Tourists like the historical attraction of boutique heritage hotels

Unique feature: The facade of China Tiger Studio Apartment. Wilkinson says the apartments enjoy good response from visitors from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Scandinavia and Europe.

Boutique heritage hotels in Penang are expected to see occupancy rates of around 70% this year, compared to approximately 66% a year ago, riding on overseas arrivals.

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang Chapter vice-chairman Andy Fong said that this would be the best year for occupancy rates in boutique heritage hotels, since the trend of providing high-end lodging in prime heritage properties located in George Town took off five years ago. “Since 2008, the occupancy rate has increased gradually from 50% yearly,” he said.

Fong said an increase could be expected as more mid- to high-end travellers worldwide are now more aware of George Town’s World Heritage Site status (WHS) awarded by Unesco in 2008.

The increase in more direct flights to Penang from the Asean and the Asia Pacific regions also helps to boost the tourist arrivals for the boutique heritage hotels business in George Town, Fong added.

There are presently about 17 boutique heritage hotels, with fewer than 50 rooms, priced from RM400 per night to RM2,000 per night, in George Town.

Fong, who is also the general manager of 23 Love Lane, a boutique heritage hotel, said the guests are predominantly from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia the UK, the US, and France. “Overseas visitors comprise 70% of guests in boutique heritage hotels, while the remainder are domestic travellers,” he said.

Clean sheets: 23 Lovelane Penang boutique heritage hotel housekeeper Yee Chew Yet preparing a room.

Fong said what attracts foreign visitors to boutique heritage hotels in inner George Town is the way the projects are being restored for adaptive commercial use. “The intricacies of restoration work and the antique furniture used determine the pricing of the rooms per night.

“Our guests are interested in the details of the restoration and do not mind the rates, which are still very competitive compared to a similar range of hotels in the region. “The furniture for 23 Love Lane, Penang, for example, comes from the 19th century Straits Settlement period,” he said.  

No. 23 Love Lane, comprising 10 rooms with built-up areas of 500sq ft to 3,000sq ft, sells its rooms from RM500 per night to RM2,800 per night.

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in South-East Asia, established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, which came under direct British control as a crown colony on April 1, 1867.  The colony was dissolved in 1946 as part of the British reorganisation of its South-East Asian dependencies following the end of the Second World War. The Straits Settlements consisted of the four individual settlements of Malacca, Dinding, Penang, and Singapore.

Penang Global Tourism director Ooi Geok Lin said the total number of tourists who spent at least a night in Penang in 2012 totalled about 6.09 million, a slight increase of 1.22% from 6.02 million in 2011, according to Tourism Malaysia statistics.

Award-winning hotel: The exterior view of Macalister Mansion at Macalister Road.

“The figure is expected to rise by 5% this year. “About 2.99 million of the arrivals for last year’s figure comprised domestic visitors, while the remaining 3.096 million were foreign visitors,” Ooi said.  

Hotel Penaga on Hutton Lane, which is owned by Pelindung Dahan Sdn Bhd, is also experiencing higher occupancy rates since the beginning of this year. Pelindung Dahan director Angela Hijjas said so far this year, the monthly occupancy rate of the 45-room boutique  heritage hotel had doubled, compared to the same period a year ago.

“Some 30% of our guests are local visitors. “To enable our guests to enjoy and understand more about the unique local culture, we run an artist residency programme for artists to socialise with hotel guests in the studio a few evenings a week, for which the hotel provides refreshments.

“Original artwork from the region is hung in all the rooms and public spaces, as well as a collection of Chinese embroideries, carvings, maps and paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  We find many of our guests are interested to meet artists who work in Penang, to share experiences and gain insight into the city,” she said. Hijjas said about RM10mil was spent to renovate the 15 heritage properties into a boutique heritage hotel.

That the  local boutique heritage hotel industry is gaining international recognition and attention is evident in Macalister Mansion winning the coveted gold award for best luxury hotel design given by the Annual Hospitality, Design, Furniture Luxurious Projects Asia Summit & Awards 2013.

Looking good: The Super 8 hotel at Tye Sin Street.

“We won the award recently in March for the hotel’s unique location and specially commissioned art work. “It will certainly help to boost Macalister Mansion’s reputation in Asia, especially among high-end travellers who are looking to experience authentic heritage ambience and first-class boutique hotel services,” said a Macalister Mansion spokesperson.

The Macalister Mansion (formerly the Choong Lye Hock Mansion) sits on a 48,943sq ft site on Macalister Road. Its eight rooms are priced from RM800 and onwards a night.

Since it started business last November, it has received a good response from visitors from the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It is also popular with Malaysian travellers.

The Hospitality, Design, Furniture Luxurious Projects Asia Summit & Awards was created in 2012 to foster links and harness synergies between hospitality, design and furniture industries as well as promoting design excellence and trends in Asia’s luxury development project.

China Tiger Studio Apartments proprietor Rebecca Wilkinson said boutique heritage hotels have more to offer than just history.

“We leverage not just on the restoration works that have gone into the heritage properties, but also on the uniqueness of inner George Town, which has other tangibles and intangibles. “The tangibles are the heritage properties, while the intangibles are the people involved in the traditional trades and crafts living in the inner city.

“Besides Florence in Italy, there are only a handful of cities worldwide with the size of George Town that have the WHS status,” she said.

Wilkinson runs two studio apartments with built-up areas of 1,300sq ft each on China Street, which has proven popular with visitors from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Scandinavia and Europe.

“We rent out to families in the mid- to high-income range for long- and short-term stays at rates of RM500 per night,” she added.

Wilkinson said that the renovations for China Tiger provide the comfort of modern living, while simultaneously retaining much of what is original in the interior. “This is what we understand by restoring heritage properties for modern-day commercial use,” she said.

Real estate in Penang is still cheap, compared to other countries in the region, according to Wilkinson. “This is why foreigners are interested to invest in heritage properties in inner George Town, taking advantage of the WHS status,” she said. The cost to restore a heritage building for adaptive commercial use is around RM300 to RM400 per sq ft, depending on the quality of finishings used.

Meanwhile, budget hotels in George Town are finding it difficult to maintain the same occupancy rates as a year ago.

The Malaysian Budget Hotel Association (MBHA) Penang Chapter) secretary Arthur Chin said, last year, the budget hotels in George Town registered occupancy rates of about 66% .

“This year it will be difficult to maintain, due to more hotel rooms being made available in the market among all categories of hotels. “The occupancy rate for this year may also drop,” he said. There are 85 budget hotels providing 3,000 rooms in Penang.

Chin said, although tourist arrivals have risen, the number is still not sufficient to sustain the budget hotel segment, which sells rooms at less than RM200 per night.

Super 8 Hotel chief executive officer Alex Loo also said the first quarter of this year was slower than the corresponding period the previous year.

The Super 8 is a 50-room budget hotel located in Tye Sin Street, priced from RM88 to RM148 per night. “The occupancy for last year was around 70% for Super 8, but we expect the occupancy to drop this year, due to more competition.

“To increase our market share, we have invested about RM9mil for another budget hotel in Bayan Baru, which is now becoming a popular area for business travellers to stay, as it is a stone’s throw away from the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone,” he said.

Loo said the group’s 8 Boutique by the Sea @ Tanjung Tokong had just opened for business. “We are pricing the rooms around RM100 to RM150 until the end of next month. After that, the room rates will be from RM200 per night onwards,” he said.

-thestar online.