GLH debuts second hotel brand in a month

PETALING JAYA: GLH Hotels Management (UK) Ltd has launched a new contemporary four-star hotel brand, Amba.

GLH was previously known as Guoman Hotel Management (UK) Ltd and is the London-based global hotel subsidiary of the Singapore-listed GuocoLeisure Group.

“The ambition is to grow the Amba brand in the UK to around 30 properties with further growth internationally in China, Malaysia, and the US,” said Mike DeNoma, CEO of GLH in a statement recently.

He said the company aims to be the first port of call for developers, owners and investors who want a new deal from a hotel management company. “We expect 60% of our guests on weekdays to be business travellers.”

Chief marketing officer Colin Roy said, “The launch of Amba signifies a step change in the market. An Amba hotel will combine a fantastic location with genuine warmth, intuitive service and technology to ensure that both business and leisure travellers get the most out of their stay.”

According to GLH, Amba will be Europe’s largest four-star hotel brand launch with 2088 rooms by 2015. The brand is rolling out four hotels, Marble Arch,Tower Bridge, Charing Cross and Buckingham Palace Road in London.

The company will invest a further £70 million (RM354 million) in the chosen four-star hotels.The hotels will re-open following major refurbishments, with Buckingham Palace Road to be the first Amba hotel to be launched in June next year.

GLH targets 30 key cities in the UK for the Amba brand and will expand the brand  in China, the US and Europe.

The launch of Amba is driven by extensive market research which shows there is a significant opportunity to address unmet client needs in the four-star sector, better and more personalised service, seamless technology that actually works and authentic experiences in the best locations around the world, said GHL.

Every Amba hotel will be fitted with the latest technology, from a Smart TV in every room to behind-the-scenes operations.

The hotel has invested in the fast, free and reliable WiFi for all guests in a bid to attract the global conference market.

Earlier this month, GLH launched a new luxury hotel and private residences brand, Clermont.

Clermont has three developments in two continents with a gross development value of US$3.2 billion (RM10.1 billion).

GLH is the largest owner-operator hotel company in London with over 4,000 hotel rooms.

In total, the company has 8,279 bedrooms, 337 meeting rooms in 36 hotels in the UK.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 1, 2013.