture, which is the foundation of our philosophy regarding the way we look after our guests. It is really about creating a rewarding experience for guests. It is the little things that make the difference. Part of that starts when you first arrive; every guest that arrives at the hotel receives a warm double choc chip cookie. It is fantastic, no matter where that traveller is from, and I think that cookies are probably more synonymous with American culture, but no matter where they are from, we provide that cookie as a welcome. Almost invariably it puts a big smile on their face. We have many people that have come to stay in the hotel not knowing about the cookie, stay here, enjoy it and write about it on Trip Advisor saying what a great welcome it was after a long trip. For us, it is a symbol and a way to welcome our guests. It is also the start of our commitment to look after them and to provide them with that rewarding experience.

Has the hotel recently received any particular awards that you would like to mention?

This year we are particularly proud to have won two major awards: excellence in MICE experience and hotel experience. Both of those awards are voted for by the Malaysian public comparing different locations and hotels. The MICE experience is very important to us.
We have an ideal location and we have excellent facilities available so we are very proud of these awards.

We have also received certificates of excellence from Trip Advisor for both the hotel and the restaurant. We are very proud of the team and of all their hard work to provide the service that is expected from travellers all over the world.

What is your personal vision for the hotel? Can you tell us a bit about your own background and your plans for the hotel under your leadership?

I have been very fortunate. I came here to open the hotel so I have been here for five years really creating the beginning of the hotel experience here. I have worked in Asia for the last twenty years and I think that Double Tree by Hilton is a very special brand for me. I think we have really excited the team with the cookie care philosophy. My belief is about supporting the team to provide that experience for the guests. Malaysians are generally very warm hearted and generous so it is not just that they are naturally service orientated but it is really about supporting them so that they can do their jobs and look after the guests, which is what they really want to do.
I think that the Intermark facilities that we provide also allow us to offer the guests enough facilities for them to feel really comfortable. For me it is really about engaging the team and ensuring that the guests enjoy their experience. It has been a joy to be here for the last five years and I hope to be here many more.

Could you tell us more about your meeting facilities for business conferences?

We have over 20,000 square feet of space. We have a grand ballroom, which is where we have held quite a lot of large regional conference events. We also have a range of twelve different banquet rooms of different sizes many with natural light. Also, everything is on one level, so everyone has the ability to move around from room to room very easily. You can also walk around the pool area so it is a very nice environment when you come out of the meeting rooms for a break from the stress that business meetings can invariably bring. The restaurants are also able to cater to that floor and the floor above.

It has worked particularly well for the large events. We have a business centre that has all of the facilities that you require for a successful meeting such as audio-visual facilities, wireless internet connection and a comfortable environment.

Additionally I think the other important aspect to our business facilities is the fact that we are part of the Hilton worldwide system. We obviously have a lot of support from Hilton Honours, which is the number one loyalty program. On top of that there are many other things that we have focused on such as our carbon offset program, which Hilton worldwide has introduced in South East Asia. I think this is great for the people doing business that want to make a difference, because we have the ability to make an offset against the carbon that they have expended during their meeting here. That has been really well received by some of the large international corporate companies that come in. We are very focused on the meetings business and we do a lot of work with PCOs etc. in terms of making sure that the facilities are there and also talking about all of the different attributes that they require, to really look at continually enhancing the product throughout. So those are some of the factors regarding the meetings business, which I think we are ideally suited for.

Would you consider yourself as the best business hotel in Kuala Lumpur?

I think that whenever you come to talk about what is the best, I always believe it is up to the person that is critiquing. We are very proud to have an excellence award for MICE experience here in Malaysia and I think that we provide an ideal environment for that. We have some of the largest top 500 companies come in and hold their events here. I think that is proof that we are an ideal place to be based to have that meeting experience.

What have been some of the greatest milestones for you?

There are different things that the team has achieved. We are very proud of some of the large events and VIPs that have come through here. The team delivers the same service every day but it is great to see the feedback afterwards when you have large events and very important corporate business travellers come here. The nicest part of being general manager is being called and told that the caller has travelled all over the world but that the best stay they have ever had, was in this hotel. We get those comments time and time again. So I don’t have particular milestones in terms of building this and winning that; our milestones are the endorsements for what the team does every single day.

Can you tell us a bit more about the environment that this hotel is set in?

The Double Tree by Hilton is part of an integrated facility called the Intermark, and that provides two office towers, a large retail space and the hotel. So, particularly for people that are travelling for business and meetings, they have the ability to undertake their business, stay in the hotel, hold meetings, but also to then go out and enjoy the availability of the best international supermarket in the area on the ground floor, the food courts, the range of different restaurants as well as the other different important facilities like newsagents, pharmacies, and ATMs etc. Particularly for corporate travellers who have very tight timeframes, they can undertake their business and then still go away and get some of their other chores or tasks done before they move on to their next destination. We get a lot of comments about that. Also for people that are coming for long stays, for a month or more, they can come here and if they want to go out they can but if they don’t want to they have enough facilities in the integrated Intermark for them to have a great experience.

Can you tell us a bit about the night entertainment on offer?

Within the hotel experience we have the Cellar Door which is our gastro-pub that provides fantastic food. The team really works hard to provide comfort food for people all over the world as well as great beers and wines. In Axis Lounge we have live entertainment, so you can sit in a comfortable, relaxed environment and watch the band.

In the whole Intermark retail space there are two more bars as well as Providence which is one of Kuala Lumpur’s top nightclubs.

There really is quite a lot of variety of places for the evening and if you do want to go out it is very easy to take a taxi or the LRT to another destination in Kuala Lumpur.

Is there anything that you would like to add?

We are very proud of the team at Double Tree by Hilton and we have won an array of awards over the years since we opened in 2010. We really enjoy looking after travellers from all over the world and our cookie icon is really warmly received. The only thing to say is that we invite everyone to come and enjoy the experience and enjoy the cookie.