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Le Meridien still waiting for wired complex to 'come alive'

Despite reporting its first-ever profit distribution yesterday, the PCCW-led Cyberport development is still struggling to attract visitors to its luxury hotel.

Three months after it opened its doors,  the Pokfulam Le Meridien-Cyberport Hotel is  posting disappointing  occupancy rates, with  sources saying it  is often less than  10 per cent full.

General manager Dean Schreiber said the situation was improving, pointing out that the hotel rented  39 rooms  on Sunday night, or about 80 per cent of the  available space.

Le Meridien, with daily rates between $1,250 and $1,750 for a standard room and up to $9,800 for its most luxurious bayside suite, has 176 rooms, but most are incomplete.

'You are not going to get 100 per cent occupancy in the first year,' Mr Schreiber said. 'With arcades opening and two big corporate tenants moving in by October, that is when Cyberport will come alive.'

Cyberport, launched after the  government gave a 26-hectare parcel of land to Richard Li Tzai-kai's Pacific Century Group in 1999, is a residential and office complex valued at $15.6 billion.

The  government receives 64.5 per cent  of the profit derived from the residential portion of the project and owns the commercial  portion, including the hotel, outright.

Two years ago, the government granted Le Meridien, a London-based luxury hotel group, a 10-year contract to manage Cyberport's hospitality services.

The  poor occupancy performance at the hotel this year means the government is likely to post a loss on this portion of its Cyberport holdings,  as revenues will not cover  operating costs.

The Cyberport commercial building has also failed to attract as many customers as planned. It has 29 office tenants using about 41 per cent  of the office space available.

Acting Financial Secretary Frederick Ma Si-hang yesterday said he was not aware of Le Meridien's low occupancy rates but was satisfied with Cyberport's overall performance.

'Cyberport delivers important infrastructure in support of the government's commitment to drive the development of information technology,' said Mr Ma, who was a former chief financial officer of PCCW before going to work for the government.

'This is crucial to sustaining our position as a leading digital city in the region,' he said, noting that many Cyberport tenants were companies new to Hong Kong.

'The occupancy rates of Cyberport 1 and 2 are 71 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively; and leasing of Cyberport 3 is well in hand,' he said.

One government official likened Cyberport to the London financial district Canary Wharf, which took several years to achieve the occupancy rate it enjoys today.



Cyberport's weak link: empty hotel