VIVE Hospitality launches with new Damansara hotel under its belt

A new company that provides white-label hospitality solutions to independent hotel owners with distinctive assets in South-east Asia and beyond has been launched.

Led by two hoteliers who had previously worked with world-renowned hotel brands, Michael Luible and Stephan Gnagi, VIVE’s first project, which it is conceptualising, managing and operating, is a 271-room hip four-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur’s affluent district Damansara. To be named Qliq Hotel, it is part of a mixed-use development that includes residential and commercial areas and a performing arts centre.

Luible,VIVE’s executive director, opened and repositioned One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives and Capella in Singapore. He was also involved in rebranding and upscaling One&Only Kanuhura, Maldives, and was regional director of One&Only Resorts. Luible also served as general manager of Le Touessrok Mauritius and Raffles Hotel Singapore, and was managing director of Karma Resorts before setting up the new venture.

Gnagi, VIVE’s managing director, held senior management positions with The Savoy Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, One&Only, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.

Also on VIVE’s board of directors are investment banker Tatang Tabrani; Linda Wong, who specialises in M&As, real estate and commercial transactions; and Susie Cheah-Gnagi, specialist in sales and marketing and the development/distribution of wellness products.

Luible said VIVE aimed to be unique by providing bespoke and tailormade white-label solutions for each property, its geographies and market. It hopes to build up a portfolio of properties that are “distinctive in design and branding, always genuine and consistent in service, developed at exceptional locations, focused on smart utilisation of land and space, and are integrated with the community and environmental-friendly”.

The type of properties include urban-iconic hotels and residences, resort getaways and heritage landmarks.

“We believe there is a demand for owners to create their own brand instead of developing the brand of international management companies,” he said. “Owners don’t have to communicate through corporate layers. Due to our lean structure, we are able to offer attractive fees and light overheads.”

-TTG Asia.