Tune Hotels to open 15 hotels in Greater London

LONDON: Tune Hotels.com has entered into a strategic partnership with London-based Queensway Group Limited to invest in, develop and operate 15 Tune Hotels.com hotels across Greater London by 2017.

Part of the Tune Group the private investment group of Tony Fernandes, founder and Group CEO of low cost airline AirAsia, Tune Hotels.com will be rolling out about  1,500 hotel rooms representing £150 million of investment into the London hospitality sector.

The roll-out will commence with the launch of Tune Hotels.com-Westminster at 118 Westminster Bridge Road in Q3 2010.

Queensway Group Limited is a UK-based private investment group owning and operating hospitality assets in the UK, Europe and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“We believe Tune Hotels.com will significantly boost London’s hospitality sector. While this city’s global reputation as a leisure and business destination will be enhanced by the Olympic Games in 2012, sterling’s current weakness works in London’s favour in attracting overseas visitors and spend, and in times of continuing economic uncertainty, superior value for money remains key, said Mark Lankester, Group CEO of Tune Hotels.com, said in a statement on March 4.

“We are pleased to be working with organisations such as Visit Britain, Visit London, Think London and Visit England; and believe our dynamic pricing model will provide a strong call to action that will be hard to ignore.

Nick Jivraj, Managing Director of Queensway Group Limited, said, “We’re extremely excited about partnering with Tune Hotels.com to develop the London market. Their association with AirAsia, AirAsia-X and Lotus F1 through the Tune Group provides a unique platform for marketing synergies, and their strong brand and marketing expertise in generating room nights online aligns with trends revealing the internet as the prime channel for travel purchase decisions.”

The global roll-out involves recent strategic partnerships in India and Thailand. On 11 September 2009, Tune Hotels.com announced a strategic partnership with Apodis Hospitality Group to invest in, develop and operate 20 Tune Hotels.com hotels across India by 2012. On 17 December 2009, it announced a strategic partnership with Evolution Capital PCL, a real estate investment advisory firm listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, to franchise a roll-out of 44 Tune Hotels.com hotels across Thailand, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia.