I-Bhd chooses Hilton to operate RM250mil hotel

I-Bhd has appointed leading hospitality expert Hilton Worldwide Manage Ltd to operate its upcoming RM250mil four-star hotel, the 300-room DoubleTree by Hilton.

DoubleTree by Hilton is expected to open in 2018 and will be the second of three hotels to be included in i-City’s RM3bil investment plan to boost the reputation of the development as a formidable business-cum-leisure hub in the western corridor of Greater Kuala Lumpur.

The other two hotels are Best Western i-City Hotel that is already opened and a five-star hotel will be coming up after the Hilton.

This latest agreement inked by its wholly-owned subsidiary, City Centrepoint Sdn Bhd (CCSB), was pursuant to an earlier agreement signed between Hilton and i-City in terms of development services for DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.

“The agreement with Hilton Worldwide will enable i-City to leverage on its expertise in providing hotel development and management services.

“This is because Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels,” said I-Bhd in a statement yesterday. The RM3bil tourism destination master plan comprises three hotels, a million sq ft regional shopping mall, a theme park, a performing arts cum convention centre and a medical tourism hub.

According to a previous news report, the three hotels will be part of the group’s RM1bil investment property portfolio that I-Bhd was establishing to provide a recurring income stream for the group apart from enhancing the value of properties there.

The investment property portfolio comprises a 1.5 million sq ft regional shopping mall called the CentralPlaza@i-City, three hotels, 8,000 car parking lots and data centres, among others. By 2018, half of I-Bhd’s revenue would be derived from its recurring income segments, namely investment properties and leisure park business, said I-Bhd deputy chairman Datuk Eu Hong Chew in an earlier news report.

Besides recurring income, I-Bhd also targeted to sustain double-digit sales growth to nudge it towards RM500mil in annual revenue in three years, mainly from property development.

I-Bhd had raised RM800mil late last year to fund projects for the next five years. It is confident that all of its properties in i-City would be sold by 2020. As of June, the group had invested RM70mil in its Leisure Park @i-City, which draws about 90,000 visitors per week, and it plans to invest up to RM100mil more by 2018. - By The Star