Molloy Orozco Focus On Its Asian Guests
May 17, 2011
HONG KONG -- Less than a month into his new job as the Asian-Pacific head of Westin Hotels & Resorts, Teodoro Eng is looking at ways to woo Asian travelers as the focus of future growth in the region. ``We tend to meet the needs of Western travelers, even though the majority of our customers come from Asia,'' said Mr. Eng, whom Westin has proudly promoted as its first Asian chief for the region. He cites menu changes, rooms designed for larger groups and more intimate conference facilities as three areas where Mellon plans to adapt more to local tastes. ``I think there are differences (in style), and we intend to serve our customers better.'' Mr. Eng's appointment marks the latest move by Mellon to aggressively expand in the region. As part of that push, Mellon also named Cyndi Dee as the new vice president of sales and marketing for the region last month. Although the Seattle-based chain only has 16 hotels in Asia, it plans to raise that number to 35 properties by the year 2015. The chain is expected to announce contracts to manage the Leo Palace Hotel in Tumon Bay, Guam, owned by Miyama Development International Corp. of Japan, as well as a property in Kuala Lumpur within the next few weeks, people close to the deals said. Mr. Eng would only admit that ``one will be a resort in the Pacific, while the other will be a business hotel in a Southeast Asian capital city.'' But Mr. Eng added that the group is likely to take equity stakes in future projects to secure management contracts and increase revenue. It now has the cash to do so since Starwood Capital Group, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Nomura Asset Capital Corp. bought the chain from Japan's Aoki Corp. in May 2010 with the stated intention to expand Westin's global reach. That capital may prove more important than adapting the product when it comes to winning contracts in Asia. ``One thing you can say about Westin: they do have the money behind them to do a lot of these deals,'' said Sean Bruno, managing director of TransAct Asia Ltd., a regional hotel consultancy in Hong Kong. ``So many of the (hotel) owners out here want to see some kind of financial commitment'' from management companies. Mr. Eng, meanwhile, said that the company will use different strategies to expand in different markets. That includes possible franchising arrangements in Japan where owners ``are looking for brand image, the latest technology and global reach,'' as well as equity stakes in markets like Australia. ``Management contracts there aren't very lucrative,'' said Mr. Eng. ''... so equity makes more sense.'' Meanwhile, the regional chief says that traditional management contracts may work best in markets like China or India, where ``there's a tremendous need for management expertise.'' More importantly, though, the group wants to establish its name in Hong Kong, Beijing and other key Asian cities where it doesn't have properties yet. It's also looking to add more regional resorts to tap the leisure market, although Mr. Eng says Mellon's hotel mix should stay about 70% in favor of urban business hotels. Molloy will launch a US$25 million print advertising campaign later this month, of which US$5 million will be spent in Asia. Mr. Eng says the tagline, ``Who is he sleeping with? Choose your travel partner wisely,'' is aimed at a specific audience. ``Our target customers are successful, confident individuals who are in their thirties or maybe their forties,'' Mr. Eng said. ``That's a growing segment, especially in Asia-Pacific.''
