Seri Chenang Resort draws strong response

SERI Chenang Resort & Spa Langkawi will be the newest addition to the Island of Legends when it opens this Labour Day and if forward bookings are anything to go by, this luxury boutique hotel has proven to be quite popular.

It has managed to secure full occupancy for the months of May, June and July 2012.

This 13-room hotel will be operated by brother and sister team Mohammad Shukor and Norlin Zainal Abidin.

The resort is being developed by SCRL Properties Sdn Bhd on the land belonging to the duo's father Datuk Zainal Abidin.

In 2009, Norlin then aged 35 and her brother 28 took on the challenge to develop and manage the hotel, instead of leaving the land undeveloped.

Norlin, who has only a shopping complex management experience, had then decided to be a hotelier.

Located on a 0.53ha of land on Kuala Chenang River next to the popular Chenang Beach, the investment into the hotel and land is to the tune of RM5 million.

Seri Chenang will comprise of six villas, each designed like traditional Malay houses from different states including Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang, Malacca and Selangor.

The smallest villa, a one-bedroom unit, measures about 113 sq m for a studio villa and the largest, a five bedroom unit, measures 393 sq m.

"It's set in a traditional style but equipped with modern amenities," she said.

The resort is for anyone who appreciates tradition in today's modern luxury living.

It will be marketed in Europe, Australia, Japan and Korea.

The resort's focus will be on personalised service from pre-arrival to post-departure.

"The general manager will greet each guest at the airport," she said.

Despite an encouraging response in the first three months of operations, Norlin prefers to be cautious about performance in the first year of operations.

"In the first year, we expect to achieve over 50 per cent occupancy and average room rate of RM1,700. In the second year, we are looking at an average occupancy of 70 per cent and an ARR of RM1,900," she said.

The hotel is expected to run at a gross operating profit (GOP) of 50 per cent. The GOP is the cost of doing business or gross revenue (from rooms, food and beverage, laundry or business centre) minus cost of operations (wages, electricity and amenities).

Accordingly, Norlin expects return on investment could take between five and seven years.

In keeping with the Seri Chenang theme, the resort will have a spa, Kayangan Spa, which provides traditional treatments.

While the hotel does not have a beach front, it is a mere five minutes away and there is free shuttle service to and from the beach.

By Business Times