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SCMP Reporter

Luxury hotel group Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts is making a comeback in Hong Kong with a 10-year management contract for the only hotel to be constructed in the Cyber-Port.

Promoted as a high-technology hotel, it will be ready for occupancy by the end of next year.

The HK$350 million hotel, owned by the Government through The Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, will be managed by Le Meridien, which will receive a management fee.

The first batch of Cyber-Port tenants - more than 10 of the 39 approved applicants - will start moving into the offices of the HK$15.6 billion project next month, according to deputy secretary of the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau, Annie Tam Kam-lan.

Le Meridien Asia-Pacific managing director Michael Sagild said the completion of phases one and two of the Cyber-Port project would provide 'a critical mass for business'.

But being the only hotel in Cyber-Port does not guarantee business.

'The remoteness is not an obstacle if they have a reason to go there. The design and uniqueness of the hotel will drive a certain component of travellers,' he said.

The hotel aims to attain the Hong Kong industry average for occupancy rates but that will depend on how this year turns out.

Because of the location of the Cyber-Port, Mr Sagild said the hotel would try to achieve an occupancy rate of about 70 per cent, a target which should be attainable as the hotel has a relatively small number of rooms - just 176 in all.

To a significant degree, the convention and incentive market for the hotel would be driven by the success of Cyber-Port, he said.

The dotcom industry has been savaged since March 2000 and only the fittest companies survived.

'Today, the dotcom companies are doing better,' Mr Sagild said.

The hotel would not charge higher room rates than those of its competitors but would keep rates at five-star hotel levels, he said.

'It would be five-star rates in order for the executives to get on the bandwagon,' he said.

The hotel will consist of standard and Royal Club guest rooms, restaurants, a lobby lounge, a bar, 300 square metres of meeting and conference facilities, a fitness centre and an outdoor swimming pool.

New ideas are being introduced to make the hotel stand out.

Checking into a hotel without a reception may be possible and the Le Meridien@Cyberport - as the hotel is to be called - is yet to confirm that feature.

Mr Sagild said the main features of the hotel were its high-technology facilities, in keeping with its location.

However, the challenge will be to provide its guests with something better than they could design or pay for at home.

Directly connected to the CyberCentre, Le Meridien@Cyberport will be prominently located to act as a welcoming gate to Cyber-Port.

Mr Sagild pointed out that the ocean-facing hotel was being built along the lines of an 'Art and Tech' rooms concept.

This would fuse artistic settings with technology, and was designed to be in keeping with the overall concept and the name of the hotel.

Mr Sagild indicated the 'Art and Tech' concept would ensure it maximises space with the use of glass walls and partitions.

He also said wall-mounted plasma television screens were especially suitable for hotels in Hong Kong where hotel rooms, on the whole, tended to be smaller.

A hotel in Cumberland, in the north of England, costing GBP130 million (about HK$1.45 billion) will be the first 100 per cent Art and Tech hotel to be completed under Le Meridien's US$1.3 billion expansion plans.

The London-based group managed a couple of hotels in Hong Kong until 1994.

In July last year it underwent a change of ownership, being acquired by Nomura International from the Compass Group for GBP1.9 billion.

At the same time it merged with Principal Hotels, an earlier Nomura acquisition.

The group has 144 hotels with 38,631 rooms in 57 countries.



Cyber stop out to offer unique experience for visitors to SAR