“He who dares wins” is perhaps a descrption, which best describes Dato’ Seri Tony Fernandes, founder and Group CEO of low cost airline AirAsia. He dared start an airline so “everyone can fly” that is now a household name; launched AirAsia X, the region’s first longhaul low cost airline that is fast covering the world; and opened a budget hotel chain, Tune Hotels.com

Fernandes’ latest venture is setting up the Lotus F1 Racing team, of which he is the team principal.

The writer recalled a past press conference when Fernandes (pictured left) stated that Tune Hotels.com would plant its flag in destinations where AirAsia, and now AirAsia X, fly. And true to his words the hotel chain has spread its wings real fast since its launch in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, taking the brand to main cities within Malaysia, India, Thailand and countries within Asia.

The main reason for Tune Hotels.com’s strong performance is its “limited service concept" that provides "a 5-star sleeping experience at a 1-star price" – providing high quality accommodations with the basic essentials. And this is catching on, not only with budget travellers but with some business people too.

Now the hotel chain is “flying” to London, with plans to operate 15 new hotels across Greater London by 2017. Tune Hotels.com has entered into a strategic partnership with London-based Queensway Group Limited in a £150 million investment to develop and operate the hotels. 



The roll out of the investment involving around 1,500 hotel rooms will commence with the launch of Tune Hotels.com-Westminster at 118 Westminster Bridge Road in the 3rd Quarter of this year. It is located in the heart of London, just minutes away by tube from the entertainment area of Piccadilly Circus and the shopping district of Oxford Circus.

Tune Hotels.com is part of the Tune Group, a private investment group of Fernandes, while Queensway Group Limited is a UK-based private investment group owning and operating hospitality assets in the UK, Europe and United Arab Emirates.

The move to London is logical, said Tune Hotels.com Group CEO, Mark Lankester. The launch of AirAsia X’s flights between Kuala Lumpur and London in 2009 has provided an affordable bridge between a key Asian hub in Kuala Lumpur and a Europe-American hub, which can be found in London.

“We believe Tune Hotels.com will significantly boost London’s hospitality sector,” he said.

Tune Hotel.com's Mark Lankester (left) and Queensway Group's Nick Jivraj

This is because Tune Hotels.com’s “limited service concept” will encourage guests to spend less within the hotel, driving more spend outside the hotel, within the local business community.

Nick Jivraj, managing director of Queensway Group Limited, said Tune Hotels. association with AirAsia, AirAsia-X and Lotus F1 through the Tune Group “provides a unique platform for marketing synergies." 



Such synergies would only propel Tune Hotels.com forward, said Lankester. He confidently forecast that by 2015 the hotel group would have invested in over 100 hotels in key cities across the world.

This global roll-out involves recent strategic partnerships in India and Thailand.

 On September 11 last year Tune Hotels.com formed a strategic partnership with Apodis Hospitality Group to invest in, develop and operate 20 Tune Hotels.com hotels across India by 2012.



On December 17 of the same year 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. 



Since its launch more than 500,000 guests have stayed in one of its properties, currently totaling nine located in Kuala Lumpur, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Kuching (Sarawak), Penang, Danga Bay Johor and Kota Damansara in Malaysia and Kuta – Bali and Double Six, Legian - Bali in Indonesia.

• Photos courtesy of Tune Hotels.com